Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)

Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels: There will be slight change in our methods. From now on, National Socialism in the United States must wrap itself in the American flag. It must appear to be a defense of Americanism. But at the same time, our aim must always be to discredit conditions there in the United Sates. And in this way make life in Germany admired and wished for. Racial and religious hatred must be fostered on the basis of American-Aryanism. Classism must be encouraged in a way that the labor and the middle classes will become confused and antagonistic. In the ensuing chaos, we will be able to take control.

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[last lines]
[Kellogg and Renard hear remarks about the spy case by diners at a lunch counter]
U.S. Atty. Kellogg: The voice of the people.
Edward 'Ed' Renard: Thank God for such people.
U.S. Atty. Kellogg: Yes, thank God.

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Edward 'Ed' Renard: Funny thing working on a case like this for so long. Something like spending a great deal of time going through a madhouse. You see these Nazis operating here, and you think of all those in Germany, you can't help feeling somehow that they're, well, absolutely insane.

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This was the first major Hollywood film with the word "Nazi" in the title (though it appears Inside Nazi Germany was actually the first, this was a short and not a major feature). A number of American movies and documentaries in the 1940s would follow with the word "Nazi" in their title, among them Nazi Agent ; The Nazis Strike; The Story of One of Hitlers Children as Adapted from: Education for Death - The Making of the Nazi (USA) See: Education for Death; Nazi Concentration Camps; Nazi Spy Ring (aka The Dawn Express); and The Nazi Plan. A number of these titles mentioned were also spy melodramas.
Adolf Hitler reportedly planned to execute the makers of this film upon winning the war.
A libel suit for $75,000 was filed on Monday, July 3, 1939 in U.S. Federal Court against Warner Bros. by Katherine Moog, in which she claimed that the picture "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" and its advertisements defamed her character. Plaintiff alleged that Warners, without her consent, used her name to exploit the picture and connected her with the character "Erika Wolf," played by Lya Lys.
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