In post-war Germany Kalanag’s revue was a show business sensation. Kalanag was a magician who toured the world with his beautiful assistant and made whole cars disappear. But his biggest trick was to make his entire Nazi past disappear.
His real name was Helmut Schreiber and he had previously enchanted guests with his conjuring tricks at parties hosted by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and entertained the masses at Nazi events. He was also a successful film producer responsible for several Nazi propaganda films.
After the war, he was no longer allowed to work in the film industry but managed to launch an international career as Kalanag. This film is about a master manipulator who used his charm, chutzpah and a whole artillery of smokescreens to always end up on life’s winning side. One of many former Nazis who reinvented themselves and went back to business as usual in the new Germany.
00:00 | Intro
05:55 | Kalanag's career starts - The Weimar Republic
10:20 | Propaganda and Opportunism - The Nazi Regime
23:00 | The Magician that made his past disappear - The Post-War Period
43:25 | The end of his career - The 1960s and the Rise of the Television
49:39 | Conclusion