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German film censorship is almost as old as the medium itself.1 Under pressure from the press and the 'monopolistic demands of the intelligentsia of written culture to give significance and meaning to life',2 fear of the popular and suggestive new medium of film was especially pronounced in the nationalist, militaristic, semi-autocratic German Empire.3 A series of different guidelines for film censorship arose as a result of discussions aboutcinema reform in the separate German states. They were linked by the merging of decision-making and administrative powers in the respective film review offices. On 5 May 1906, film censorship was introduced for the first time in the jurisdiction of Berlin, which did not issue its first order until two years later4 however . As in all the other German states which introduced film censorship, even in the smaller states like the Grand Duchy Saxony-Weimar which only had four cinemas,5 film censorship was treated the same as the censorship of the press. Since censorship in the Empire had been done away with in the wake of the Press Law of 1874, film-makers filed suit against Berlin's censorship order. According to the judgement passed down by the Prussian Higher Administrative Court, Berlin censorship rulings were legal since they were based on the Theater Censorship of 1850.6 This court approval of cinema censorship laws was also applied in the other German States in the ensuing years. A prophylactic police censorship went into effect in April of 1909. Stemming initially from the ministerial decree of 1909, Bavaria issued detailed censorship orders in January 1912.7 Württemberg followed this step in June of 1914 by issuing orders that were particulary severe. On 16 December 1910, by way of order, all governing presidents were held responsible for introducing film censorship. Within the framework of simplification and administrative relief, the decisions of the Berlin cinema censorship became authoritative for the entire governmental jurisdiction.8 By contrast, Hamburg's senate only authorised a commission of teachers to judge the appropriateness of films for a young audience; no further orders were issued.9
The censorship orders did not only vary among the separate German states. There were differences between the various cities and governmental jurisdictions. In Prussia there were a total of 24 film censorship centres, of which Berlin was...