Claim:
A Disney short film features Donald Duck dreaming he worked in a munitions factory in Nazi Germany.
Rating:
True ( About this rating? )
Context:
The scene in question is part of a nightmare sequence in the 1943 propaganda cartoon "Der Fuehrer’s Face," released during World War II.
For years, a rumor has spread online that a Disney short film featured Donald Duck dreaming of working in a factory in Nazi Germany. For instance, in late August 2024, one X user mentioned Donald Duck's alleged "brief stint working in a artillery shell factory in Nazi Germany," in a post that reached over 2.9 million views. Moreover, one Reddit user wrote in 2023: "Donald Duck has a nightmare of being a Natzi (1943)."
"A 1943 short film, titled 'Der Fuehrer's Face,' depicts Donald Duck trapped within the Nazi war machine, forced to work in a munitions factory assembling artillery shells," another Reddit user wrote .
Donald Duck has a nightmare of being a Natzi (1943)
by u/Met76 in Damnthatsinteresting
In short, because one Disney short film indeed featured Donald Duck dreaming he worked in a factory in Nazi Germany, we rated this claim as "True."
The short film in question is titled "Der Fuehrer's Face," produced by Walt Disney Productions and released in 1943 during World War II. The film, which runs for about eight minutes, is indeed centered around Donald Duck experiencing a nightmare in which he works in a factory in Nazi Germany. In 1943, the short film won the Academy Award for best animated short film, at the time known as short subject (cartoon).
The Walt Disney Family Museum's website explained the film's goal of deriding and condemning the evils of Nazism "is far from subtle in its approach":
Visually, the film is loaded with references and symbolism which help decry the pernicious Nazi tenets. Toward the beginning of the short, Donald is awoken by a Nazi alarm clock in a room with swastika wallpaper featuring framed caricatures of Axis leaders Hitler, Hirohito, and Mussolini. As he rises for the day, his first order of business is to salute these images. Outside his room, a German band singing "Der Fuehrer's Face" is comprised of caricatures of Third Reich leaders Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, and Hermann Göring, as well as Japanese Prime Minister and Minister of War Hideki Tojo. Donald is even given a copy of Hitler's infamous Mein Kampf and told to "improve the mind."
In the film, Donald Duck finds himself working "48 hours a day for the Fuehrer" in a munitions factory in Nazi Germany. His job involves endlessly screwing tops onto artillery shells, all while compulsively saluting images of Hitler that pass by on the assembly line. At the end of the film, Donald Duck awakens from what is revealed to be a nightmare and finds himself back in his real room, filled with symbols of American patriotism.
"Der Fuehrer's Face" short film is available to watch via the Wayback Machine's archive:
Among other Donald Duck-related rumors, we previously investigated the claim that the character was once banned in Finland because he doesn't wear pants.
Sources:
Disney Cartoons Become Propaganda: Der Fuehrer's Face, Part I | The Walt Disney Family Museum. https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/disney-cartoons-become-propaganda . Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.
Disney, Walt. Der Fuehrer's Face. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/DerFuehrersFace . Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.
Disney WWII Propaganda: Der Fuehrer's Face | The Walt Disney Family Museum. https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/disney-wwii-propaganda-pt1 . Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.
Mikkelson, David. "Did Donald Duck Call Daffy Duck the 'N-Word'?" Snopes, 30 Dec. 1998, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/quacking-wise/ .
---. "Was Donald Duck Banned in Finland Because He Doesn't Wear Pants?" Snopes, 26 Feb. 1999, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/fowled-out/ .
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