Six years before the Motion Picture Academy awarded the first Oscar for a documentary film, Leo Hurwitz created "Heart of Spain", a film which recorded for posterity the early activities of Hitler's Nazi Party in Spain in 1936. Before the style and structure of feature film documentaries had been established, Mr. Hurwitz's masterfully demonstrated his story telling abilities. Well edited, this film is a must see for all those interested in the development of the documentary films. Years later, when the people of Germany claimed that they were not aware of what Hitler had been doing, this film was pointed to. "Heart of Spain" played widely in motion picture theaters throughout the United States and many other countries before World War II broke out. It is no wonder that in 1942, CBS Television appointed Mr. Hurwitz as the first Director of Film for this young television network. Under Mr. Hurwitz's leadership, CBS became a leader in the area of documentaries..... but that's another story.
