Kinski's first film role was a small part in the 1948 film "Morituri". He appeared in several German Edgar Wallace movies, and had bit parts in the American war films "Decision Before Dawn" (1951), "A Time to Love and a Time to Die" (1958), and "The Counterfeit Traitor" (1962). In Alfred Vohrer's "Die toten Augen von London" (1961), his character refused any personal guilt for his evil deeds and claimed to have only followed the orders given to him. Kinski's performance reflected post-war Germany's reluctance to take responsibility for what had happened during World War II.