Book ID: CBB001550510

The Collaboration: Hollywood's Pact with Hitler (2013)

unapi

Urwand, Ben (Author)


MA, Belknap Press


Publication Date: 2013
Physical Details: 336 pp.
Language: English

To continue doing business in Germany after Hitler's ascent to power, Hollywood studios agreed not to make films that attacked the Nazis or condemned Germany's persecution of Jews. Ben Urwand reveals this bargain for the first time--a "collaboration" (Zusammenarbeit) that drew in a cast of characters ranging from notorious German political leaders such as Goebbels to Hollywood icons such as Louis B. Mayer. At the center of Urwand's story is Hitler himself, who was obsessed with movies and recognized their power to shape public opinion. In December 1930, his Party rioted against the Berlin screening of All Quiet on the Western Front, which led to a chain of unfortunate events and decisions. Fearful of losing access to the German market, all of the Hollywood studios started making concessions to the German government, and when Hitler came to power in January 1933, the studios--many of which were headed by Jews--began dealing with his representatives directly. Urwand shows that the arrangement remained in place through the 1930s, as Hollywood studios met regularly with the German consul in Los Angeles and changed or canceled movies according to his wishes. Paramount and Fox invested profits made from the German market in German newsreels, while MGM financed the production of German armaments. Painstakingly marshaling previously unexamined archival evidence, The Collaboration raises the curtain on a hidden episode in Hollywood--and American--history.

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Reviewed By

Review Spark, Clare L. (2014) Review of "The Collaboration: Hollywood's Pact with Hitler". Journal of Cold War Studies (pp. 226-228). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001550510/

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Authors & Contributors
O'Reagan, Douglas Michael
Nikolas Dörr
LeMenager, Stephanie
Carney, Amy Beth
Yeomans, Rory
Weiss-Wendt, Anton
Concepts
National Socialism
Technology and politics
Nationalism
Technology and culture
Motion pictures; cinema; movies
Science and politics
Time Periods
20th century, early
20th century
19th century
Places
Germany
United States
Great Britain
France
Soviet Union
Niagara Falls
Institutions
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Ford Motor Company
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