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Belknap Press
January 2013
On Sale: January 5, 2013
336 pages ISBN: 0674724747 EAN: 9780674724747 Kindle: B00EJW7NUK Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction
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.
Comments
1 comment posted.
Re: The Collaboration
Winning is the best. Bring it on. (Joyce Yanney 2:43pm September 23, 2013)
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