How Hollywood Played Nice With the Nazis
German Pressure: Casablanca was critical of the Nazis. But other films pulled punches, and some flicks were scrapped under pressure from Germany, a new book claims. Image by getty images
When one thinks of how Hollywood has related to the Nazis, among the first movies that come to mind are “Casablanca” and “The Great Dictator,” in which the America movie industry portrayed the Nazis and Adolf Hitler in particular in a critical manner.
A new book being published in the United States claims, however, that the major Hollywood studios were desperate to protect their business interests in Germany and actually collaborated with the Nazis in the 1930s prior to the outbreak of World War Two.
Author Ben Urwand, argues in his book “The Collaboration: Hollywood’s Pact with Hitler” that American studios gave in to Nazi demands on a number of occasions, not only consenting to cut scenes out of certain movies, but even going so far as to scrap productions that ran afoul of the Nazi party.
The American film industry publication “Hollywood Reporter” published excerpts this month from Urwand’s forthcoming book, which is being published next month by Harvard University Press.
The work is based on documentation from archives in the United States and Germany, revealing the surprising extent of the collaboration between Hollywood and the Nazis in the decade preceding the Second World War. According to the book, senior Hollywood figures saw fit to comply with Nazi dictates to protect their businesses interests in the Third Reich.
For more, go to Haaretz
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