Ben Urwand is a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University.
Urwand draws on a wealth of previously uncited documents to argue
that Hollywood studios, in an effort to protect the German market
for their movies, not only acquiesced to Nazi censorship but also
actively and enthusiastically cooperated with that regime's global
propaganda effort.--Jennifer Schuessler"New York Times"
(06/25/2013)
Urwand has dug deep in the German archives and found evidence that
the Nazis business dealings with some of the studios were much
closer than previously realized. He also draws attention to the
flagrant lobbying of the Nazi emissary to Hollywood.--J.
Hoberman"London Review of Books" (12/19/2013)"
Urwand is tearing down the popular impression that the 1930s
Hollywood community stood united in efforts to combat the Nazi
regime. Quite the contrary, says Urwand, whose research reveals a
shocking level of collaboration (or Zusammenarbeit, i.e. 'working
together') between the German government and Tinseltown's
studios--many of which were famously headed by Jews...The
Collaboration depicts a studio system in which films were submitted
for approval to aggressive German propaganda officials, who
demanded cuts and changes to material deemed 'detrimental to German
prestige'--not only to film versions created for the German market,
but for the U.S. and countries around the world.
--Lesley M. M. Blume"Vanity Fair online" (08/22/2013)
Urwand s book uncovers important material about the relationship
between the American film industry and the Nazi regime Readers may
or may not agree with Urwand s conclusion about the perils of
Jewish self-denial. But in highlighting it, he provides a useful
reminder that scholarship on the Nazi era continues to serve as a
mirror in which Jews view themselves.--Gavriel Rosemfeld"Forward"
(11/08/2013)"
Urwand sheds new light on the way the studio bosses responded to
Nazi pressure, from 1933, when Hitler assumed power, to 1941, when
the United States entered the war Drawing on American and German
archival material, the author shows that Hollywood began working
with the Nazis in 1933. The collaboration was not passive, but
voluntary: part of a strategy necessary in order for the studios to
maintain their market in Germany--which had more movie theaters
than any other country in Europe Urwand describes how the Nazis
tried to shape the very content of American films--and often
succeeded.--Samuel Blumenfeld"Le Monde" (10/11/2013)"
Urwand...presents explosive new evidence about the shocking extent
of the partnership between the Nazis and major Hollywood
producers...[A] riveting book...As you turn its pages you realize
with dismay that collaboration is the only fitting word for the
relationship between Hitler and Hollywood in the 1930s. Using new
archival discoveries, Urwand alleges that some of the Hollywood
studio heads, nearly all of whom were Jewish, cast their lot with
Hitler almost from the moment he took power, and that they did so
eagerly--not reluctantly. What they wanted was access to German
audiences. What Hitler wanted was the ability to shape the content
of Hollywood movies--and he got it...What is shocking and new about
Urwand's account is its blow-by-blow description of Hollywood
executives tailoring their product to meet the demands of the Nazi
regime.--David Mikics"Tablet Magazine" (06/10/2013)
Urwand's book about how Hollywood conducted business with and
within Germany after Hitler's ascent to power is a fascinating
examination of capitalist amorality in the face of evil. Urwand
does a good job of cataloging the ways Hollywood studios--largely
headed by immigrant Jewish entrepreneurs--took measures to placate
the Nazis so they could continue to show films in Germany
throughout the 1930s, until the Nazi invasion of Poland...Urwand
has uncovered a very interesting, heretofore unknown, true
Hollywood story.
--Philip Martin"Arkansas Democrat-Gazette" (09/29/2013)
Urwand's book details in sometimes shocking fashion how the
Hollywood film industry, including studios run by legendary Jewish
film moguls such as Louis B Mayer, were willing to pre-screen their
films for Nazi officials and remove content they found
objectionable.
--Andy Goldberg"Military.com" (08/04/2013)
Urwand's investigation of this dark chapter in the history of the
American film industry is as intriguing as it is compellingly
told.--Theis Duelund"Los Angeles magazine" (09/10/2013)
The Collaboration expertly dismantles Hollywood's rose tinted view
of history, proving it wasn't standing up to fascism as it has
claimed, but eagerly appeasing the Nazis so long as the money was
coming in.
--Kyle Ryan"A.V. Club" (09/06/2013)"
The Collaboration felt genuinely original and eye-opening as Ben
Urwand systematically revealed the way major Hollywood studios were
willing to protect their financial interest in the German market of
the 1930s by appeasing the Nazi regime. The road to hell was paved
by a thousand concessions.--Allan Hunter"Glasgow Herald"
(12/14/2013)
Impeccably researched and impressively argued, Ben Urwand s
gripping volume systematically reveals the way major Hollywood
studios were willing to protect their
financial interests in the German market by appeasing the Nazi
regime. Urwand has unearthed remarkable evidence from archives in
Germany and America, confirming that the road to hell was paved
with a thousand concessions. Hollywood studios went to astonishing
lengths not to offend or upset the Nazi regime. What began with
minor adjustments to scripts eventually reached a point where
projects that were unsympathetic to Germany s past or critical of
the Nazis were simply never made The studios didn t just follow a
policy of accommodation they became willing partners with the Nazis
to reach an understanding of what could be mutually beneficial to
both parties. The book is such a revelation because it goes against
the grain of commonly held assumptions Urwand is particularly good
at marshalling hard facts and solid evidence that builds into a
horrifying indictment of studios that continued to operate in
Germany throughout the first eight years of Hitler s rule Even as
the full horrors of the Nazi regime became apparent to the world,
Hollywood continued to offer the hand of collaboration, a fact all
the more ironic considering that many of the studio bosses were
Jewish This is a book that challenges every rose-tinted view of
Hollywood s Golden Age. It sheds a piercing light on dark deeds and
is an invaluable work of political history that has all the
page-turning urgency of a thriller.--Allan Hunter"Glasgow Herald"
(10/19/2013)"
[An] eye-opening study of Hollywood and the Nazi elite The
Collaboration unfolds a story that rather knocks the shine off the
golden age of cinema Urwand has done some energetic digging in the
archives, quoting letters, memos and newspaper reports to uncover a
shameful policy of compromise and kowtowing on the part of the
studio bosses. And what lends the story its peculiar irony is that
those bosses who did their utmost to appease the crazed ideology of
Nazism were by and large Jews themselves.--Anthony Quinn"The
Guardian" (10/16/2013)"
[A] provocative book.
--Rosemary Neill"The Australian" (09/28/2013)
[The] revelations in Ben Urwand s controversial expose, The
Collaboration, are nothing short of astonishing, going well beyond
what was known about Hollywood s timidity during that era. With
damning archival evidence, Urwand argues that the studios,
motivated by profits, were reluctant to abandon the German market,
where American films were popular and Hitler himself was a fan
Urwand s finely documented account is even more chilling--in large
part because the collaborators to whom he points were American, and
in many cases also Jewish.--Julia M. Klein"Boston Globe"
(10/19/2013)"
Full of startling and surprising revelations, presented in
exemplary fashion, without any moralizing or sensationalism. The
Collaboration shows how Hollywood and especially the big studios
went along with German demands to censor movies not only before but
especially after the Nazi seizure of power.--Richard J. Evans
Hard-hitting Urwand has dug deep and come up with some genuine
revelations The story is quite dramatic, and shameful.--Philip
Kemp"Times Higher Education" (10/24/2013)"
In Urwand s account of the relationship between the American film
industry and the government of Germany in the 1930s, he shows that
Hollywood studios put profits ahead of scruples in their dealings
with the Nazis.--Lisa Jarvinen"Philadelphia Inquirer"
(11/03/2013)"
With great attention to detail, Urwand describes multiple contacts
between the studios and German officials, and he apparently breaks
some new ground with his descriptions of Georg Gyssling, who became
a Hollywood fixture after Hitler came to power in 1933.--Roger
Currie"Winnipeg Free Press" (11/23/2013)
Impeccably researched and impressively argued, Ben Urwand s
gripping volume systematically reveals the way major Hollywood
studios were willing to protect their
financial interests in the German market by appeasing the Nazi
regime. Urwand has unearthed remarkable evidence from archives in
Germany and America, confirming that the road to hell was paved
with a thousand concessions. Hollywood studios went to astonishing
lengths not to offend or upset the Nazi regime. What began with
minor adjustments to scripts eventually reached a point where
projects that were unsympathetic to Germany s past or critical of
the Nazis were simply never made The studios didn t just follow a
policy of accommodation they became willing partners with the Nazis
to reach an understanding of what could be mutually beneficial to
both parties. The book is such a revelation because it goes against
the grain of commonly held assumptions Urwand is particularly good
at marshalling hard facts and solid evidence that builds into a
horrifying indictment of studios that continued to operate in
Germany throughout the first eight years of Hitler s rule Even as
the full horrors of the Nazi regime became apparent to the world,
Hollywood continued to offer the hand of collaboration, a fact all
the more ironic considering that many of the studio bosses were
Jewish This is a book that challenges every rose-tinted view of
Hollywood s Golden Age. It sheds a piercing light on dark deeds and
is an invaluable work of political history that has all the
page-turning urgency of a thriller.--Allan Hunter"Glasgow Herald"
(10/19/2013)"
"The Collaboration "expertly dismantles Hollywood's rose tinted
view of history, proving it wasn't standing up to fascism as it has
claimed, but eagerly appeasing the Nazis so long as the money was
coming in.
--Kyle Ryan"A.V. Club" (09/06/2013)"
[A] provocative book.
--Rosemary Neill"The Australian" (09/28/2013)
Urwand's book about how Hollywood conducted business with and
within Germany after Hitler's ascent to power is a fascinating
examination of capitalist amorality in the face of evil. Urwand
does a good job of cataloging the ways Hollywood studios--largely
headed by immigrant Jewish entrepreneurs--took measures to placate
the Nazis so they could continue to show films in Germany
throughout the 1930s, until the Nazi invasion of Poland...Urwand
has uncovered a very interesting, heretofore unknown, true
Hollywood story.
--Philip Martin"Arkansas Democrat-Gazette" (09/29/2013)
Urwand is tearing down the popular impression that the 1930s
Hollywood community stood united in efforts to combat the Nazi
regime. Quite the contrary, says Urwand, whose research reveals a
shocking level of collaboration (or "Zusammenarbeit, "i.e. 'working
together') between the German government and Tinseltown's
studios--many of which were famously headed by Jews..."The
Collaboration "depicts a studio system in which films were
submitted for approval to aggressive German propaganda officials,
who demanded cuts and changes to material deemed 'detrimental to
German prestige'--not only to film versions created for the German
market, but for the U.S. and countries around the world.
--Lesley M. M. Blume"Vanity Fair online" (08/22/2013)
Urwand's book details in sometimes shocking fashion how the
Hollywood film industry, including studios run by legendary Jewish
film moguls such as Louis B Mayer, were willing to pre-screen their
films for Nazi officials and remove content they found
objectionable.
--Andy Goldberg"Military.com" (08/04/2013)
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