Figure 1.--Hollywood was very slow to address or even appreciate the NAZI horror. The first American studio to take on the NAZIs was Warner Brother. They pulled out of Germnabny early (1934). The other major studios continued doing business with the NAZIs and Propaganda Minister F\Goebbels who controlled film distribution. Warner Brothers began making anti-Fascist films (q1937) and finally attacked the NAZI specifically with "Confessiions of a NAZI Spy" (1939). It was a spy thriller based on a sensational 1938 trial of a NAZI spy ring. It was controversial at the time in America, but Americans showed their affirmation by the film's strong box office. And the film was difficult to criticize because it was not only factual, but focused on what the NAZIs were doing in America. German Propganda Minister Goebbels, a photo buff, was furious. Just like bombing during the War, he thought that propaganda was only something the NAZIs should be permitted. He promised reperscussion, both to Warner Brothers and the actors and crew.

The American movie industry was dominated by a small number of major studios--the Big Eight. This included MGM, Paramount, Republic, RKO, Twetitieth Century Fox, and Warner Brothers. This era is often referred to as the Golden Age of Hollywood. These studios not only dominated the American film industry, but also many foreign film markets. And Germany was one of the most profitable foreign markets. The studios were at the head of a vertically integrated industry. Two authors tell us, "They controlled the entire process from casting and production through distribution (wholesaling) and exhibition (retailing). The Big Eight reaped 95 per cent of all motion picture rentals in the U.S. in the late 1930's. Their control over theater chains, particularly the all-important first-run urban houses which determined a pictures future, was critical. [Koppes and Black] Some of the men who ean these studios, especially Louis B. Mayer (MGM) and Darryl Zanuck (20th Century-Fox) were of European origins, in some cases Jewish, and had decidedly international outlooks. In this, Hollywood differed from the British film industry. Many Jews were involved in the German film industry, but this had ended with the NAZI seizure of power. The American studio msgnates had different ideas about the events in Germany, an important film market. Propaganda Minister Goebbels was a film buff and believed that movies could be used to influence public opinion. Some of the most influential propaganda movies of all time would be made by the NAZIs. One of the first steps he took in assuming the post of Propaganbda Minister was to limit, but not end the distribution of Hollywood films (June 1933). Harry and Jack Warner were the first to withdraw from Germany (1934). Other studio magnates, even Jewish ones like Louis B. Mayer and Adolph Zukor, were not as pessimistic about Germany under the NAZIs. They continued doing business in Germany, one of the most important European markets. MGM executive Irving Thalberg traveled to Europe to assess the studio's foreign markets (1934). He advised Louis B. Meyer that “a lot of Jews will lose their lives” but that “Hitler and Hitlerism will pass; the Jews will still be there.” That was during the early more moderate NAZI phase. Adolf Zukor at Paramount just before Hitler launched the War, assured a reporter, “I don’t think that Hollywood should deal with anything but entertainment. The newsreels take care of current events.” (August 1939) [Gabler, pp. , 338-40.] Only after the Germans invaded Poland the next month did the American studios besides Warner Brothers pull out of Germany.

Sources

Gabler, Neal. An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood (New York: Crown Publishers Inc. 1989).

Koppes, Clayton R. and Gregory D. Black. Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies (New York: Free Press/Macmillan, 1987), 374 p.

Created: 5:44 AM 12/8/2010
Last updated: 5:44 AM 12/8/2010