Saturday, June 29, 2013

Hollywood and Nazis

"On page after page, he shows studio bosses, many of them Jewish immigrants, cutting films scene by scene to suit Nazi officials; producing material that could be seamlessly repurposed in Nazi propaganda films; and, according to one document, helping to finance the manufacture of German armaments." "There's a whole myth that Warner Brothers were crusaders against fascism," Mr. Urwand said. "But they were the first to try to appease the Nazis in 1933." "In June 1939 Metro-Goldwyn Mayer treated 10 Nazi newspaper editors to a "good-will tour" of its studio in Los Angeles. Mr. Urwand also found a December 1938 report by an American commercial attaché suggesting that MGM was financing German armaments production as part of a deal to circumvent restrictions on repatriating movie profits." (thanks Amir)