Book · 2013 · History
The Collaboration
Hollywood’s Pact with Hitler
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Harvard scholar Ben Urwand, who wrote The Collaboration, essentially argues that the studios worked with the Nazis, and he presents compelling evidence to that point.
What they say about it
- Quotes from the book“Here's a quote from Ben Urwand's The Collaboration”5
- Argues studios worked with Nazis“argues that the studios worked with the Nazis”2
The best things said about it
The men who created the studio system in Los Angeles were Jewish immigrants of Eastern European descent.
In The Collaboration, Ben Urwand argues that studios work directly with the Nazi government in a way that was unique and novel.
One of Hitler's favorite films was King Kong, the well-known story of a gigantic ape who falls in love with a woman no bigger than his hand.
What I didn't realize until I read Urwand's book is that later in the same speech, Hitler also said this, "And the announcement of American film companies of their intention to produce anti-Nazi, i.e. anti-German films will only lead our German producers creating anti-semitic films in the future, which you know they did.
When I was researching the collaboration, he went into the Bunes archive, which is like a big German government archive, and he found Hitler's thoughts on dozens and dozens and dozens of movies.
Why people recommend it
The Collaboration by Ben Urwand is a historical investigation into the complex relationship between Hollywood studio executives and Nazi Germany during the 1930s. On the podcast Behind the Bastards, host Robert Evans frequently discussed and recommended the book across multiple episodes, specifically in Parts One and Two of How Hollywood Helped The Nazis. Evans directed listeners to the book on the show website and praised it as a wonderful resource. Throughout the episodes, he used the text to ground his historical analysis, quoting passages that detailed how the studio system was created by Jewish immigrants of Eastern European descent and how studios retrofitted and modified films to appease Nazi sensitivities. Evans cited Urwand's compelling evidence showing that major studios worked alongside Nazi officials, noting how MGM discovered methods to export its profits out of Germany following Kristallnacht. Furthermore, Evans referenced the book to highlight specific historical anecdotes, such as Hitler's fondness for the film King Kong, and a speech where Hitler threatened that American anti-Nazi productions would be met with German anti-Semitic counter-films. Evans relied on Urwand's rigorous scholarship to demonstrate the extent of corporate cooperation between American entertainment giants and the Nazi regime, making it an essential read for understanding that dark chapter of cinematic history.
Every mention
Robert Evans You can find this podcast and all the sources for this episode, including Ben's wonderful book, The Collabo… 14
“So, I'm going to read a quote from the collaboration which talking about sort of how the Nazis propaganda movies were not particularly successful in Nazi Germany.”
“But but when you but then that's why you get into the book the collaboration where you're like how much was retrofitting and how much wasritting and we do know that lions were added and like Yeah.”
“And I'm going to read another quote from the collaboration. Here we go. In December 1938, one month after Crystalallnock, MGM discovered a way to export its profits more effectively.”
“What I didn't realize until I read Erland's book is that later in the same speech, Hitler also said this, "And the announcement of American film companies of their intention to produce anti-Nazi, i.e. anti-German films will only lead our German producers creating anti-semitic films in the future, which you know they did."”
“You can find this podcast and all the sources for this episode, including Ben's wonderful book, The Collaboration, on our website, behindtheb.com.”
“Here's a quote from Ben Erwan's The Collaboration. Quote, "The men who created the studio system in Los Angeles were Jewish immigrants of Eastern European descent.”
“The debate is over, you know, Harvard scholar Ben Irwand, who wrote the collaboration, essentially argues that the studios worked with the Nazis, and he presents compelling evidence to that point.”
“He he loved it. The collaboration quotes a German foreign press chief who said, quote, "One of Hitler's favorite films was King Kong, the well-known story of a gigantic ape who falls in love with a woman no bigger than his hand.”
“When I was researching the collaboration, he went into the Bunes archive, which is like a big German government archive, and he found Hitler's thoughts on dozens and dozens and dozens of movies.”
“One of the criticisms of Ben Irwan's book, The Collaboration, is that he doesn't go into all of this quite enough. It is important to note that the US also had a serious censorship boner at this time.”
“So, um, in the collaboration, Ben Erland argues that studios work directly with the Nazi government in a way that was unique and novel. Um, wait, who did this? This is the guy who wrote this book.”
“Uh I'm going to quote from the collaboration here. Everyone listened as Freud and Talll outlined a brand new plan to combat the hate film problem in the United States.”
“An executive at Fox said that he would consult a German representative in all future cases as well. Even United Artists offered quote the closest collaboration. So you can see why Erland picked the title the collaboration for his book.”
“Uh, the collaboration basically credits the delay to the fact that because the Germans had fired all of the Jewish people from their own film production company, they weren't able to make enough movies.”
