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“How fortunate for leaders that men do not think; I have not come into this world to make men better, but to make use of their weaknesses.”
-Adolf Hitler-
Nazi Fuhrer Adolf Hitler loved American Movies. Hitler and his staff reveled in the cartoonish antics of Mickey Mouse, King Kong’s ferocity, and child star Shirley Temple’s many adventures. Films by Charlie Chaplin made him cringe. Hitler and his propagandists weren’t fools. They knew a good thing when they saw it. The Nazis knew how to manipulate public opinion/action through film. Hitler was the first to use air travel to city hop spewing his message of race hate and ethnic cleansing. It was during Hitler’s reign of terror that television was used to display German technological prowess. His radio programs like nemesis FDR across the Atlantic became a staple for listeners.
Hitler and Hollywood were bed fellows a decade before the war. It is a matter of public record that Cinematic mega-giant Paramount Studios had scores of Nazis under contract in the United States and their German subsidiary. During the 1930’s Germany was second to the United States in film production. Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Dr. Joseph Goebbels put pressure on Hollywood to produce films that reflected Nazi sentiments. In Germany he censured films critical of the Reich, its’ Fuhrer, and showed Germany’s mistreatment of Jews. American films that didn’t comply were boycotted. Money mad Hollywood realized if the German film industry banned their works they would lose millions of dollars. America’s entertainment interests caved in to Nazi demands. The manipulation of American film was a triumph of Nazi will.
The American film industry was locked in a tug-of-war. Few during the 1930’s recognized the evils of Nazism. Hitler’s henchmen and Catholic Hollywood insider Joseph Breen who later became head of the so-called ‘Hay’s Office’ for cinematic decency locked horns frequently. Spearheading Nazi Germany’s onslaught on the American film industry was German consul in Los Angeles Georg Gyssling an ardent Nazi from it’s early years. Gyssling bullied Hollywood by invoking German film industry ‘Article 15’ which stated any studio that bad mouthed the Nazis would be forever banned from the German public. Studios produced the Nazi-friendly version of ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and delayed sequel ‘The Road Back.’ ‘The Mad Dog of Europe’ anti-Nazi film proposal by Herman J. Mankiewicz screenwriter of film masterpiece ‘Citizen Kane’ was never written. Hollywood sanitized an anti-Nazi film written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, hired Nazis and disassociated themselves from Jewish families and colleagues; one extreme case being MGM Germany boss Frits Strengholt’s divorce of his Jewish wife during the furor. The poor woman was subsequently interned in a concentration camp. I could never find out her whereabouts after her imprisonment.
Nazi money succeeded in getting American films nip-tucked to suit Hitlerism. In German theaters film friends of Hitler tossed stink bombs into crowds, instigated street brawls, caused riots, and organized protests. They used roguish tactics to demonstrate their discontentment with Hollywood fare that didn’t suit their ideology in much the same manner as America’s leftists do today. There were other incidents perpetrated by both sides too numerous to cite.
Want a good laugh? Watch Walt Disney’s anti-Nazi cartoon ‘The Fuhrer’s Face.’ Considered a scream in the right direction, when I was a kid I saw it on ‘Spinner’ our old broken down black and white. To my knowledge the vintage Disney propaganda cartoon is banned from the Internet. I saw it only once as I remember along with some of the other anti-Axis cartoons popular during those early years after war’s end. I guess seeing Donald Duck decked out in Nazi brown goose stepping across the silver screen giving the Hitler salute was too much for Disney purists. You can still hear the original Spike Jones hit under ‘Der Fuhrer’s Face’ on You Tube.
There are several books/articles on the subject of Hollywood’s honeymoon with Hitler; ‘The Collaboration: Hollywood’s Pact with Hitler’ by Ben Urwand (Harvard University Press) hit the market six days ago at the time of this writing. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights mentioned in their on line newsletter the American film industry’s pact with Hitler as do the ‘Hollywood Reporter’ and writer Keith Wagstaff of ‘The Week.’ ‘The New Yorker’ magazine’s article ‘Hitler and Hollywood’ by David Benby is a must read.
Nazism fed on Germany’s centuries old pathological hatred and jealously of world Jewry. The Hiterites extended their hatred to other ‘undesirables’ or ‘untermenschen’ the Romani, physically and mentally challenged, Blacks, Gays, Christian clerics, pacifists, artists, intellectuals and others considered dangerous to the Third Reich. The American film industry was largely founded by Eastern European Jews. They immigrated to America ragged, penniless and didn’t speak a word of English. Though broke and marginalized those Jews were a unified and single minded bunch. Upon leaving Ellis Island they searched for ways to exert their collective muscle in their chosen country. They soon discovered the then fledging film industry to be just their nut. Concentrating their money and creativity into the cinematic arts in quick time they owned America’s film industry and acres of prime real estate that came with it. During the early years of Nazism most Jews didn’t sit quietly by when Hitler’s cohorts moved in on American film though many were motivated by money and pretended to ignore the Nazis. Once war started Hollywood did an abrupt about face and devoted its’ efforts to eradicating the menace they were once proud to serve.
Where was the Filipino film community during all this? Aforementioned in a previous article Filipinos like Blacks were marginalized in American film. African-Americans had no voice in Tinsel Town except for a pitiful few low budget Black owned studios located far from Hollywood money; they gave voice and recognition to Black talent. Members of west coast Fil-Am communities worked Tinsel Town. They held bit parts as maids, waiters, cabbies, cooks, and other subservient roles; at management level they were voiceless. However during the 1930’s the Filipino film industry back home was expanding. Now famous Filipinos mentioned primarily in history books were all the rage during their heyday. It took the Second World War with its flurry of combat films to present Fil-Am movie stars to mainstream America.
Money talks and BS takes the high road in film and every other industry. Have Hollywood changed since the war? Is the film industry still under cover of darkness? The Hollywood whore is in bed with China. American studio officials frequently solicit ‘advice’ on film acceptability from communist media ministers. Case in point: American film ‘Django Unchained’ was tossed from Chinese theaters this past April. Considering its’ ultra-violent content I don’t blame them. But having another country telling American studios what they can or cannot run is a different matter. Have you ever wondered if Arab oil trillions may be behind Hollywood’s on going ideological war against Christianity? In movies and related media Jews and Muslims are accorded respect and fear but Christians (particularly Catholics) are vilified.
Americans cross generationally are technologically advanced but historically illiterate. Except for certain TV channels that specialize in history programs, American’s collectively know next to nothing about historical events domestic and foreign. Their knowledge of history is gleaned from media sources; a lot of it inaccurate. The United States is a nation of anti-intellectuals, wannabe tough guys/gals, gunslingers and dern’ proud of it. Watching people clicking away on those hand held electronic toys with those little white wires dangling from their ears gives pause to wonder if the cycle of intellectual, theological and communicative ignorance is setting us up for another reign of error by some not so distant dictator? Will history repeat itself; time will tell. Next edition ‘American Samoa-South Pacific Paradise;’ keep safe and GOD bless.
(vamaxwell@yahoo.com)