Ben Urwand
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"That's really f*ckin' interesting." - Quentin Tarantino
"Full of startling and surprising revelations, presented in exemplary fashion, without any moralizing or sensationalism." - Sir Richard Evans
"A tremendous piece of work, fully sustained, building momentum charged by thrillingly detailed storytelling, increasing suspense, and a consistent movement from outrages to atrocities, with a stunning conclusion of heroism and tragedy – and it is as well a devastating RIP to what we've been told, all down these years, about 'the genius of the system.'" - Greil Marcus
"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
"Urwand keeps the jaw-dropping revelations coming in this damning indictment of the complicity of the major Hollywood studios--and their mostly Jewish heads--in the Nazis' campaign to exterminate Europe's Jews...Urwand deserves immense credit for this groundbreaking--and truly unique--take on the WWII era." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Offers a keen, unsettling look at the unholy alliance Hollywood made with the Nazis, which allowed both to keep packing movie theaters in Germany up until the outbreak of war...There was pressure on the studios to censor defense of Jews in certain films and suppress films that portrayed Nazis in an unflattering light (The Mad Dog of Europe). The result of this complicated and slippery relationship, as Urwand depicts with subtlety, was the absolute disappearance from film of Nazis and Jews until the end of the decade." - Kirkus Reviews
"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
"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." - Anthony Quinn, The Guardian
"Unearthing multiple archives on two continents, Urwand chronicles the birth and growth of the major film studios' craven accommodation toward Nazi Germany throughout the 1930s." - Melvin Jules Bukiet, Washington Post
"These and other revelations in Ben Urwand's controversial exposé, "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." - Julia M. Klein, Boston Globe
"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
"Urwand is also to be commended for retaining a sense of the bigger picture, especially in detailing the sustained and callous disregard for the plight of Jewish citizens across Europe, even when the system of collaboration started to fall apart from 1939. 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, Herald Scotland