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Movie studios and the U.S. Government agencies were involved in propaganda during World War II. The studios were involved before Amerixa entered the War. The Government mostly after America entered the War. Quite a few Hollywood films addressed World War II. The most interesting period was before America entered the War aftervthe Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (December 1941). Before that there were no Government censorship or directiveds on content. Even so the films made were strongly critical of the NAZIs and Japanese militarists. The most interesting fact is that during this period, there were no films made which endorsed the strong isolatiionist sentiment that was widely held by Americans. It is also interesting to note how Hollywood ignored the Soviet aggressions. After Pearl Harbor, of course, Hollywood enthusiastically signed up for the war effort. There were also a number of related films made after the War.
Propaganda is information or disinformation purposefully dessiminated carefully selected informarion to affect public opinion concerning a cause, people, country, or relgious faith. Prapaganda may inform, but that is not the primary purpose. Essentially propaganda seeks to convince and control. In many cases informing the public will not convince them of your point of view. Thus to be effective, propaganda has to be selective. It is a term which first appeared in the Catholic Church. Pope Gregory XV created a committe of cardinals to propagate the faith (1622). It is most widely associated with totalitarian countries like NAZI Germany and Soviet Russia because these governments were most involved in manipulating public opinion. Unlike democratic countrues, there were no alternative sources of information. Propagand is not always false. In fact the most effective propaganda selectively uses and manipulates actual facts. he destinguishing feature of propaganda is it tries to influence actions and thoughts by presenting only one side of an issue. Propagand is not intrinisically always evil. Modern commercial advertising is a form of propaganda. Charily appeals are a form of propaganda. But propaganda can be used to do great evil in totalitarian socities, including theocracies, where people do not have access to a range of information sources.
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 dominted the American fil industry, but also many foreign film 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 and had decidedly international outlooks.
The FBI reports, "The Hollywood Anti Nazi League was founded in 1937, in an effort to unite Jewish people and others in the Hollywood movie colony into organizing to combat Naziism on a local scale. In 1939, the Hollywood Anti Nazi League changed its name to Hollywood League for Democratic Action. They printed a newsletter under the name of "Hollywood Now" which was discontinued in 1940. The organization was financed by membership dues, contributions, motion picture producers, and prominent stage and screen stars. By 1942, this organization was no longer in existence."
Many Americans during the 1920s came to feel that America's entry into the War was a mistake. After the rise of the NAZIs in the 1930s and Germany's rearmament, it became increasingly clear that Europe was moving toward another war. There was considerable talk of war profiteering. Many were detrmined that America should avoid war at any cost. This feeling was intensified with the Depression of the 1930s and the country's focus was on domestic issues. The anti-war sentiment in America and the memories of the men lost convinced many Americans that America must not get involved in any future European war. These sentiments combined with long-standing American isolationism resulted in the passage of a sries of Neutrality Acts. These Acts prohibited for United States companies to trade with belligerents. As a result, while the Fascist powers aided Franco's Falange in Spain, the Spanis Republic could not even buy arms in America. The show of German arms in Spain, especially Luftwaffe bombings of Spanish citties terrified many. With the growing military might of a rearmed Germany, war talk in Europe began. This fueled rge desire of many Americans to remain neutral. Isolationist leaders opposed any involvement in a European war and clashed with President Roosevelt who increasingly saw the need to confront the NAZIs and Japanese militarists. Some like Charles Lindburg, thought that America could not win a war against Germany's vaunted Luftwaffe. Many not only opposed American envolvement, but even military preparadness and military expenditures were strongly oppossed in the Congress.
Hittler and the NAZIs seized power in Germany in 1933. Mussolini had seized power in Itlaly about a decade earlier, but it is with the NAZI seizure of poower that the Fascist peril can be dated. The Japanese agressions in China began a few years earlier with the invasion of Manchuria (1931). I'm not sure at this time just how Hollywood dealt with the German and Japanese threat before the outbreak of War in Europe (September 1939). As best we can determine, there wasrelatively little reaction from Hollywood to totalitarianism, includng the Soviets, Italian Fascists, NAZiS, and Japanese miitarists.
It is interesting to note that stridently anti-NAZI films, with few exceptins, only began after Hitler had lunched the War. There were no films addressing what the MAZIs were doing for several years in Germant itself (control of the press, book burnings, boycott of Jewish buiness, Nuremberg race laws, pollitical murders, concentration camps, Kristalnacht, ect. We begin seeing a few films with internationist overtones and depicting European Fascists as villians only as Europe moved toward war. United Artists released "Blockade" (1938). This was a overtly pro-Loyalist film about the Spanish Civil War. It starred Henry Fonda. Warner Brothers released "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" (1939). The premise of the film was that NAZI Germany sought to conquer the world. It targeted the German-American Bund as agents of the NAZI Government attempting to undermine American democracy. (Another film was "Beasts of Berlin" (1939). (A World War I film, "The Kaiser, Beast of Berlin" (1917) caused anti-German riots in American cities.) It is not entirely clear why Hollywood was so reluctant to take on the NAZIs and othr totalitarians. Left-wing sentiment in Hollywood may have been a factor in cruitism of the Soviet Union. The income from European releases may have been a factor explaing the reluctance to confrint te NAZIs. nother factor may have been the South. Until Kristalncht (November 1938), NAZI policies toward the Jews werenot unlike policies toward Afro-Americans in the South. The Conservative Catholic Church my have been anotgher factor. This is a subject that has not been well addressed.
Catholic organizations were apauled at "Blockade". They saw the pro-Loyalist film as Communist propaganda. (The Republic by 1938 proably was dominated by the Communists. They noted Republican atrocities against priests and nuns. (Franco's attrocities against civilians and workers did not seem to bother Catholic spokesmen as much.) The Church also opposed efforts to help Spnish refugee children.
I think this reponse was basically from the U.S. Church heirarchy and not from the Vatican. The Fascists in Italy did not attack the Church. The NAZIs signed a Concordot with the Vatican whic protected the Church to a degree, including schools and youth groups (1933). By 1938 the NAZIs felt secure enought move against Catholics and large numbers of German and foreign priests would die in NAZI concentration camps. This was not yet apparent to Catholic churchmen in America, many who saw Jews a greater threat ghan NAZIs. And of course Franco was a frvnt supporter of the Church. Joseph Breen, a conservative Catholic journalist, led the Catholic criticism of Hollywood. He headed the Production Code Administration and accused Hollywood , especilly, the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League of trying to "capture the screen of the United States for Communistic propaganda purposes." He inisted that the League was "conducted and financed almost entirely by Jews." [Koppes and Black] Leading figures in the Isolationist movement, especially Charles Lindberg, picked up on this charge that the Jews were at the root of the problem.
The Warner Brother film about the German American Bund, "Confessions of a Nazi Spy, was not precisely accurate. Certain Bund head Friyz Kuhn desired nothing more than to condust SA-type operations to undermine the U.S. Government. It was not, however, what Hitler wanted. He did not want the Bund stirring up American opinion. He was quite happy with the prevailing isolationism. Kuhn was so incensed with the Warner Brothers film that he sued the studio for $5 million. Kuhn was, however, indicted and convicted for stealing Bund funds and the Warner Brothers suit was dropped. The Bund continued, however, to support Kuhn. [Peel]
Japan's invasion of Mamchuria did not result in hostilities with China. China simply did not have the forces needed to oppose the Japanese. Japan invaded China proper in 1937 which did result in open hostilities. Although China could not match the Japanese, they had no choice, but to resist. The result was the fall of major Chinese cities to Japan. This culminated in the seizure of the Chinese capital, Namking. The Japanes "Rape of Nanking" srands as one of the great attrocities of World war II, although the beginning of the Japanese-Chinese war occurred before the advenbt oif war in Europe. I recall several films dealing with China and Japan, but detaild do not come to mind at this time.
NAZI Germany initiated World War II with the invasion of Poland (September 1939). This is an interesting period in Hollywood because it was before America entered the War aftervthe Japanese attack on Pear Harbor. (December 1941). Before that there were no Government censorship or directiveds on content. Even so the films made were strongly critical of the NAZIs and Japanese militarists. One of the most prominant was
Charlie Chaplin's classic burlesque of Hitler and Mussolini, "The Great Dictator". German refuge Fritz Lang directed "Man Hunt". Other films included "The Mortal Storm", "A Yank in the RAF", "Sergeant York" (a World War I film), and "I Married a Nazi". These films were certainly propaganda films, although not government-sponsored films. Rather they were studio films. The most interesting fact is that during this period, there were no films made which endorsed the strong isolatiionist sentiment that was widely held by Americans. Support for resisting the NAZIs grew as the War progressed, but at the time of Pearl Harbor, most Americans still were opposed to entering the War. It is difficult to know just what impact the films had on public opinion. Certainly the newspapers, newsreels, and radio news spoke eloquently enough.
In addition to Hollywood films made after ther srart of the War iun Europe, British films were also ewidely circulated in America. The best know is probably "Mrs. Minerva" (England, 1942). Another film was "The Pied Piper (England (1942).
It is interesting to note how Hollywood ignored the Soviet aggressions. The beginnings of World War II almost always focus on the NAZI invasion and attrocities. In fact there were two counties that invaded Poland in 1939. Two weeks after the NAZI invasion, the Soviets invaded from the east. Not only did the Soviets invade Poland, but Soviet attriocities in Poland werre also unimanginable. The NAZI invasion was in fact made possible by the NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 1939). This made Hitler and Stalin essentially allies. The Soviets proceeded withj actions against Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Romania. The strartling fact is that Hollywold compleletly ignored the fact that Stlalin allied himself with Hitler and that the Soviets invaded not only Poland, but other neigboring countries. I am not sure why this was. Of course the Allies (Btitain and France) also ignored the Soviet aggressions. The silence from Hollywood does very strongly suggest a left-wing bias. Of course once the NAZIs invaded the Soviet Union (June 1941), Hollywood's attitude is more understandable. But the abject silence during the first phase of the War seems a clear example of bias.
The Isolationists of course noted Hoolywood's internationalist interventionis leanings. Isolationist Senator Senator Gerald P. Nye (Republican, North Dakota) launched a Senate investigation (September 1941). He used a subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate Commerce. The hearing was on "war propaganda disseminated by the motion picture industry and of any monopoly in the production, distribution, or exhibition of motion pictures." The chief counsel for Hollywood was none other than Wendell Willkie, the 1940 Republican presidential nominee. Wilkie was a committed internationalist and had helped FDR get Lend Lease through Congress. The isolationists were late in their move against Hollywood. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 1941) put an end to the hearings. It also put an end to the political careers of most isolationists.
After Pearl Harbor, of course, Hollywood enthusiastically signed up for the war effort. There were also a number of related films made after the War.
The development of taling pictures more or less coincided with the rise of the NAZIs (1933). Hollywood by the late 1930s had begun to address the issues of totalitarianism and aggression. It did not address anti-Semitism ir racism directly, but more of the suppression of discent and free expression. Hollywood targets were selective, primarily the NAZIs and to a lesser extent the Japanese militarists. Unaddressed were Soviet Communists and Italian Fascists. We note quite a few films made by Hollywood before and during World War II. There were also a number of related films made after the War. We are especially concerned for HBC with the films made that had children involved.
The most interesting aspect of this film is the political context. At the end Hollywood makes an appeal to America. The American foreign correspondent is making a broadcast with the Luftwaffe makes another raid on London. When the lights go out in the studio he describes the lights going out all over the world, only in America were the lights on. The correspondent urges American to build more guns, tanks, planes, and battleships. Sounds hokey today, but it wasn't at the time. Actually look back on it, it is rather startling that a foreigner would be allowed to make such a strong plea for America to enter the War. Esprecially because President Roosevelt at the time was assuring Americans that we would not go to war unless attacked. Hitchcock's message while perhaps stronger than other films, was not essebtially different than other Hollywood films made during 1939-41 befofe America entered the War. The quite amazing fact is even though isolationiost sentiment was very strong in America, I don't know of one Hollywood movie made during this period that had an isolationist message.
This film is also known as "The Man I Married". It is based on a short story by Oscar Schisgall. The film mixed in period 1938 newsreel footage into the film. This was the year the NAZIS annexed Austrua and forced the British and French to abandon Czechoslovakia at Munich. Carol Hoffman (Joan Bennett) is an American woman married to Eric Hohhman (Francis Lederer), an American of German ancestry. They married in America and Carol does not learn the truth about her husband unytil the family travels to Germany to visit with Eric's family. She is horrified about what she sees in Germany. Her husband is mesmerized and emerges as a devoted NAZI. She tries to get their son Ricky (Johnny Russell) back home to America. The film was made after the NAZIs had conquered much of Europe, but before America had entered the War. Darryl Zanuck at 20th Century-Fox decided to shoot a series of movies to inform Americans as to what was happening in Europe. The film includes the stock characters such as storm troopers, Gestapo, Hitler Youth boys.
Columia produced "The Boy from Stalingrad". Scotty Beckett did his part in World War II with this film set in Stalingrad during the height of the NAZI onslaught against Russia. Presumably Scotty was the boy in the title. He would have been about 14 years old when the film was made. Another boy in the film was Steven Muller, a German Jewish boy whose family managed to get out of Germany only days before World war II broke out. One source tells us that the movie was never released. All known copies were apparently destroyed during the Cold War when it was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee
Watch on the Rhine" (1943), is an an important film based on Lillian Hellman's famous play of the same name. It is one of a series of films made before and during World War II. It painted an evil picture of the NAZIs, but Americans viewing the film had no idea how understated was the evil of the NAZIs. The film was was based upon Lillian Hellman's 1941 play concerning American complacency about what was happening in NAZI Germany in the yers before Pearl Harbor and the American entrance into World War II had fully awakened America to the grim realities of European politics. The film was directed by Herman Shumlin and starred Paul Lukas (who won an Academy Award for his performance) and Bette Davis. Lucile Watson plays a wealthy, acid-tongued matriarch of the internationally oriented upper-class society of Washington, D.C. in 1940.
This film dealt with pre-War NAZI atrocities. It touched upon the NAZI sterilization program, but emphasized political rather than racial motivations. Bobby Blake has a small part, but I do not remember it. There is a scene early in the film, after Spencer Tracy has escaped from a concentration camp, that he steals a boy's jacket in order to disguise himself. The boys return from playing their football match and make the discovery. All are wearing shorts and knee socks, I believe, and one boy, the owner of the jacket gives a police officer a very detailed description of the stolen
jacket. Not long after this scene, as Spencer makes his way toward into a town, he sees the police in pursuit of a suspect. This arouses the attention of quite of the townsmen, including several Hitler Youth who are in full uniform.
An orphaned Hitler Youth comes to America to live with his mother's brother. The arrogance and contempt inculcated in him by the NAZIs strains his relationship with his new family and schoolmates. The family warmly tries to include the boy in their lives. They face, however, years of NAZI indoctrination by the Hitler Youth. Their efforts at rehabilitation are futile until an act un vilonce by the boy causes a belated change of heart. This World War II drama dealt with Hitler's seduction of German Youth. Few who saw it realized that it only scratched the suface of the Third Reich and how terribly successful the NAZIs were in deluding an entire generation of young people. It was Skippy Homeier's film debut. He had performed this role in live theater the year before. The film and play deal with a Hitler Youth boy who can not accept his father's oppostion to his beloved Führer and the NAZIs. He has one scene in both play and film in an Hitler Youth uniform.
One has to ask a series of questions about Allied movies and propagand. Here we also have to take into account that these films were made both before and after the War began. First are these films propaganda films. I think the answer is clearly that they are. The films clearly portray the NAZIs and Japanese in a bad light. The amazing thing is that after viewing these films I do notice any basic falsehood in the pre-War films. I'm quite willing to add here any falsehoods reades may have noted. After the War began, the films certainly provided a sanitized view of the War. The Axis soldiers were portrayed as monsters. This was untrue, but it was true that many were guilty of terrible attrocities. The only major historical inaccuaracy I have noted in the War-era films concerns the strategic bombing campaign. The films do nit mention the segree to which the target became German cities and civilans. Of course after the War began the Government assumed an important role supervising Hollywood, but this was not really necessary as even before America entered the War, Hollywood was enthusiastically aboard. Thus both movie studios and the U.S. Government were involved in propaganda during the War.
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.
Peel, Peter. "The Great Brown Scare, Journal of Historical Review Vol. VII, no.4, (Winter 1986-87).
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