Celluloid Soldiers: The Warner Bros. Campaign Against Nazism

This is a study of the efforts of the Warner Bros film studio to promote anti-Nazi activity before the outbreak of World War II. During the 1930s many Americans believed the possibility of war erupting in Europe to be of little significance to their interests, but Warner Bros embarked on what was virtually a crusade to alert the nation to the growing menace of Nazism. Polish-Jewish immigrants Harry and Jack Warner risked both reputation and fortune to inform the American public of the insidious threat that Hitler’s regime posed throughout the world. Through a score of films produced during the 1930s and early-1940s, including the pivotal Sergeant York , their studio marshalled its forces to influence the American conscience and push towards intervention in World War II.