Hollywood and American Jews in World War II

It has long been known that Hollywood was actively involved in shaping US public opinion during World War II. What is less well known, is how the so-called ‘Jewish question’ was navigated during this period. In both the lead-up to war and after its outbreak, it was impolitic for American Jews to be conspicuous in filmmaking. 

President Roosevelt’s opponents incessantly accused him of being too cozy with Hollywood and Jews. They charged that Jews pushed America into the war against Hitler as a special cause. Yet FDR knew that to inform, entertain, and keep the nation on board, he needed to be in sync with Hollywood and its people.  

In this talk, Michael Berkowitz will reveal the elusive story of Jewish Hollywood’s role in World War II. He will explore the work of Jewish writers, directors and others, including Leo Rosten, George Coker and Stanley Kramer, the movies they created and why. In doing so, he will also consider the question of antisemitism in moviemaking in the United States during the war against Nazism. 

Michael Berkowitz, a native of Rochester, New York, is Professor of modern Jewish history at UCL.  He is author, most recently, of Hollywood’s Unofficial Film Corps: American Jewish Moviemakers and the War Effort (University of Wisconsin Press, 2025).  His next book, Revolutions in Color, is in preparation and under contract with Princeton University Press.  He has had residential fellowships in the last few years at the Linda Hall Library (Kansas City) and the Science History Institute (Philadelphia). Previously he was a fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, New York University’s Remarque Institute, and Yad Vashem. 

Image: Cartoon by Rachel Berkowitz