Book description
During World War II, Hollywood studios supported the war effort by
making patriotic movies designed to raise the nation's morale. They
often portrayed the combatants in very simple terms: Americans and their
allies were heroes, and everyone else was a villain. Norway, France,
Czechoslovakia, and England were all good because they had been invaded
or victimized by Nazi Germany. Poland, however, was represented in a
negative light in numerous movies. In Hollywood's War with Poland,
1939-1945, M. B. B. Biskupski draws on a close study of prewar and
wartime films such as To Be or Not to Be (1942), In Our Time (1944), and
None Shall Escape (1944). He researched memoirs, letters, diaries, and
memoranda written by screenwriters, directors, studio heads, and actors
to explore the negative portrayal of Poland during World War II.
Biskupski also examines the political climate that influenced Hollywood
films. M. B. B. Biskupski, Stanislaus A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in
Polish History at Central Connecticut State University, is the author of
many publications, including The Polish Diaspora, Heart of the Nation.
