Description
Book Synopsis Until recently, it was assumed that the Nazis agitated against Chaplin from 1931 to 1933, and then again from 1938, when his plan to make The Great Dictator became public. This book demonstrates that Nazi agitation against Chaplin was in fact a constant from 1926 through the Third Reich. When The Gold Rush was released in the Weimar Republic in 1926, the Nazis began to fight Chaplin, whom they alleged to be Jewish, and attempted to expose him as an intellectual property thief whose fame had faded. In early 1935, the film The Gold Rush was explicitly banned from German theaters.
In 1936, the NSDAP Main Archives opened its own file on Chaplin, and the same year, he became entangled in the machinery of Nazi press control. German diplomats were active on a variety of international levels to create a mood against The Great Dictator. The Nazis'' dehumanizing attacks continued until 1944, when an opportunity to capitalize on the Joan Barry scandal ar
Trade Review
“An unusually important book.” - Kevin Brownlow, film historian, author of The Parade's Gone By, The Search for Charlie Chaplin as well as co-creator of the documentaries Unknown Chaplin and The Tramp and the Dictator
“Extremely well-researched and a perceptive interpretation of the complex series of events and agendas.” - Glenn Mitchell, journalist, film historian, author of The Chaplin Encyclopedia
“Amazingly comprehensive research which has unearthed fascinating material.” - Dan Kamin, mime expert and one-man show performer, author of The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion
“A masterpiece.” - Lisa Stein Haven, professor of English, Ohio University, author of Charlie Chaplin: A Comedian Sees the World and Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp in America, 1947-1977
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword by Kevin Brownlow
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1. Charlie Chaplin--a Jew?
- 2. Chaplin Targeted: Shoulder Arms and The Gold Rush, 1921–26
- 3. Who Needs Facts? Divorce, Shoulder Arms and Creativity--1927–31
- 4. Chaplin in Berlin, City Lights--1931
- 5. Nazi Disruptions of City Lights?--1931–32
- 6. Südfilm AG and City Lights, 1931–32
- 7. A Year of Change, 1933
- 8. Modern Times Nazi Style, 1934–36
- 9. "Jew" Chaplin "Steals Intellectual Property," 1937
- 10. The Run-up to The Great Dictator, 1938–39
- 11. Preparations, 1939–40
- 12. The Great Dictator Takes to the Stage--1940–41
- 13. Bogeymen and The Great Dictator in Germany, 1941–45
- 14. The Gold Rush and Agitation to the Bitter End, 1942–44
- Appendix 1: The 25-Point Program of the NSDAP, February 24, 1920
- Appendix 2: Three Articles
- Appendix 3: NSDAP Main Archive (Hauptarchiv der NSDAP): Chaplin File
- Appendix 4: Nazi Authors and Other Authors Who Wrote About Chaplin During the Third Reich
- Appendix 5: Nazi Chaplin Slurs
- Appendix 6: Reichsfilmarchiv Catalogue Card No. 15,242: The Great Dictator
- Appendix 7: Signage in the Ghetto of The Great Dictator
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
