Hollywood's War with Poland, 1939-1945

by M.B.B. Biskupski

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Poland, Film, History

290 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Professor Mieczysław B. Biskupski is a Polish-American historian and political scientist, with focus on Central European (particularly Polish) history and international relations.

He has held professorship appointments at St. John Fisher College, the University of Rochester, and the University of Warsaw. In 1997 he was a Fellow of the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. Since 2002 he is the Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish-American Studies at Central Connecticut State University. He received his Ph.D. in 1981 from Yale University.

Biskupski's academic and national awards include listing on the Honor Roll of Polish Learning by the Polish Ministry of Education (2001), and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2000). In 2004 he received the Mieczysław Haiman Award from the Polish American Historical Association. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America; and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America, and as president of the Polish American Historical Association.

He is the author of several books and numerous articles.

Reviews

[Wanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise. He does make his point and it is indisputable that Poles, who were much more heroic in their resistance than the French during WW II, are completely ignored by Hollywood. The few times that they appear in films, they appear in an unflattering light. One only has to look at the fact that Alan Furst's bestselling books (e.g. Spies of Warsaw) were never made into films. All of Dr. Biskupski's contentions are true and are accurately referenced. The work is very well written. However, I found the book itself to be repetitive. He pounds us with his premise.
This might be a good reference for historians but not a good read for the general public.

[Michael Grzesiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.5