Final crossings: Carl Laemmle between Laupheim and Los Angeles. Issue 1 (3rd May 2016) - Stanca-Mustea, Cristina
Abstract: This article examines the life and career of film mogul Carl Laemmle, creator and director of Universal Films, focusing on the period between the beginning of the twentieth century and the 1930s. Laemmle, originally from Laupheim, Germany, maintained close personal and commercial connections with Germany (and specifically his home town) throughout his life and supported a great many German and German Jewish causes. These close transatlantic connections were strained by the First World War, when Laemmle produced films which vilified Germany, and later by his anti-war film, All Quiet on the Western Front, which became a rallying point for Nazi activists. Witnessing Jewish life under the Nazis in his annual visits to Germany, Laemmle became a tireless advocate for the German Jewish community, especially after Kristallnacht (1938) when he sponsored hundreds of Jews attempting to flee. The essay concludes with a discussion of the recent controversy surrounding Hollywood studio bosses' alleged collaboration with Hitler.