Hollywood vs. Nazis: How the Movie Studios Took On Nazis Infiltrating Los Angeles

World War II began at Hollywood and Vine.

From the moment Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, there was no American city he wanted to rule more than Los Angeles. Control the moviemaking capital of the world and Hitler could control the message that came out of it: As clear as black and white, America and all of Europe would see him as a hero and Jews as the villains. That the industry was run by Jewish men—Adolph Zukor, Sam Goldwyn, David O. Selznick, and the Warner brothers, among them—would make his victory all the sweeter.

Recognizing the threat, the movie moguls pooled their resources and financed a clandestine operation to subvert the sabotage. Their teams of undercover spies would infiltrate the German-American pro-Hitler organizations already gestating in Southern California and take out the vile Nazi agents of chaos one by one—by any means necessary. This mission to protect the American way would span a decade.

Unfolding like a real-life World War II espionage thriller, and as explosive as nitrate, Hollywood vs. Nazis is one the most fascinating chapters in heroic American history—and true movie lore—ever told.