840.4061 Motion Pictures/41: Telegram
The Chargé in Germany (Morris) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 31—12:15 a.m.]
4515. Department’s 2732, October 15, 7 p.m. The complaints of the American motion picture interests were taken up informally on October 25 with the competent official in the Propaganda Ministry. The official alleged that there was no ban against the American film industry but only against the individual American motion picture companies which produce “anti-Nazi” pictures which are defined in the pertinent German decree as films having “a tendency of effect injurious to German prestige”. He added that Universal Picture Company was being allowed to continue operations in the Netherlands. It was quite apparent from the conversations that his Ministry [Page 671] has no intention of allowing established American distributors for producers who are classified as making so-called anti-Nazi films to resume operations in any of the countries under German military occupation and it was intimated that the property attached and the prints seized by the German authorities would not be returned unless the interested American companies agreed to cease producing anti-German films and came to some arrangement whereby German films would be shown in the United States. The official stated that the Embassy would be given a written decision in the matter.
In the opinion of the Embassy political motives are prominent in this attitude, that is subtraction of American influence from the occupied countries, substitution of direct and indirect German film propaganda and the hardly concealed desire to exert censorship as regards reference to Germany over American motion picture production but there are decided business reasons as well. The Propaganda Ministry is increasingly subsiding [subsidizing?] German films and welcomes the opportunity offered by military occupation to stop American competition and establish the Reich’s film industry in Europe.
Since it is altogether likely that the Propaganda Ministry’s final decision will be both negative and delayed I am of the opinion that there should be promptly delivered a formal note of protest along the following lines:
The Embassy has the honor to bring to the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the fact that the showing of American films in countries under German military occupation has been discontinued reportedly under instructions from the German authorities while German films continue to be allowed to be shown; that in compliance with similar instructions the property of some of the distributing agencies has been attached and motion pictures prints belonging to American companies have been seized; that applications to local officials for the release of such property and for permission to continue showing of the films have been met with the answer that such action was taken in accordance with instructions of the central film authorities in Berlin.
The Embassy is persuaded that the situation above set forth can quickly be confirmed by the Ministry and that the Ministry will appreciate the serious prejudice to trade resulting from any arbitrary discontinuance in countries at present under German occupation of a legitimate American business built up after years of work and investment of capital especially in view of the continuance by German companies of a similar business in those areas and is confident that the Ministry will promptly cause to be issued the necessary permits for American film distributing agencies in the occupied areas to resume their operations and cause to have released to them their property which has been attached as well as to have returned to them the motion picture films which have been seized.