Hollywood History Repeats Itself

Imagine, for a moment, it's 1939.

A prominent Jewish actor makes the following statement: "Let me tell you something about Germany, because I've been there and you haven't. Germany is a great country. A great country. Does it have its haters? You bet. Just like the United States has its haters. Does it have a corrupt regime? You bet. Just like the United States has a corrupt regime."

What would you think of such a person? How would history judge him?

I don't know that anyone made exactly that statement in 1939. But I do know that Sean Penn made a very similar statement a few days ago. The only difference was the name of the country. Instead of Germany, substitute Iran.

Is there really any moral difference between the statements?

Iran is led today by a president who has repeatedly threatened to eradicate the state of Israel. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is building weapons that can get the job done quicker and more efficiently than Adolph Hitler with his formidable war machine. He is every bit the Jew hater that Hitler was. And he hates America even more.

In 1939, Hitler had made clear his intentions for the Jews. He had made clear his intentions for all of Europe. He had made clear his intentions for Nazi Germany to dominate the world.

Nevertheless, there were some people in Hollywood who were making statements like that. There were people in Hollywood who were marching against war with Germany. There were people in Hollywood who, like Penn, wanted to appease this evil on the horizon.

No, there was no active Nazi Party in the United States or Hollywood. But there was a party under the active control of a foreign totalitarian dictator. It was the Communist Party USA and the foreign tyrant was Josef Stalin.

Why were communists in Hollywood — even Jews — saying nice things about Hitler in 1939 — and even as late as 1941? They were doing so because of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, also known as the Hitler-Stalin Pact.

It was signed in 1939 and broken June 22, 1941, when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union.

From 1939 right up until June 22, 1941, the communists in Hollywood had nothing but praise for Hitler.

They held rallies against aiding Britain in its life-and-death struggle with Nazism. They gave speeches saying Hitler was no threat. They wrote anti-war scripts.

All that changed June 22, 1941. One day the Hollywood communists were pro-Hitler. The next day they wanted to go to war. Why? Because they took their orders directly from masters in the Soviet Union.

Would it surprise you to learn that one of those prominent Hollywood communist Jews who sided with Germany until the breaking of that Hitler-Stalin Pact was none other than Leo Penn, the late father of Sean Penn?

Amazing? Yes, but true.

You don't believe history repeats itself?

Now it's Penn's turn to relive and recommit the sins of his father, who never repented his Communist Party activities — activities that included support for and appeasement of Hitler's Germany at the very time the concentration camps were incinerating his Jewish brothers and sisters in Europe.

When Penn spoke recently at a town hall meeting in Oakland, Calif., what he said about his country was shameful. What he said about our country's enemies — and the enemies of freedom throughout the entire world — was even more despicable.

What can you say about a man who embraces and defends Iran, the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world today? What can one say about a man who embraces dictators around the world while openly loathing the elected leaders of his own nation? What can one say about such a prominent self-hating Jew?

I think I've said enough.

It's just history repeating itself.

To find out more about Joseph Farah, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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