Carl Laemmle, the German who invented Hollywood

Carl Laemmle (front row, with the dark suit and a cane) started a film company in New York in 1910. But he became famous with the legendary Universal Studios he set up on the West Coast in Los Angeles two years later.

Laemmle quickly became one of the most powerful men in the still young Hollywood studio system. The German immigrant easily understood the Americans' peculiarities and the country's history.

Laemmle was not only a very hard-working producer, he also loved to be in the spotlight at parties - preferably accompanied by female film stars like Norma Shearer (pictured). He was good at spotting the best talents and turning those actors and actresses into stars. He also kept developing new marketing strategies to make his films even more successful.

The producer kept returning to Germany, until the Nazis declared him an undesirable person in the country. Laemmle is shown here (second from left) next to his daughter in Berlin in 1929.

As the producer of the anti-war film "All Quiet on the Western Front," Laemmle won an Oscar in 1930. The director, Lewis Milestone, also received an Oscar for this film adapted from the novel written by Erich Maria Remarque.

In the US, "All Quiet on the Western Front" was a box office hit. In Germany, viewings of the anti-war epic were disrupted by the Nazis before it was banned completely. It was perceived as dishonoring the memory of German soldiers who had fought during World War I. Laemmle and director Lewis Milestone were Jews, which added to the offense.

The German film producer was most successful with his horror movies. Many of the cult actors of the genre had their debut with Universal Studios, such as Bela Lugosi as Dracula (left) and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein.

Carl Laemmle, who had left Germany long before both of the world wars, was still committed to helping his countrymen. When the Nazis took power, Laemmle allowed a few hundred Jews flee to the US by paying their immigration fees, thus saving them from the Holocaust.

Commemorating the nearly forgotten film pioneer, who was born 150 years ago on January 17, 1867, the exhibition "Carl Laemmle presents - A Swabian Jew invents Hollywood" can be seen at the Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart through July 30. The show offers a captivating look back at the early days of Hollywood as well as the destiny of a German Jew taking action against the Nazis.