Ben Urwand

Ben Urwand

Ben Urwand smiling outdoors in front of fall foliage

Author. Scholar. College Essay Coach.

I’ve always been drawn to uncovering hidden truths. As a historian, I spent years in archives piecing together the surprising relationship between Hollywood and Nazi Germany in the 1930s. That research became the basis for my book, The Collaboration: Hollywood’s Pact with Hitler (Harvard University Press), which received national and international media attention and challenged long-held assumptions about Hollywood’s “golden age.”

I’m equally passionate about teaching. While completing my PhD at UC Berkeley, I taught hundreds of students and supervised 30 seniors on their honors theses. I was later elected to the Harvard Society of Fellows, one of the most selective honors available to early-career scholars across all disciplines. Since 2015, I’ve focused on helping college applicants uncover their own stories and learn who they are through the process of writing their essays.

I offer personalized coaching that’s thoughtful, efficient, and grounded in years of experience. Learn more about how I work with students. In 2023, I created Real College Essays, a college essay company that pairs students with highly qualified tutors — all of us are published authors with PhDs. The site also serves as a growing resource hub for students and families navigating the college application process.

I write about film, history, politics — and, these days, also about the college essay. You can learn more about my book and the story behind it on the My Book page.

Whether you’re a parent, student, educator, or reader — I’m glad you’re here.

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Praise for The Collaboration

“That's really f*ckin' interesting.”
- Quentin Tarantino
“Full of startling and surprising revelations, presented in exemplary fashion, without any moralizing or sensationalism.”
- Sir Richard Evans
“A tremendous piece of work, fully sustained, building momentum charged by thrillingly detailed storytelling, increasing suspense, and a consistent movement from outrages to atrocities, with a stunning conclusion of heroism and tragedy – and it is as well a devastating RIP to what we’ve been told, all down these years, about ‘the genius of the system."
- Greil Marcus
“Urwand draws on a wealth of previously uncited documents to argue that Hollywood studios, in an effort to protect the German market for their movies, not only acquiesced to Nazi censorship but also actively and enthusiastically cooperated with that regime's global propaganda effort.”
- Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times
“Urwand keeps the jaw-dropping revelations coming in this damning indictment of the complicity of the major Hollywood studios--and their mostly Jewish heads--in the Nazis' campaign to exterminate Europe's Jews...Urwand deserves immense credit for this groundbreaking--and truly unique--take on the WWII era.”
- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Offers a keen, unsettling look at the unholy alliance Hollywood made with the Nazis, which allowed both to keep packing movie theaters in Germany up until the outbreak of war... The result of this complicated and slippery relationship, as Urwand depicts with subtlety, was the absolute disappearance from film of Nazis and Jews until the end of the decade.”
- Kirkus Reviews
“Urwand is tearing down the popular impression that the 1930s Hollywood community stood united in efforts to combat the Nazi regime. Quite the contrary, says Urwand, whose research reveals a shocking level of collaboration (or Zusammenarbeit, i.e. 'working together') between the German government and Tinseltown's studios... not only to film versions created for the German market, but for the U.S. and countries around the world.”
- Lesley M. M. Blume, Vanity Fair
“The Collaboration unfolds a story that rather knocks the shine off the golden age of cinema... Urwand has done some energetic digging in the archives, quoting letters, memos and newspaper reports to uncover a shameful policy of compromise and kowtowing on the part of the studio bosses.”
- Anthony Quinn, The Guardian
“Unearthing multiple archives on two continents, Urwand chronicles the birth and growth of the major film studios’ craven accommodation toward Nazi Germany throughout the 1930s.”
- Melvin Jules Bukiet, Washington Post
“These and other revelations in Ben Urwand’s controversial exposé, ‘The Collaboration,’ are nothing short of astonishing, going well beyond what was known about Hollywood’s timidity during that era. With damning archival evidence, Urwand argues that the studios, motivated by profits, were reluctant to abandon the German market, where American films were popular and Hitler himself was a fan.”
- Julia M. Klein, Boston Globe
“Urwand...presents explosive new evidence about the shocking extent of the partnership between the Nazis and major Hollywood producers...[A] riveting book...As you turn its pages you realize with dismay that collaboration is the only fitting word for the relationship between Hitler and Hollywood in the 1930s.”
- David Mikics, Tablet Magazine
“Urwand is also to be commended for retaining a sense of the bigger picture, especially in detailing the sustained and callous disregard for the plight of Jewish citizens across Europe, even when the system of collaboration started to fall apart from 1939. This is a book that challenges every rose-tinted view of Hollywood's Golden Age. It sheds a piercing light on dark deeds and is an invaluable work of political history that has all the page-turning urgency of a thriller.”
- Allan Hunter, Herald Scotland

More Resources on College Essays

Want to dive deeper into my approach? Below are some of the most-read articles I’ve written on what makes a great college essay — and how to avoid the common traps.

How to Write a College Essay That’s Actually Good

My approach to coaching isn’t gimmicky — it’s thoughtful, honest, and built around helping you sound like yourself (at your best).

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What Colleges Want in a College Essay (And What They Don’t)

A no-nonsense guide to what admissions officers actually value — and why generic advice about “what colleges want” often backfires.

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College Essay Dos and Don’ts for High-Achieving Students

Even top students fall into predictable traps. This guide offers five common mistakes and how to avoid them.

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Do You Need Help With Your College Essay? Here’s How to Decide

Not sure if you need coaching? This article helps you figure out what kind of support (if any) is right for you.

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How to Write Strong UC Personal Insight Questions (Without Sounding Generic)

Tips for writing compelling UC PIQ responses that sound like you — not like everyone else applying.

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The #1 Mistake Smart Students Make on Their College Essays

Most high-achieving students approach the college essay the wrong way. Here’s why that strategy backfires — and what to do instead.

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As Seen In

The New York Times logo – featured Ben Urwand’s work
The Wall Street Journal logo – featured Ben Urwand’s work
Vanity Fair logo – featured Ben Urwand’s work
CBS logo – featured Ben Urwand’s work

Ben Urwand

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