Lillian Hellman was a native New Orleanian born in 1905. She spend a childhood divided between New York and New Orleans, which contributed to the diversity she accepted later in life. After organizing a union among her co-workers at MGM, Hellman began to write plays. Her first successful play was "The Children's Hour," which was about two female teacher's lives that were destroyed when they were accused by a student of being lesbian lovers. The play criticized conservative social stigmas. After a few years of playwriting Hellman began to move towards more politically motivated themes. She especially derived inspiration from the lack of U.S. intervention during the early years of Nazi military expansion. Her plays "Watch the Rhine" and "The Searching Wind" were critical of US foreign policy. Later, Hellman's play "The North Star" got her in real legal trouble. The play was about the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. It glorified the Soviet Union, and was accused by US cabinet members of being Soviet propaganda. Hellman was subpoenaed to appear before the House of Un-American Activities Committee in 1952. Her refusal to give names of Communists led to Hellman being blackmailed from Hollywood until the 1960's. Hellman did not write extensively during this time, but instead taught writing classes at University of New York, Yale University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also published various memoirs before she died.
Had it not been for the rise of anti-Communism in the United States, Hellman most likely would have continued her trend of writing plays which covered social topics. It is highly unlikely that she would have been blacklisted and undergone the hardships of being forced to make a lifestyle change. Although she may have written more plays, the blacklisting undoubtedly gave Hellman cause for some of the passion and fire for which she is remembered.
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