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NZ Listener How many centuries must pass before there can be an objective account of Hitler devoid of distortions and outright lies? The very title of Lexus Sunday Theatre's Hitler,The Rise of Evil is suspect. However, given that the subject has been so thoroughly demonised by wartime propaganda that has never halted, we are supposed to suspend our critical faculties. Among the travesties of historical accuracy, the aspersions on Hitler?s war record are particularly despicable. Not only was he awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class in 1914, but he was also awarded the Bavarian Military Medal 3rd Class with bar, and the Iron Cross 1st Class, and was on three occasions cited in orders for distinguished conduct in the field. Perhaps worst of all is the depiction of a furious Hitler beating his dog Foxy. This nonsense was obviously thrown in to ensure that nobody misses the point that Hitler is the ultimate in fiendishness. It would also obscure that fact that the Third Reich outlawed cruelty to animals, including hunting foxes with hounds, and even in 1936 legislated on the manner by which crabs and lobsters were to be boiled to minimise suffering. The dramatic episode in which corporal Hitler presents Staff-Capt. Mayr with a supposedly unwelcome statement on Jews is bizarre. Mayr requested the opinion, in which Hitler warned against an emotional response. Therefore, the later depiction of Hitler spitting cake whilst performing an anti-Semitic rant is rather unlikely. One wonders whether there will ever be an acclaimed portrayal entitled Churchill, The Rise of Evil, depicting a drunken megalomaniac advocating the genocide of Germans by anthrax and the bombing of civilian targets for purposes of 'demoralisation'? K R Bolton 29 Aug 03 |
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