Hitler Sells Again in Germany

'The Producers' inspires uneasy laughs with its German debut

(NEWSER) - The Producers has goose-stepped its way onto a German stage 76 years after the springtime when Hitler took power, the New York Times reports. There were plenty of laughs—if sometimes uneasy ones—on opening night Sunday, but the Nazi-mocking musical and its swastika-laden ads prompted a fresh round of soul-searching in the press over Germany's past. More»

(NEWSER) - This could be awkward. Mel Brooks’ The Producers has been a smash around the world, but will the Hitler-mocking musical play in Germany? The Admiralspalast theater in Berlin—which the real Führer once frequented—is betting Germans are ready to laugh at the blood-soaked past, the Daily Mail reports. “If there’s anywhere in the world where it should be performed, it’s Berlin,” says the Admiralspalast’s director. More»

Network provides glimpse of megalomaniac's plans for world capital

(NEWSER) - Berlin has opened three vast tunnels under the city built as part of Adolf Hitler's vision of a grandiose Nazi capital, Reuters reports. The tunnels were to house a transit system beneath planned boulevards, squares, and huge buildings, including a Great Hall with room for 180,000 people. The Albert Speer-designed plans for the new capital—known as "Germania"—were halted by the outbreak of World War II. More»

Berlin man decapitates figure in protest

(NEWSER) - A wax model of Adolf Hitler at a new Madame Tussauds in Germany was decapitated by a Berlin man soon after the museum opened today, AFP reports. The man, who was arrested, “wanted to protest against Hitler's figure being on show,” police said. The model had sparked controversy, but the director of the German history exhibit said it wouldn’t make sense to leave the dictator out, reports the BBC. More»

Mel Brooks' Producers follow-up wears his jokes thin, critics say

(NEWSER) - Mel Brooks wowed 42nd Street with his musical debut The Producers, but follow-up Young Frankenstein fell flat at last night's opening, says Time's Richard Zoglin. Without Brooks' freshman hit, Young Frank might be “reasonably entertaining”; instead it demands comparison and ends up mere “shtick." Its brilliant film source is “a series of goofs,” lacking The Producers' strong storyline, Zoglin says. More»