CBS-TV is planning to make a miniseries that should worry us all.
As we reported in last week’s Bulletin, the four-hour miniseries is about Adolf Hitler as a youth.
In a New York Times article this week, critics rightly argue that any movie about the young Hitler could create sympathy for him. Young people who will watch have little appreciation or understanding of history, and the TV show will not offer them very much.
There will be no mention of Auschwitz, the Gestapo or Hitler’s final solution for the Jews. Instead it is the story of a young person who overcame obstacles in his life and grew up to be the leader of a nation.
No wonder critics say Hitler will appear sympathetic to youthful viewers, who may view his climb to the top in the same light as movie hero Rocky’s rebound as a prize fighter.
In its defense, CBS President Leslie Moonves said, “This is a very timely subject about how bad guys get into power and how it affects the rest of the world.”
But it is wrong to present that information without a historical perspective. Young people who watch this show should also see the adult Hitler and how he tried to end the freedoms that we enjoy in a democratic society. They should see how this young Hitler grew to be a mass executioner who cremated Jews in concentration camps.
Production work on the series, done in conjunction with a Canadian film company, has not yet begun, although it is expected to get under way soon. An actor has yet to be chosen to portray the young Hitler.
As a result, it is not too late to tell CBS that this miniseries should not be made. KPIX-TV, our local CBS affiliate in San Francisco, can be reached at (415) 362-5550.
Or viewers can send an e-mail directly to CBS in New York by going to cbs.com and hitting the feedback button.
We should complain to CBS that work on this series must stop unless it is redrafted to give a perspective of Hitler’s entire life and not just his youth.