Fatherland by Robert Harris
FATHERLAND Hitler has won the war...and the totalitarian Nazi regime in Germany has a terrible secret it needs to hide at all costs. Anton Lesser stars as Xavier March, homicide investigator with the Berlin Kriminalpolizei called to investigate a suspicious death. Best-selling thriller by Robert Harris - dramatised in five-parts by John Dryden. Xavier March ...... Anton Lesser Max Jaeger ...... Peter Ellis Rudi ...... Andrew Sachs Krause ...... Graham Padden Jost ...... Robert Portal Pili ...... Thomas Copeland Frau Trinkl ...... Amanda Walker Globus ...... Michael Byrne Fiebes ...... Ian Gelder Newsreader ...... Trevor Nichols Newsreader ...... Alice Arnold Chat Show Host ...... Ned Sherrin Author Robert Harris is a former BBC reporter and newspaper journalist. Producer: John Dryden First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1998. _______________________________________________________ Post Script, 30 Nov 2021: When I initially posted this fictional drama programme, I thought it mildly entertaining. It was easy to post, and at the time, I thought it of no particular moment --just a modest, entertaining old radio programme. I do not post often. I transfer and remaster important pre-tape music (recorded prior to c. 1950). As a Jazz musician and electrical engineer, this is a keen interest for me. I was shocked to see that this pseudo-historic fiction programme has more than 100 times the hits of my Jazz postings! SO, I did a little research on other FICTIONAL, nazi-premised drama programmes. In short, --they sell like hotcakes. --Apparently, only for the sole reason that Hitler figures somewhere in the recording. Forgive me, but I was sadly shocked. --People are far more likely to play a programme if it even hints at possessing a morsel about Adolf Hitler. Perhaps I should not be shocked. Serious History about WW II is read little more than any other period. However, fantasies and false histories remain the most popular of modern media. When the "History Channel" (i.e., "The Hitler Channel") began broadcasting, I tuned in with great anticipation, only to discover that most of the programmes afforded the highest budgets focused on Hitler trivia ; --some of it true. However, much of the programming is of little relevance or truth. Oh dear. What does this mean? Some of what it might mean, is that the average bloke is more interested in the specifications of obscure nazi weapons and other nazi minutia; --little of this trivia having any serious Historic importance. Such information is only of historic importance when used as background data for the more important, moral social and political themes of that most terrible of eras. E.g., it is of small moment that the ME 262 Jet fighter employed diesel fuel and could stay aloft no more then 45 minutes. Not even modern aeronautic engineers care about such information. We now have a large portion of Hitler's youthful art portfolio (thanks to Russian release of Hitler artifacts made after the fall of the CCCP). Contrary to many History Channel assessments, Adolf Hitler's water colours are NOT thoroughly without artistic merit, and clearly show that the young Hitler DID possess some natural artistic talent. Young Hitler was thoroughly untrained, yet could draw far better than I, --also untrained at the same age. Based on this relatively new information, it is clear that young Hitler WAS discriminated against by the University of Vienna. Prior to The Great War, young Hitler was also homeless and his only and best friend was an Austrian Jew (a fellow homeless man named Hannish). Hannish encountered Hitler at a critical time when Hitler would have otherwise died on the streets of Vienna. Hitler was horribly spoilt by his adoring mother and had little idea of how to live on the streets. TODAY, most art universities WOULD seriously consider a young Adolf Hitler for admittance to their undergraduate art college. As a native of Austria, The University of Vienna, legally had an obligation to afford young Hitler more consideration than foreigners. However, as was the snobbery and custom of the Edwardian era, Hitler, a young lad lacking any family, friends or money, was summarily rejected. Even if he had been accepted, he did not possess the resources to attend any university. But who knows? IF Hitler HAD been accepted by The University of Vienna's art college, things might have been different. BUT, a second world war was still likely. A famous History professor from Harvard told me ( I took his class), "WW II was no more than a continuation of WW I". He went on to explain that The Holocaust, German domestic law and social conditions likely would have assumed a different dimension; however, The Treaty of Versailles was so thoroughly unrealistic, that Germany could not possibly comply with the economic penalties of The Treaty. Combined with The Great Depression, the Versailles treaty conditions would likely have been the cause of a new European war. The Versailles Treaty produced an unusual political vacuum. If not Hitler, it easily could have been have been Gregor Strasser. In addition, Bismark's treaties from the late 19th century did not survive the demise of their creator. It is terribly odd that the majority of neo-nazis now reside in America's South West regions, --NOT in Germany. The youngest in Germany are presently forcing a new reckoning with Germany's collective Holocaust guilt. These kids want to know everything about The Holocaust. They are tired of being told, --"It's all an exaggeration. Besides, your grandfather was just following orders". Eventually, the young WILL claim their right to know the truth. Hate is NOT inborn and must be taught. There is now, finally, a generation in Germany that does not hate. These precious kids will finally expose the full horrible Truth about The Holocaust, and hopefully create a Germany with greater freedom and democracy than any nation on Earth. There is a new, important website on line. It is The Holocaust Museum, https://www.ushmm.org/. This website is a major undertaking of archival History. They are using the latest archiving technology to order this immense mass of artifacts and writings, and make the material easily available for all. --E.g., finally, ALL Nuremberg Tribunal audio transcriptions have been transferred to digital audio and are available on this site. The artifacts and information that this museum possess are far greater than any other single resource --including The British Museum. If you really want to learn about the nazis, I recommend starting at this website. You won't need to pay a cent. Mark Twain said, in jest, "Truth is a precious commodity. That's why I use it so sparingly." Perhaps, The History Channel uses this quote to guide its programming...
