By Melissa Ingells, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-986091.mp3
EAST LANSING, MI – In this month's "Under the Radar" segment, reviewer Lev Raphael has a book about humor in a place and time one would least expect to find it.
LEV RAPHAEL: I've got a book that's highly unusual in many ways. It's by Rudolph Herzog, who is the son of the filmmaker Werner Herzog, and he himself is a documentarian. And it's got a title that is hard to believe. It's called "Dead Funny: Humor in Hitler's Germany."
MELISSA INGELLS: Uhhh .okay. You're going to have to sell me on this one.
RAPHAEL: Well, it's beautifully written. And it's a fascinating story because one of his starting points is that there's this myth that if you told a joke about Hitler in Hitler's Germany, you were executed, or you risked your life at the very least. And he said that's not really true. He said after the war, people like to think that was true because it made them sound more heroic for just telling a joke. What was true was that near the end of the war, if you were criticizing the regime, you were likely to be executed. And in some very rare cases, it did happen, but that was only at the end.
So, what role did humor play in Hitler's Germany? That's what he does, and he does it brilliantly. Because he shows how from the very beginning of the Nazi movement, people were making fun of them, and that's something that's not as widely known. I mean, we have this idea that, oh, Germany just fell wildly in love with Hitler and the Nazis, and they were swept away. But there was this real strong undercurrent of doubt and sarcasm, especially among Berliners, who, like New Yorkers, are known for being tough and sarcastic.
INGELLS: So, we're not talking about Jewish people making fun of Hitler, we're talking about German, non-Jewish people making fun of Hitler.
RAPHAEL: Yes, but he covers the full range. He talks about humor used as a protective device all across society. And as it was used by the Allies, because the Allies not only bombed Germany, they tried to broadcast sarcastic, anti-Nazi radio shows that were funny. And, not surprisingly, the German attempt to do the same thing in reverse didn't quite work.
It's a book whose title might put you off and whose cover might put you off, but once you start reading it, you really can't put it down, because it offers unique insight into a culture and time that we think we know everything about, but we really don't. And it's actually filled with some hilarious anti-Nazi jokes. And the book is worth reading just for the jokes alone.
INGELLS: I remember when "Life is Beautiful" came out, there were people very polarized about that. That some people were like, there's no way you can put a comedy in the middle of a death camp, just no way.
RAPHAEL: Well, what he does, he talks about that, and he says that movie is more accurately classed as a fantasy, and, he says, because it's a fantasy, it works as a fantasy. And he's very careful in all his discriminations, and is a very thorough and entertaining writer. And this really is a surprisingly entertaining book.
INGELLS: So, dare I ask what your favorite joke is from it?
RAPHAEL: You may. And my favorite joke is one of the shortest jokes in the book. Hitler and Goring are standing at the top of a radio tower, surveying Berlin, it's the middle of the war. Hitler says thoughtfully, "I would like to do something today that would make all of Berlin smile." There's a pause. And Goring says, "Jump."