> 'Hitler' Exec Producer Fired Over Remarks > Thu, Apr 10, 2003 10:36 AM PDT > > LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The executive producer of a CBS miniseries > about Adolf Hitler's rise to power has been fired after giving an > interview in which he compared the current mood of Americans to that of > the Germans who helped Hitler rise to power. > > According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gernon was fired Sunday (April 6) > from Alliance Atlantis, the production company making "Hitler: The Rise of > Evil" for CBS. He had worked there 11 years and was head of the firm's > long-form programming division. > >
Neither Gernon nor Alliance Atlantis is commenting on the matter. > > "Hitler" has caused controversy ever since CBS announced its intentions > last summer. In an interview with TV Guide about the four-hour film, > scheduled for May, Gernon compares many Americans' acceptance of a war in > Iraq to the fearful climate in post-World War I Germany, of which Hitler > took advantage to become its ruler. > >
"It basically boils down to an entire nation gripped by fear, who > ultimately chose to give up their civil rights and plunged the whole > nation into war," Gernon said in the interview. "I can't think of a better > time to examine this history than now." > >
Gernon's remarks reportedly didn't go over well at CBS, which has tried > very hard to frame "Hitler" as a historical piece that in no way > sensationalizes or offers excuses for Hitler's actions. > >
-- Marta Russell Los Angeles, CA http://www.disweb.org