The Early Days Of Evil

Does explaining Hitler mean excusing him? A controversial but admirable mini-series says no

When TV provokes a philosophical argument about evil, the subject matter isn't usually more profound than Rob's treachery on Survivor. But CBS tapped deeper passions when it announced its flagship mini-series for the May sweeps: a biography of the young Adolf Hitler from adolescence through his rise to power. Jewish leaders charged that the mini-series might make Hitler sympathetic, by showing him out of the context of the Holocaust, or blame his evil on an unhappy youth. In the New York Times, Maureen Dowd suggested that the network was using the project to court young viewers. Says CBS president Leslie Moonves:...

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