DEAD FUNNY

The author of a book of jokes told during the Nazi era that was published this week [in Germany] indicates that many Germans poked fun at Adolf Hitler and were not hypnotized by his propaganda.

"Heil Hitler, The Pig is Dead," by film director and screenwriter Rudolph Herzog, argues that many Germans openly told jokes about the Nazi top brass and got away with it in the early years of the Third Reich despite laws banning criticism of the regime.

Court cases usually resulted in a warning or a fine, and alcohol was taken as a mitigating factor. Mr. Herzog said that looking at jokes told at the time provided a fresh perspective (...) -Quoted from THE TIMES