Named a Book of the Year 2012 by The Atlantic

​

 

BUY HERE (ENGLISH)

​

BUY HERE (GERMAN)

 

Description

 

"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.

'Dead Funny' 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

 

Press quotes 

​

Intriguing...[a] fascinating study of jokes during the Third Reich...raises compelling questions

-THE SUNDAY TIMES

 

A concise, compelling book

-THE INDEPENDENT

 

A thrilling book

—DER SPIEGEL

 

The first comprehensive book on comedy and humor in the Third Reich. [...] The author brings together all manifestations of humor-wit, newspaper cartoons, cabaret, variety shows, entertainment, film, pop songs, and musicals... An important history.

-SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG

 

Dead Funny isn’t just a book of wildly off-limits humor. Rather, it’s a fascinating, heartbreaking look at power dynamics, propaganda, and the human hunger for catharsis.

—THE ATLANTIC, Best Books of 2012

 

You’ve never seen Nazi Germany like this.

-THE STRANGER (Seattle)

 

Fascinating... Intriguing....Herzog, the son of the Werner Herzog, shares his father’s curious and mordant wit.

-FINANCIAL TIMES