January 23, 2007: For years comedians and satirists around the world have made fun of Adolf Hitler. What about the Germans? How receptive are they to the idea that Hitler might be something to laugh about? This month's release of the movie "Mein Führer", a satire on the German dictator, evoked a decidedly mixed response within Germany.

A representative survey conducted on behalf of the German magazine "Stern" showed 56 percent of the Germans opposed to the satire, with 35 percent responding positively to the idea. The negative viewpoint was strongest in the area of the former German Democratic Republic ["East Germany"], where 67 percent of those interviewed were against the movie. The movie pokes fun at Hitler, portraying him as an insecure individual who seeks to compensate for lack of proper recognition from his father by dominating the German people. The therapist in the movie who tries to "pump him up" is a Jewish character, and Hitler's dog raises its right paw to greet the Führer. The movie also pokes fun at Hitler's relationship with mistress Eva Braun.

The "central committee" of the Jewish community in Germany was quick to criticize the move. The day after the film's premiere in Essen the committee's general secretary, Stephan Kramer, described "Mein Führer" as "superficial, unnecessary and even dangerous. Hitler was not a comedy figure with a messed up childhood or unaware of his actions and a case for a therapist. This isn't the right time for this kind of coming to terms with the past in a country that invented and carried out the holocaust."

Interestingly, the man who directed the movie is himself Jewish: Daniel Levy. The actor who portrayed Hitler, Helge Schneider, remarked on a television talk show that he would not have accepted the role if it had trivialized the holocaust in any way. Immediately prior to the film's public release, Schneider appeared to distance himself from his role, possibly as a result of the criticism from Germany's Jewish community. However, he has since said that people should be able to choose what they want to laugh about. "Mein Führer" shows that Adolf Hitler is by no means a laughing matter for many Germans.