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90’ drama for BBC Two
Broadcast August 21st 2011
Noirish legal drama revealing the true story of a Jewish lawyer who challenged Hitler and paid with his life. Starring Ian Hart as Adolf Hitler and Ed Stoppard as the audacious lawyer Hans Litten. Written by Mark Hayhurst, this feature length drama also stars Bill Paterson, Sarah Smart, Anton Lesser, Ronan Vibert and Ruth McCabe.
In the spring of 1931, with Germany on the brink of economic collapse, the audacious Hans Litten put Adolf Hitler on the witness stand of a Berlin court. At great personal risk the young lawyer aimed to expose the true character of Hitler to the German public and thereby halt the phenomenal rise of the Nazi Party.
In a humiliating and hostile cross-examination, Hitler was forced to account for his violent methods, his apparent contempt for the law and his stated desire to destroy German democracy. Hitler survived the ordeal, but it was a close encounter which he never forgot.
60’ documentary for BBC Two
Broadcast August 27th 2011
Accompanying the original period drama is a 60-minute documentary penetrating the context of 1930s Berlin and the circumstances which prompted Hans Litten to take such an extraordinary risk.
Who was this remarkable man and how close did he really come to preventing Hitler’s rise to power? What became of him after the trial? Is it ever possible to use the law to challenge tyranny, and where are the Hans Littens of today?
Combining expert interviews with survivor testimony and original archive material this unique film explores the extraordinary story of Litten himself.
