Hitler's sexuality is HBO topic (Claim Hitler Was "Gay")

Yahoo News ^ | Thu Jan 9 2003 | Andrew Wallenstein

[Skooz]

Hitler's sexuality is HBO topic

Thu Jan 9, 3:22 AM ET

By Andrew Wallenstein

NEW YORK (The Hollywood Reporter) --- HBO is developing a documentary based on a controversial book that claims Adolf Hitler was gay.

Scheduled to air next year on either HBO or Cinemax, the documentary will draw from "The Hidden Hitler," a biography released in 2001 to heavy criticism from historians who disputed its allegations. One academic who reviewed the book for the Washington Post chastised the author, German history professor Lothar Machtan, for coming "perilously close to blaming the entire Holocaust on Hitler's alleged sexuality."

The documentary will be produced by Los Angeles-based World of Wonder, whose credits include "Monica in Black and White" for HBO and the upcoming theatrical release "Party Monster."

"The thrust of the documentary looks at the body of evidence that in his early life, Hitler was, in all possibility, gay," said Fenton Bailey, co-director of the program with Randy Barbato. Bailey and Barbato are co-founders of World of Wonder.

An abridged 49-minute version of the documentary aired on the United Kingdom's Channel 5 in November with the title "Is Hitler Gay?" The full 75 minutes are expected to air on HBO with either the new title "The Pink Fuhrer," the original British title or a combination of both.

The documentary features interviews with Machtan and other noted historians. The production, which took 10 months to complete, visits European cities where Hitler spent his early years, including his hometown of Linz, Austria.

"Hidden" recounts eyewitness testimony describing Hitler's sexual activity during and after World War I. The book also suggests that he murdered a high-ranking Nazi who attempted to blackmail him by threatening to disclose his homosexuality and persecuted hundreds of thousands of other gays and lesbians to "disguise his own true colors."

Depictions of Hitler's early life have become a bona fide trend in movies and television. "Max," an independent film currently in theaters, provides a fictional account of Hitler's short-lived career as an artist, while CBS is preparing a miniseries on his rise to power that will air later this year. Both projects have been criticized for humanizing Hitler.

When NBC's "Today" anchor Matt Lauer interviewed Machtan about the book in October 2001, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation blasted the program for failing to grill the author on the validity of his claims.

GLAAD news media director Cathy Renna has higher hopes for the documentary. "We would welcome a rigorous and fair examination of the book from all different sides, which it didn't get from the mainstream media when it first came out," she said.

Bailey defended his company's decision to explore Hitler's alleged homosexuality. "It's an absolutely uncomfortable subject, but you're in graver danger if you refuse to explore an idea in fear that someone might misinterpret it," he said.

World of Wonder has another gay-themed documentary coming to cable in the spring as part of MTV's "True Life" series. "Homo High" examines the lives of a group of students attending a private gay high school in Dallas.

[Skooz]

That's unusual. Usually the only people who suffer a post-mortom "outing" are great men like Socrates, Plato, Alexander the Great, Leonardo Da Vinci, et al. This is the first one I have seen of a scoundral.

[Skooz]

GLAAD news media director Cathy Renna has higher hopes for the documentary. "We would welcome a rigorous and fair examination of the book from all different sides, which it didn't get from the mainstream media when it first came out," she said.

Translation: We look forward to a thorough debunking of this assertion.

[BaBaStooey]

....not that there's anything wrong with that.

[JohnGalt]

This ranks with a past conspiracy theory that Hitler was part Jewish and comes from the leftwing historical tradition of psycho-analysis. The foremost Hitler biographers have debunked both claims.

The only real bizarre, by Western standards, sexual practices of AH that has any historical merit is the relationship with his niece, who turned up dead, suicide or murder?, in the early thirties.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Hitler gay?
That's gonna ruin his reputation.
Just ask Rosie.

[Guillermo]

There is no denying that the top echelons of the Nazi Party, especially in it's early days (26-34), was full of homosexuals.

[Oztrich Boy]

If he wasn't gay, how can his fascination with men wearing short leather pants be explained?

[Mike Darancette]

HBO is developing a documentary based on a controversial book that claims Adolf Hitler was gay.

---

He just wanted to be loved.

[wingnuts'nbolts]

If anyone really cares what Hitler's sex life was all about, it is clear that he was not "Normal". He did however, hang out with women and insist that they participate in very kinky and disgusting sex acts, which they seemed not to mind, if only for the status of being in his inner circle.

There was a niece I seem to remember who became involved with this devil sexually and as a result jumped (or was pushed) from a window to her death. He was said to have
suffered greatly over her loss.

Eva Braun was a teenager when she saw and fell in love with Adolf and provided him with adoring self denegrating protestations of her undying love and threats of suicide if he rejected her. He seems to have been moved and kept her hanging around under cover so as not to offend his officers and their wives or the family oriented German population.

Eva, foolish girl, stayed the course and finally had the
privlege of becoming his wife just prior to the implimentation of their mutual suicide agreement in the bunker under the Chancellory where the cowards hid until
their final copout rather than face the inevidable music. That Hitler was mad is probably true and so must Eva have heen.

Who, but the homosexuals with an ajenda, cares whether or not Hitler was homosexual, or homophobic, or kinky or asexual? He, like Stalin, and Al Gore flunked out of Seminary in their quest to become men of God. He and Stalin were the devil incarnate!

[Notasoccermom]

This makes sense. It has always seemed ironic that one who was so concerned with perpetuating a pure race did not leave any biological heirs.

[JohnGalt]

Hitler was born with only one testicle leading many to conclude that he was impotent/shooting blanks as they say.

[Semper Paratus]

Rats, I thought the thread title said "Hillary was Gay".

[joesnuffy]

Excuse me ...I thought this was another "Hitlery" Clinton thread

[yoe]

Bailey defended his company's decision to explore Hillary's alleged homosexuality. "It's an absolutely uncomfortable subject, but you're in graver danger if you refuse to explore an idea in fear that someone might misinterpret it," he said...........

[1234]

book made me believe AH was homosexual-and this fact actually helped him 'come' to power-don't ask me elaborate here, it's been 15 mos. since i read it-jus read it if you care to learn some new historical homosexual angles....

[rightazrain]

Hitler's kinky sex with women was documented in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Really gross. After reading that, I wouldn't doubt other strange stuff. Just not interested in the details, thank you very much.

[VadeRetro]

It's not that straightforward. He had an affair with a niece, who (probably) committed suicide or (maybe) was murdered.