"Springtime For Hitler" | The Producers [Berlin, Germany 2009]

Performed in German at the Admiralspalast theatre, once owned and frequented by the funny man with a mustache.
Date: July 16, 2009
Berlin, Germany

[@arselightning6212]

The amount of balls required to play the hitler part must be immeasurable

[@deadstareffect]

Uh.....are they carrying a net full or...?

[@NairAthul]

Well the real Hitler only had 1 testicle.

[@deadstareffect]

@@NairAthul well yes

[@charlesstuart7290]

@Bad Lieutenant It took Balls for Bette Midler to make this her opening number at her first show. The audience joined in on the chorus.

[@yeetyeet7070]

Mel Brooks had bigger ones

[@Just_Another_Piece_Of_Toast]

Nothing expresses good sens of humour more than hearing Germans laugh at this show.

[@heyitsjoe8446]

I’m surprised it was allowed since showing swastikas and saying “Heil Hitler” and shit is Illegal. Good on them though, I think we can all recognise that he was a piece of shit so it’s ok to mock him and nazis mercilessly

[@user-nq7eg9in8g]

to clarify... this musical was never banned. it was just not that popular in Germany because many people felt laughing at this was insensitive. to many Germans, laughing at Hitler is like downplaying his crimes (and Germanys actions in WW2)

[@Capt-Intrepid]

The swastika and other Nazi symbols are generally banned in Germany, with some exceptions. Displaying them publicly is illegal. There is an exception for certain artistic, academic, and educational purposes. So they may appear in things like books, films, or museums if the context is clearly not promoting Nazism. For theater productions, swastikas may be used if relevant to the plot or historical accuracy, but this is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Theaters have to apply for special permission to display them.

[@schnittmagier5515]

indeed. I have seen the Musical in Vienna about 15Years ago. There is no such thing as a bann on this musical and they managed to show swastikas. It was a moderate success and quite funny. But later on I saw it in English and it was way funnier. So there is a lot of very hard to translate humor. Like how to translate "Gotta sing ... sing!" when it is not only a reference to the prison but the song "Gotta dance ... dance!" Or the musical is playing around with stereotypes and nonsense language that does not work any more if you have to translate it into the language that you try to parody, like "Guten Tag Hop Clop" or "Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band?" So that is stopping the musical from fully working in German Language. Not because we do not have humor. (but some indeed might feel bad/strange to make fun about it)

[@Demonetization_Symbol]

I didn't know this play came to Germany!

[@MrGreghome]

I didn't know they had a German version of this song.

[@the_marjorie]

Vergangenheitsbewältigung 🤷‍♀️ Apparently, they’re quite practiced at it.

[@Demonetization_Symbol]

@@the_marjorie?

[@njb1126]

It did, 89 years ago

[@mysteriousowen5205]

6:00 is where the song starts

[@thatluckysnxiper7840]

God bless you sir or madam

[@someinteresting]

In German translation some of the lines sound awful lot like the slogans from back then. Which, of course, makes the parody even more hilarious.

[@billysmith4867]

Glad to hear a few laughs from this. I was worried about how the Germans would react to this.

[@slevemcdichael3712]

World war 3

[@jgmess9897]

@@slevemcdichael3712 It is war world 2

[@onemercilessming1342]

Why are you worried? There is a movement in Germany and the USA denying the holocaust ever happened. Mel Brooks is Jewish. Even disguised as comedy, he's managed to rub Germany's face in what the German people turned a blind eye to.

[@dreamleaf4363]

@@onemercilessming1342 isn’t Holocaust denial literally illegal in germany

[@handfulofsugarxx]

This musical is literally banned in Germany

[@Conn30Mtenor]

I'm sure that Mel was thrilled.

[@CakesDontLie]

Me watching this as an American knowing this was playing in Germany:😬😬😬 *Hears Germans laughing* Me:😮‍💨😮‍💨😌

[@danamania150]

My reaction exactly 😂

[@juliusjud117]

If the Germans can laugh at this, you most certainly can.

[@dap4321]

You mean if Jews can laugh at this...

[@victordegrande1628]

I had wondered how this show would go over in Germany, as they wouldn't even televise Hogan's Heroes in Germany until 1992. But I am glad they are secure enough to appreciate a show that makes a parody of such a dark era in their past. After all, it's just show biz!

[@nxt_tim]

Wie gerne hätte ich das live gesehen. Zum Glück hat es jemand aufgenommen!

[@penguincommunity6218]

I had never heard this in German!

[@judith_thordarson]

Glad to see that they included the "Challenge Tap".

[@fernandotorrealba1233]

what's that?

[@judith_thordarson]

@@fernandotorrealba1233 During the "Springtime for Hitler" montage, Hitler has a "dance-off" with Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. Between the Chicago tryouts (which I was lucky enough to attend) and the Broadway opening, that part was inexplicably dropped.

[@timschultz7597]

I am American of Prussian decent. Some of my "cousins" were Nazis and they did bad things. But... I still think this song is hilarious. Mel Brooks is a comedic genius. Still I can't really imagine being in Berlin in 2009, 70 years after the start of the war and seeing this. Talk about AWKWARD! However I would have still be laughing nervously. On a lighter note I wish they had used this number in the Amazon series The Man in the High Castle. That would have been funny too.

[@charlesstuart7290]

The Jewish Super Star Bette Midler was doing a gig in Germany for the first time and didn't know how to open her act. Impromptu she opened with the old British WWII ditty "Hitler Had Only One Ball" and she said by the second chorus the audience was singing along with her.

[@throwback19841]

@@charlesstuart7290 I heard that Goering had 2, but very small

[@DonnaBarrHerself]

Hey cuz! Same here.

[@hoodatdondar2664]

@@throwback19841 Himmler, was somewhat similar.

[@wambutu7679]

The one place this needed to show above all others.

[@CeceAzu17]

Shut up chat

[@charlesstuart7290]

The Las Vegas style chorus girls were often staples of Nazi era musicals - only they had less clothes.

[@ThrilloVanHouten]

This is...amazing! I never thought I'd see this in being played outside of the movies, let alone being performed in Germany!

[@TaiteMorgan6]

I know right!!

[@nickhutson]

15:05 - goosebumps!

[@PimpLenin]

I suspect they would have to get some kind of permission from the government to do something like this in Germany? Nevermind. I see below there are exceptions for art and theater.

[@thejman5683]

Yeah I heard that somewhere Normally Nazi imagery is illegal there, only exceptions are for educational reasons and Art and Theater.

[@charlesstuart7290]

@@thejman5683 While they might have mimicked the swastika in their dance routine - I believe they used a "swastika like" symbol in much of the stage design and not the swastika itself.

[@LeviForWaifu]

Yeah but art doesn't apply to video games apparently. Wolfenstein 1992 is still censored to this day.

[@-MaryPoppins-]

@@charlesstuart7290 as the child of holocaust survivors, I can’t think of anything more repulsive. The country itself refuses to sit in what it has done. And surely it shall repeat. This musical is perfection. Mel brooks was spot on with the gay hitler. The country is built upon the burnt remains of my family yet refuses to allow my family to laugh at their idiocy. The irony is sobering.

[@berlinflight_tv]

@@LeviForWaifu Actually, not anymore. For a long time, there was a blanket ban, since video games weren't considered art, but since 2018, swastikas and similar symbols can be used in video games, as long as it is clear that the product is not meant to glorify or promote Nazi ideology. This is decided on a case-by-case basis. The German version of Wolfenstein II (2017) was re-released with uncensored artwork in 2019. The original 1992 Wolfenstein 3D and its sequel Spear of Destiny got an uncensored re-release in September 2022. As far as I know, the versions currently available on GoG and Steam in Germany are the uncut originals.

[@amazinggrace5692]

What am I seeing? What am I hearing?! The Producers auf Deutsch?! How was this received?

[@charlesstuart7290]

The top Nazis including hated ridicule much more that criticism.

[@sakuranippon4434]

Which is why Joseph Goebbels should see this

[@erikal.7282]

Is there a full recording of this production?

[@andrewgouge2113]

This Hits different

[@AdcrofromTikTok]

I’m very surprised this ever made it to Berlin! Do we have a translation of the German lyrics?

[@erkki4427]

Image german ww2 veteran reaction

[@Just_Another_Piece_Of_Toast]

probably laugh, lets be honest this is how a lot of rational minded people seen hitler, even in Germany, just behind closed doors

[@oscarphile]

Well. That wasn't uncomfortable at all!

[@InfinityOf6]

What do they say in the “I was born in Dusseldorf and that is why they call me Rolf” bits?

[@EPWillard]

if anyone speaks german and can translate/explain the joke at 8:42 i would be much curious what they changed it to in the german translation.

[@bildschirmspiel]

Auch die schöne Margerite wird bei Adolf feucht im Schritte

[@bildschirmspiel]

In einer früheren Version hieß es „Auch die Erna aus Marzahn lässt zum Deutschen Gruß ein‘ fahr’n“

[@paulacornelison243]

Just watch the English version on KZbin.

[@error1646]

Well, I guess the Germans really can't break old habits

[@charlesstuart7290]

Mel's just stompin' on his grave in ways that drive his followers wild and making some bucks doing it.

[@dougl945]

This is anti-Nazi. I’m not sure what you are getting at. It’s comedy.

[@Broadwayriah]

i can imagine the audience was like 😦

[@aresee8208]

I saw the movie version of the musical in a multiplex theater in Karlsruhe, Germany. In my mind I thought it would be a hoot to see the reaction. But, unfortunately, the reality was much more cringy. For one thing, besides my wife and me, there were only 7 other people in the theater. There was a deathly silence through most of the movie except for my embarrassed giggling. I can remember exactly one laugh from someone else I was actually glad when it was over. The experience turned out to be a bit painful.

[@Limpshot_McGee]

I thought displaying Nazi imagery was outlawed in Germany?

[@Zaju]

With exceptions.

[@insertaverygenericnamehere]

Not for art and theatre. The German Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code) in section § 86a outlaws "use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations" outside the contexts of "art or science, research or teaching". The law does not name the individual symbols to be outlawed, and there is no official exhaustive list. However, the law has primarily been used to outlaw Nazi, Communist, and Islamic extremist symbols. The law was adopted during the Cold War and notably affected the Communist Party of Germany, which was banned as unconstitutional in 1956, the Socialist Reich Party (banned in 1952) and several small far-right parties.

[@aresee8208]

This show, and the movie it is based on, is really very culturally American. It really has nothing, or very little, to say about Germans. It's about two New York Jews. So, to start with, we shouldn't expect the Germans to get it. Then, I can imagine the whole Springtime For Hitler idea would be very cringeworthy for them. I can easily understand how this wouldn't work there. On the other hand, from my experience living in Germany back in 2005-2007, the Germans absolutely love Momma Mia!

[@arkhelius6096]

👏🏻👏🏻

[@greggreg3719]

Could someone write out the lyrics?

[@CeceAzu17]

Search up in English bro 💀

[@diegoocesar1]

👀

[@hope_word1818]

holy how did this get allowed? if the german government back then knows what satire is bravo

[@4pawsabicycle675]

Why wouldn't it be allowed? Your commend makes no sense. "The Producers" has seen German productions all over the country, and the movies have been shown in Germany as well.

[@johnwatson3948]

Interesting they can show the swastika in a musical but as I understand it illegal otherwise in Germany.

[@LaLiTi]

I mean this song is kinda mocking Nazi's and the Third Reich

[@0ne-6right40]

It’s obviously illegal in Germany, however it can still be shown for historical contexts/purposes such as this and movies.

[@johnwatson3948]

Interesting... thanks -

[@DonnaBarrHerself]

Weimar lebt!

[@carlosgustavorubio1332]

muy buena reaccion de un pueblo que en su momento hizo su MEA CULPA, con mucho dolor y enfrentando la verdad... Seria interesante que los gringos que todo critican porque todo lo saben, hicieran una comedia musical sobre Hiroyima y Nagasaky... y tuvieran los huevos de presentarse en Tokyo y, por supuesto, en las dos ciudades que en su momento, y en segundos, fueron hechas polvo con sus habitantes... Japon supo tambien con muchisimo dolor y valentia hacer su MEA CULPA por P.H., y por sus crimenes de guerra. Podria llamarse la comedia musical de Gringolandia "El picaro Enola Gay les dara su spring brake".

[@GREVIEWS02]

Lmao

[@movieblues4614]

What a pity that Hitler himself did not see this. LOL.

[@ultraguy14]

Lol so the actors couldn't learn to goose step in sync so they just attached them to wheels controlled by the few that could.

[@dap4321]

In Germany they actually mean it

[@-Cheif]

Wait how did they not get arrested…

[@IlValentino100]

it's legal in art context

[@WGGplant]

took me 48 seconds to realize this wasnt in english. thought i was having a stroke bc it sounded like english but none of the words were familiar