BBC Radio 4, 11-25 March 2012
Out of the Hitler Time is the kind of thing that the Classic
Serial does extremely well: a saga of a Jewish family forced out of their home in Berlin during the Nazi takeover of the early
1930s and living the refugee life - first in Switzerland, then in Paris and London.
David Hunter's production used the adult Anna (Anna Madeley) and her brother Max
(Adam Billington) as narrators, recalling their childhood days of getting used to learning new languages and finding out about
new cultures, while trying to understand precisely the implications of Nazi rule in their homeland. Young Anna (Lauren Mote)
found everything rather confusing; she knew that Papa (Paul Moriarty) was in some kind of danger (as a leading newspaper
writer, he was considered a security risk), but could not understand what the phrase "putting a price on his head" meant.
Her elder brother Max (Hugo Docking) was a little more cognisant of the political situation, but preferred to think of playing
sport, or passing his school exams. Hunter emphasized the extent to which children can prove very adaptable - even in the
most adverse of situations.
Whereas the children could fit into new roles, their parents experienced considerable
difficulties: Papa could not find work abroad, while Mama (Adjoa Andoh) had
to learn homemaking skills just to survive. Neither of them liked the idea of receiving gifts from Great-Aunt Sarah (Sheila
Steafel), in the belief that they were too respectable for charity. However the refugee experience taught them to
think differently. Whether this was a good or a bad consequence is debatable: Hunter was more concerned to explore the
effects of dislocation, both physical and mental, on individuals.
While the adaptation covered familiar ground (the subject of Nazi Germany and
its consequences provides a rich source for radio dramatists and documentary producers alike), When Hitler Stole Pink
Rabbit offered a series of carefully detailed character studies.
