9. National Socialist or Social Nationalist?

Nazis: The Road to Power

By 1929, Berlin may be cross-dressing and dancing to jazz but governments still rise and fall with banana-republican regularity. As Chief Foreign Correspondent for the New York Post, it’s Dorothy Thompson’s job to report on this maelstrom. And in Berlin she meets (and too quickly marries) Sinclair Lewis, novelist, alcoholic and soon-to-be Nobel Laureate. Meanwhile, Joseph Goebbels, now Party District Chief for Berlin is generating daily street disturbances, Jewish-owned department stores are one of his favourite targets. And now forced to choose between Hitler’s Nationalism and Strasser’s Socialism, which way will he jump?

Starring Laura Donnelly as Dorothy Thompson, Alexander Vlahos as Joseph Goebbels, Tom Mothersdale as Adolf Hitler and Forbes Masson as Sinclair Lewis.

Cast: Dorothy Thompson - LAURA DONNELLY Adolf Hitler - TOM MOTHERSDALE Gregor Strasser - JOSEPH ALESSI Heinrich Himmler - OSCAR BATTERHAM Sefton Delmer - ADITOMIWA EDUN Putzi Hanfastaengl - COREY JOHNSON Herman Göring - SCOTT KARIM Rudolf Hess - GEORGE KEMP Sinclair Lewis - FORBES MASSON Joseph Goebbels - ALEXANDER VLAHOS Other parts were played by: EDWARD BENNETT, WILLIAM CHUBB, MELODY GROVE, SORCHA KENNEDY, JACK LASKEY, MICHAEL MALONEY, LYNNE MILLER and ANDREW WOODALL The Narrator is JULIET STEVENSON

Sound designer – ADAM WOODHAMS Studio Manager – MARK SMITH Casting Director – GINNY SCHILLER Original Score – METAPHOR MUSIC Writer and Director – JONATHAN MYERSON Producer – NICHOLAS NEWTON

A Promenade Production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds