Let's Kill Hitler

"Rory, take Hitler and put him in that cupboard over there."

Writer: Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 27th August 2011
Series: 6.08

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory, River

Synopsis

Berlin, 1938. Hitler rules Germany. The TARDIS crash lands into his office and the greatest hero in space and time comes face to face with the worst humanity has ever offered. What will happen when these two incredible personalities meet? Well, one ends up locked in a cupboard...

Verdict

Let's Kill Hitler was a great episode! This, however, is an unusual blog entry as I was not watching this episode for entertainment but instead as part of research for an essay I am doing for my History MA on the portrayal and representation of Hitler in film and television. As soon as I decided this would be my essay for my Filming the Past unit, I just knew that I would have to include this episode and it gave me an excuse to find some time to blog in what is becoming a very hectic schedule ahead of three 5,000 word essays due in less than two months! Now, I'm going to focus on Hitler for this blog entry as I have blogged the episode properly before and even though he only appears in the story for about two-and-a-half minutes, he is incredibly significant. The episode title itself is luring enough and whilst it's a red herring, it immediately gets you thinking. The prospect of using Hitler in a Doctor Who story is beyond exciting and whilst what we actually get is not what I would have wished for, I can understand why the whole episode wasn't centred on him giving how controversial a figure he is. One thing I was stunned about when I came to analyse Hitler's role in the episode was the notion that the Doctor, a hero to so many children, saved the life of Hitler and thus inadvertently caused the deaths of millions of innocent people. It almost goes unnoticed and is just used as a comedic gag, but the implications of this are actually staggering! The Doctor saved Hitler in 1938! Just think about it. It's mind-blowing. Hitler is then questioned and stood up to by the Doctor which was great and I liked how he was told of the British coming, but from there on in he was nothing more than a gag really. He went to shoot the Doctor but then Rory knocked him to the floor with a swift punch and then he was just locked in the cupboard. It was a comical gag and using Hitler for comedy is going to be a major part of my essay's argument, but it works pretty well here after absolutely staggering happenings. The thing I seem to keep drawing back to from Hitler's scene in this episode is that the Doctor saved his life. It's an incredible notion. I did enjoy the idea of the Teselecta finding Hitler guilty and it showed that he was being brought to justice on a galactic idea which showed just how horrendous a human being he was.

Rating: 8/10