In 1981, Gerd Heidemann, a bloodhound reporter for the German magazine Stern, believes he has stumbled onto the greatest literary find of the century: the personal diaries of Adolf Hitler. Shrouded in secrecy, Heidemann and the men of Stern attempt to pull off the greatest scoop in publishing history, blinded by their greed to the fact that the diaries are, in fact, crude forgeries. A true story. Written by Ben Evans

Dramatisation of the true story of Konrad Fischer, an East German who fooled the world (including the UK's "The Times" newspaper, Germany's "Stern" magazine and eminent historian Hugh Trevor-Roper) when he produced what he claimed were the war-time diaries of Adolf Hitler, but which were in fact his own forgeries. Written by Martin Underwood


"In 1983, the West-German magazine `Stern' communicated that day books, no less than 60 of Adolf Hitler had been discovered. It was then absolute world news. But then it became clear from research that the were counterfeit. Concerning this intriguing subject Robert Harris wrote the book Selling Hitler, which formed the basis for this deliciously ironical film.
Selling Hitler show the wirwar of trick and fraud which went in advance to the so-called discovery of the day books. We see how enormous amounts were ordered for the film rights, involved prominent characters at the matter touched, experts each other in haren flew and the fraud was eventually shown. Director Alastir Reid outlines hilarisch a picture of worldwide agitation which brought with this unforgettable affair with itself."- from cover

Director:Alastair Reid
Writers:Robert Harris (book)
Howard Schuman (writer)

Series Cast
Julie T. Wallace ... Edith Lieblang (5 episodes, 1991)
Jonathan Pryce ... Gerd Heidemann (unknown episodes)
Alexei Sayle ... Konrad 'Conny' Fischer (unknown episodes)
Alison Doody ... Gina Heidemann (unknown episodes)
Richard Wilson ... Henri Nannen (unknown episodes)
Tom Baker ... Manfred Fischer (unknown episodes)
Olivier Pierre ... Peter Koch (unknown episodes)
Philip Fox ... Leo Pesch (unknown episodes)
Rosemary Allen ... Valkyrie (unknown episodes)
James Aubrey ... Congo Randy (unknown episodes)
Jill Balcon ... Lady Alexandra Darco (unknown episodes)
Trevor Baxter ... Frank Giles (unknown episodes)
Alan Bennett ... Sir Hugh (Hugo) Trevor-Roper (unknown episodes)
Gabrielle Blunt ... Gerda Christian (unknown episodes)

Runtime:300 minutes
Country:UK
Language:English
Color:Color
Aspect Ratio:4:3
Sound Mix:Mono
Certification:Netherlands:12