Episode description

Once the revolution is crushed, Army Intelligence looks around for soldiers who might be able to influence their comrades, steer them away from all this Bolshevik nonsense. And that’s how Corporal Adolf Hitler starts making speeches – it seems he has quite a talent for it. Even his old platoon members are amazed to see him transformed.

He is also sent to observe one of the many fringe political parties, to check they’re not getting too subversive. The German Workers Party has less than forty members and meets in a grimy room at the back of a grimy restaurant. The army orders him to join: Adolf Hitler becomes Party Member 55.

Starring Toby Stephens as Captain Mayr, Tom Mothersdale as Adolf Hitler and featuring Jack Laskey as Anton Drexler, founding Chairman of the German Workers Party.

Cast: Captain Mayr - TOBY STEPHENS Adolf Hitler - TOM MOTHERSDALE Gottfried Feder - EDWARD BENNETT King Ludwig - WILLIAM CHUBB Kaiser Wilhelm - NICHOLAS FARRELL President Hindenberg - DEREK JACOBI Kurt Eisner - MICHAEL MALONEY General Ludendorff - ANDREW WOODALL Other parts were played by: JOSEPH ALESSI, OSCAR BATTERHAM, SCOTT KARIM, GEORGE KEMP, SORCHA KENNEDY, JACK LASKEY, FORBES MASSON and LYNNE MILLER 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