The Plot Against America -

Sky Atlantic

Whether America should enter into an earlier war, the Second World War, was at the heart of The Plot Against America, adapted by Ed Burns and David Simon (creators of The Wire) from Philip Roth’s 2004 novel of the same name.

Roth’s dystopian vision imagined a parallel universe in which famed aviator and alleged Nazi sympathiser Charles Lindbergh defeated Franklin D Roosevelt and became president of the USA.

The story revolves around a working-class

Jewish family, the Levins, living in Newark, where Roth himself grew up.

In the first episode, Herman Levin, the head of the family, is offered a promotion in Union, where lederhosen is the favoured choice of attire. After a brief house hunting expedition with his wife, Bess, during which they are assailed by beer-swilling German Americans, they decide to stay where they are.

Meanwhile, Lindbergh is touring America urging folk to stay out of another stupid

European war. The progress of the war is flashed up on the front of the local cinema. Newsreels show British troops being rescued from Dunkirk. One character remarks: “They’re saying it’s a victory. Any more victories like that and Hitler will be dancing in London.”

Herman’s orphaned nephew, Alvin, is a bit of a loose cannon. In the first episode, we saw him take the blame for a theft carried out by his friend. When the friend is beaten up by a bunch of Union yodellers, Alvin and a pal pay them a visit. The ensuing fight is interspersed with old newsreel clips of the war.

In the second episode, Herman’s sister-inlaw Evelyn (Winona Ryder) sets her hat at Rabbi Bengelsdorf, a Lindbergh supporter who believes the Wehrmacht will turn their swords into ploughshares.

It’s a beautifully produced piece with some obvious parallels to what’s happening across the pond just now. Spot them for yourself.