Germany is perhaps the only country in the world where the mere mention of its cities casts a wide and unwanted shadow of national shame. Dachau has become a symbol for death. Nuremberg is a metaphor for universal judgment. Dresden is synonymous with the victor's vengeance.

Historical antecedents aside, Shylock is to Shakespeare what Jesus Christ became to Mel Gibson - an aesthetic creation that so tramples upon profound sensitivities that the art itself becomes tantamount to contraband. Hitler, for understandable reasons, appreciated the propagandist potential of "The Merchant of Venice" - a play that provided an opportunity to both enjoy Shakespeare and exploit every conceivable anti-Semitic stereotype there is, all for the price of the same ticket.