Babylon Berlin and the New Testament

© X Filme | ARD Degeto | sky | Beta

The TV version of Babylon Berlin doesn't follow Volker Kutscher's novel, on which it is based, in every detail.
An example: the initial scene in the photographic atelier where a porn movie is being shot, starring the Virgin Mary, Joseph and even the Holy Spirit, has a completely different cast of characters in the novel. Here, it is President Hindenburg, spy Mata Hari, Chancellor Bismarck and Frederick the Great, enlightened monarch of Prussia of the eighteenth century, who are engaged in explicitly sexual activities in front of the camera.

Were the producers deliberately provoking religious believers? Did they try to spare the patriotic sentiments of the public?

The reason is perhaps another: the series being broadcast in many countries other than Germany, viewers would have trouble identifying figures of Teutonic history, while the characters of the New Testament are more easily recognizable, even in states of undress.

And that way, the costume designer saves a number of spiked helmets (in German: Pickelhauben).

© X Filme | ARD Degeto | sky | Beta