The West German Federal and state governments in effect removed the ban on public showings of the film “Until Five Minutes Past Twelve, ” about Hitler’s life and regime, at a meeting here yesterday.
Present at the meeting were the Ministers of Interior of the Federal Republic and the nine constituent states, who on November 30 imposed the prohibition, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and several members of his Cabinet.
At yesterday’s session, the Ministers reversed themselves and decided that the film was “inoffensive” and could not possibly lead to any public disturbance, nor would it damage Germany’s prestige abroad. The decision on licensing the film for showing was left to each state. Before the meeting several of the state Ministers of Interior had indicated that they favored removal of the ban. Hamburg disregarded the ban from the beginning.
It is generally believed here that a draft law prepared by the Federal, Minister of Interior which would have permitted the banning of films, books, newspapers and other publications which might be useful in the reviving of Nazism will now be dropped.
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