View source for Genesis and Catastrophe: A True Story

{{Short description|Short story by Roald Dahl}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=September 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox short story | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name          = Genesis and Catastrophe: A True Story
| title_orig    =
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| author        = Roald Dahl
| series =
| published_in  = ''[[Playboy (magazine)|Playboy]]''
| publication_type =
| publisher     =
| genre         = 
| media_type    =
| pub_date = December 1959
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by   =
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}}
"'''Genesis and Catastrophe: A True Story'''" is a [[short story]] written by [[Roald Dahl]] first published in ''[[Playboy]]'' magazine in December 1959 and included in his book ''[[Kiss Kiss (book)|Kiss Kiss]]'' (1960). It is a fictionalised account based upon a true historical incident.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roalddahlfans.com/|title=Home|website=Roald Dahl Fans}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=September 2024}} It is also known as '''A Fine Son'''.

==Plot summary==

Klara, an [[Austrians|Austrian]] woman, has just given birth to a son. She is fearful this child will die, as she has had three children previously, named Otto, Gustav and Ida, and all of them have died. Her husband, Alois, remarks how small and frail the new baby is, even compared to the others. The [[doctor of medicine|doctor]] and [[midwife]] assure the mother the baby is healthy. They beg the father to show more compassion toward his wife and to hope for the child's survival. The story ends with Klara praying, "He must live, Alois. He must, he must... Oh God, be merciful unto him now". It is revealed her son's name is [[Adolf Hitler]], and that the characters are his parents [[Klara Hitler|Klara]] and [[Alois Hitler]].

==Adaptations==
An adaptation by [[Ronald Harwood]] of "Genesis and Catastrophe" formed the basis of a 1980 episode of the television series ''[[Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)|Tales of the Unexpected]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0717444/|title=Genesis & Catastrophe|date=17 May 1980|via=IMDb}}</ref>{{Unreliable source|date=September 2024|reason=[[WP:IMDB]]|certain=y}} and into a [[short film]] by [[film director|director]] [[Jonathan Liebesman]] in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=iFilm: Genesis and Catastrophe |url=http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/692149 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010150958/http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/692149 |archive-date=10 October 2006 |access-date=5 November 2006 |website=iFilm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 October 2000 |title=Genesis and Catastrophe |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259323/ |via=IMDb}}</ref>{{Unreliable source|date=September 2024|reason=[[WP:IMDB]]|certain=y}}

==See also==
* [[Killing baby Hitler]], a thought experiment in ethics

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{ISFDB title|1161964|short=yes}}

{{Kiss Kiss stories}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Genesis and Catastrophe: A True Story}}
[[Category:1959 short stories]]
[[Category:Short stories by Roald Dahl]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler]]
[[Category:Works originally published in Playboy]]
[[Category:Works about childbirth]]
[[Category:Short stories adapted into films]]


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