News Makers: Fury greets Mailer's Hitler novel

Celebrated novelist Norman Mailer has walked into a critical maelstrom in Germany with the publication of his new novel his first for 10 years which depicts a young and adolescent Adolf Hitler.

The Castle in the Forest, which includes the bed-wetting young Hitler known as "Adi", has been pummelled by critics and has angered the influential Central Council of Jews, which has urged artists to finally leave the history of the dictator alone.

"One can't forbid artists from dealing with Hitler but art will never achieve an understanding of the phenomenon it will rather serve as a distraction," said the organization's vice president, Salomon Korn.