David el Gnomo's examples aren't parallel to the Anne Frank joke. Each is about an imaginary person, and if they imply that everybody like that person is likewise an idiot, only another idiot would believe it.

Besides making fun of the real dead child, Anne Frank, the joke also makes fun of her father - also real - and by implication those in hiding with them. To find it truly funny, you also have to believe that the Holocaust was quite funny, or at least "not nearly so bad as they say. I mean, lighten up!" Maybe you only believe it for a moment, but maybe even that moment should be a little too long for one's conscience.

Many critics raved about the "sweetness" of the movie "Life is Beautiful." For all the obvious fantasy, it turned my stomach because it suggested that a hip viewer could find the Holocaust amusing, or at least not nearly so bad as they say. How about a charming comedy about Hiroshima? It couldn't have been as bad as they say. Right?

Finally, also unlike David el Gnomo's, the Anne Frank joke was broadcast to millions with the approval of the BBC. That says, "Piss on you, any Holocaust survivors or their families or any relatives of the murdered who might be listening! You're too hung up on the past to take a joke!"

I'm amazed the BBC wouldn't apologize, and I share MtheGM's sentiments. People who'll defend that kind of public joke just because *they personally think it's funny* might want to reconsider what they're really defending.