Author and former German TV presenter Eva Herman got kicked off a major talk show for refusing to apologize for statements she made that allegedly glorified Nazi-era family policies. Herman is now at the center of a growing culture war.

In Germany, portraying any aspect of the Nazi era in a positive light is a great way to quickly destroy a career. Just ask Eva Herman, the controversial TV presenter and author sacked by the public television station that employed her for 19 years last month.

The commotion began in September when, at a press conference to promote her new book, Herman said that life under Hitler wasn't all that bad -- at least not every aspect. "It was a gruesome time with a totally crazy and highly dangerous leader who led the Germans into ruin as we all know," Herman said. "But there was at the time also something good, and that is the values, that is the children, that is the families, that is a togetherness -- it was all abolished, there was nothing left."

The statement led to Herman's termination. The Central Council of Jews in Germany has also expressed its outrage over Herman for her appearance earlier this week at the annual conference of the German Catholic Forum, a deeply conservative group, in Fulda, where she received great applause. The broad praise for the former TV host, the organization said in a statement, "is not just evidence of the incapacity of the participants, but also a slap in the face for all those who have worked during the past 60 years to help Germans come to terms with the history of Germany's Nazi dictatorship," said Central Council Vice President Dieter Graumann.

Rather than apologize or distance herself from her comments, though, she has fought back with missionary zeal in the past month, granting interviews and appearing on talk shows -- the latest being Johannes B. Kerner's show on German public broadcaster ZDF on Tuesday night.

When Kerner pressed her on whether she would repeat her statements today, Herman evaded the question. Instead, she said: "If one isn't allowed to discuss Nazi family values, then neither can one talk about the German autobahns, which were built during the Third Reich." She also said it had become impossible to discuss German history without endangering one's reputation.

Herman has spent the past month accusing journalists of taking her original quote out of context, saying they pulled the half that was favorable to the Nazis and eliminated the parts where she clearly distanced herself from Hitler's regime. Tuesday was no different. On Kerner's show, she said: "I didn't make a mistake, "I'm just sorry that people have been misinformed by the press."

Of course, Kerner's show on Tuesday wasn't completely without its agenda, either. After conducting 50 minutes of what seemed more like a show trial than an interview and only a few minutes left to go on his show, Kerner kicked Herman out, saying she had become unpalatable to him and his guests.

Kerner's show was taped hours before it aired and his producers were quick to spread the news of Herman getting kicked off -- as well as photos -- so that there could be plenty of time to promote the scandal and ensure record ratings of 2.65 million viewers.

In her book the "Eva Principle," Herman argues that if German feminists don't change their ways against against the backdrop of a graying population, the country will die out.

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