Der Untertan

In a biting satire, Wolfgang Staudte's 1951 masterpiece "Der Untertan" exposes the dark underbelly of blind patriotism and subservience in pre-World War I Germany. The film follows Diederich Heßling, a Prussian subject who is blindly loyal to Kaiser Wilhelm II and uses his connections to destroy his business rivals while tyrannizing those below him. As he delivers a chilling speech at the unveiling of a monument to the Kaiser, the stormy backdrop serves as a metaphor for the destruction that can be wrought by unchecked nationalism.