like der blaue engel from 1930 and der untertan be make after a famous novel by heinrich mann and the elder and politically more interested of the two german writer brother . here a there and the film be about the criticism for a social characteristic which be regard a typical for the german background represent the philistine who be fixate on authority and blindly tumble into war and downfall . the film tell in episode about the life story of diederich heßling ( werner peter ) and youth and university day of the son of a factory owner and his gradual rise into good circle of the prussian small town netzig in the 80 of the 19th century while germany be already an empire with wilhelm ii . be in power . during his study and his time in the military service and heßling learn how to be subject to superior and to endure humiliation and to denounce and to enjoy the power over inferior to the full . he take over the father factory and join the conservative nationalist party and a war club and marry a rich heiress . the height of his career be the opening of a warrior monument in netzig while he appear a the official speaker and bath in the patriotic phrase of national authority when a thunderstorm interrupt the ceremony and clear the whole place . the alarm final shot of the monumental emperor and wilhelm ii . and be a direct reference to the nation dark future and wwi and wwii which both from the perspective of the film arise from the prussian way of ruling and the servile attitude of the subject and the german people . the incidental music to this last take be a repulsive potpourri of die wacht be rhein and an anti french national song and the horst wessel song and a martyr anthem of the nazi and the fanfare which introduce die wochenschau and a weekly propagandistic newsreel that be show in the cinema of the third reich . without reservation and this film can be accept a a work of art about a weighty epoch in german history and the wilhelminian era . the character precisely personify the important and guiding institution like school and university and military and government . the film succeed in picture the fatal relation between philistinism and war enthusiasm and whereas the camera excellently describe the subject point of view and position represent heßling look bottom up to the authority . next to the act brilliance of werner peter and it those camera look which outfit the film with an outstandingly analytical and aesthetic quality .