Both Der Untertan and Hitlerjunge Quex are German films devoted to convincing the public of a certain stance on the Nazi movement, but their extremely different motives led to opposing results. The creators of Der Untertan aimed at explaining the seemingly unlikely turn of events which resulted in the devastation of World War II and the Holocaust, and the Nazi party was obviously driven to promote their cause and to gain more member’s for Hitler Youth. Though it is clear that they promote opposite views, they do, however, both work in clever ways to influence their audiences. In Der Untertan, Nazism is presented as a radical stream of thought through the use of humorous satire. In contrast, Hitlerjunge Quex portrays Nazism as an optimal solution
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The authoritarian climate of Germany during the Wilhelminian Era is blatantly criticized throughout Der Untertan because it helped to shape the style of Nazi rule. Without being intensely authoritarian, the Nazi regime would not have been nearly as effective. One instance when the creators of Der Untertan draw attention to this characteristic could be during the first few moments of the film which depict Diedrich’s upbringing. During the opening credits, the camera pans down from a portrait of the emperor onto Diedrich’s baby picture, referring to the intense depth of control that the government asserted on the lives of the public. Although this juxtaposition appears somewhat harmless, it is clearly evident that the filmmakers are stressing the importance of this characteristic of government which became extremely prevalent during the time of Nazi control. Another critical trait of the Nazi regime that is exposed in Der Untertan is the elitist culture which enabled people to believe that some extremely corrosive lines of thought were rational. Der Untertan even draws attention to the presence of anti-Semitism when Diedrich accuses someone of committing lèse majesté by suggesting that the royal family is of Jewish descent. This trial scene in Der Untertan
The authoritarian climate of Germany during the Wilhelminian Era is blatantly criticized throughout Der Untertan because it helped to shape the style of Nazi rule. Without being intensely authoritarian, the Nazi regime would not have been nearly as effective. One instance when the creators of Der Untertan draw attention to this characteristic could be during the first few moments of the film which depict Diedrich’s upbringing. During the opening credits, the camera pans down from a portrait of the emperor onto Diedrich’s baby picture, referring to the intense depth of control that the government asserted on the lives of the public. Although this juxtaposition appears somewhat harmless, it is clearly evident that the filmmakers are stressing the importance of this characteristic of government which became extremely prevalent during the time of Nazi control. Another critical trait of the Nazi regime that is exposed in Der Untertan is the elitist culture which enabled people to believe that some extremely corrosive lines of thought were rational. Der Untertan even draws attention to the presence of anti-Semitism when Diedrich accuses someone of committing lèse majesté by suggesting that the royal family is of Jewish descent. This trial scene in Der Untertan