The film centers on young right-wing Leutnant (lieutenant) Theodor Lohse (Ulrich Mühe) who suffers personal and national humiliation during the downfall of the German Empire and the subsequent German Revolution of 1918 as the aftermath of World War I, from whence on he pledges revenge on all those he blames for the new times: Democrats, socialists, and Jews. Thus, he becomes increasingly active in the right-wing underground of the early Weimar Republic, joining an organization called "S II" (probably based on real-life ''Organisation Consul'' that was responsible for a number of political and anti-Semitic assassinations) where his immediate superior is Baron von Rastchuk (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Baron von Rastchuk brings Lohse in contact with Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929) in order to get Lohse employed, a favor for which the homosexual Prince demands one-time bodily obligingness from Lohse. In spite of his apparent shock and disgust, Lohse yields to the Prince out of his opportunism and willingness to please his superiors.
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