The Emperor's Dirty Laundry

Until today the last German emperor, Wilhelm II. von Hohenzollern, is a synonym for the conservative, militarised, patriarchal Prussian society of the pre-war era. But one fact remained a secret: Wilhelm II. lived a strange double life.

Year

2012

Length

52 min

Director

Claus Bredenbrock

Until today the last German emperor, Wilhelm II. von Hohenzollern, is a synonym for the conservative, militarised, patriarchal Prussian society of the pre-war era. At the same time he was the most photographed and filmed media star of the early 20th century, but one fact remained a secret: Wilhelm II. lived a strange double life. The old fashioned, conservative emperor, standing for morals, discipline and a bizarre sense of humour, was the idolized centre of a circle of homosexuals, who met regularly at Liebenberg Castle near Berlin, the home of Philipp zu Eulenburg. Philipp zu Eulenburg was one of Wilhelm’s closest friends for almost 20 years. The art-loving Earl kept the young prince grounded and gave him guidance. In his castle, the Earl charmed Prince Wilhelm and his noble friends in a cultivated, high-class atmosphere of music and literature. Even after Wilhelm’s coronation in 1888, the people in the “Liebenberg Circle” continued with their meetings. The most intimate friends of the “Liebenberg Circle” became the emperor’s closest advisers.

Earl Philipp zu Eulenburg gave Wilhelm II the warmth and affection he did not find at the Prussian court. In January 1907 the Emperor gave Philipp zu Eulenburg a Prussian principality, a measure seen as contoversial by many at the Prussian court and in Berlin’s society. Jokes were made and more than a few envied Eulenburg. On April 27th, 1907 Eulenburg was outed by the journalist Maximilian Harden: he had made a sarcastic remark about a caricature, showing Eulenburg as a harp-player with his “sweetheart” Kuno von Moltke.

Wilhelm II. asked von Moltke to resign and demanded from Eulenburg to explain himself. Moltke’s lawyer sued Harden for libel. Eulenburg denied any punishable homosexual activity The well-set intrigue ended in mud-slinging: denunciations, challenges to duels, defamation suits, and secret police dossiers – everything was brought up. Bavarian witnesses even received Prussian interpreters to give statements in court!

The Eulenburg-affair opened a “ritual of public damnation” and was followed by a flood of publications: theatre-plays, rumour-mongering, songs, illustrated postcards and caricatures. These images, but also the media frenzy, give an impression of the general atmosphere in Prussian Germany at the time.

Credits

Written and directed by
Claus Bredenbrock

Cinematography
Johannes Imdahl
Felix Landbeck
York Massur

Sound
Martin Kleinmichel
Felix Landbeck
Marlene Lösken
Tim Pattberg
Thomas Funk

Editing
Volker Gehrke

Music
Eike Hosenfeld
Moritz Denis

Line Producer
Susanne Heinz
Kathrin Isberner
Nick Pastucha

Produced by
Anahita Nazemi
Sarah Maret

Producer
Christian Beetz

Commissioning Editor
Martin Pieper (ZDF/arte)

Sales & distribution

Trailer

„Just in diesem Moment überraschen uns die aus dem Theaterbereich stammenden jungen Regisseure Hans Block und Moritz Riesewieck mit einem erstaunlichen Dokumentarfilm, der seit Monaten Publikum und Kritik auf den wichtigsten Festivals der Welt elektrisiert. Völlig zu Recht: Es ist, als würden einem die Scheuklappen weggerissen, als sähe man das, was sich seit Jahren direkt vor unseren Augen abspielt, zum ersten Mal unverschleiert... eine fesselnde ,Doku noir' mit höchstem Anspruch...Dieser Film müsste an allen Schulen gezeigt werden.“

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

17.05.2018