The Germans, who love order more than freedom, and whose ruling passion is obedience, rejoiced in their release from an uncomfortable equality into n… - Emil Ludwig

The Emperor wanted to attract the adherents of the new doctrines by protecting the status of the working-man; he addressed the as “Ihr” and “Du,” fancied himself in the part of father of his people, was anxious to distribute privileges without himself abjuring any—in short, he wanted “popular absolutism,” after the fashion of Frederick the Great. Only he forgot that a century had gone by since then.

When so markedly egotistic a nature dominates a realm, the consequences can be nothing but catastrophic; and we are heading straight for a period which will decide whether the age or the Emperor is the stronger. I am afraid it will not be he.

[H]e works to create the single great impression that here is a prophet whose heart is bleeding for the fate of his people. ...[H]e is sly enough to use an arrangement on his speaker's desk through which, by pressing a button, the spotlights are switched on to him so that the ecstasies can be properly filmed for the news reels. A similar combination of ecstasy and artifice can be observed in other actors.