Dramatization of a successful assault by Nazis, posing as Poles, on a German border radio station so that Hitler could "justify" his invasion of Poland. The film reflects on the possibilities and techniques of provocation. It shows how facts and opinions can be manipulated and how people are made to accept lies, murder, and war.

Using a montage of footage from the highest quality restorations, Suchsland illustrates Siegfried Kracauer's 1947 thesis that the rise of Nazism is anticipated in many themes found throughout Weimar cinema, while situating Kracauer in the philosophy and histories of the time. Looking at films like "Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler," "Metropolis," "The Golem," and many others, Suchsland tracks the concept of the charismatic villain bewitching the people.