This is an essay on the aesthetics of National Socialist film. The history of the Third Reich is investigated in light of its own image making. Which hopes, desires and fears are reflected in these images? The film unfolds chronologically, with original material from 1918 to 1945. The focus of this film is the analysis of National Socialist documentary and 'Kultur-Film', which staged a media-produced world of illusions whose destructive intent is apparent from the very beginning.