The Exception

---

I have to go.

Here.

Can I see you again?

One war ministry telegram

is enough.

Brandt.

What do you know

about the kaiser?

Kaiser Wilhelm ii, former

emperor of the fatherland.

Weak leader. Poor strategist.

Led us to defeat.

Ran away afterwards.

- Exiled in Belgium, sir.

- Holland.

- Is he still alive?

- Damn your ignorance, captain.

The kaiser is still alive

and remains

of great symbolic importance.

You'll take immediate command of

kaiser Wilhelm's military guard

outside utrecht.

As of now,

the safety of the kaiser

is of prime concern

to the reich,

and, therefore, also to you.

General, I am now fit

for active service.

Don't push your luck, captain.

After that business

with the ss in Poland,

you were lucky to avoid

a court martial.

This posting is a great honor.

Yes, general.

Thank you, general.

General,

if the kaiser's in Holland,

how am I to guard him?

At dawn, our forces invaded

Belgium and the Netherlands.

The fuhrer thinks of everything.

Brandt. Eighth infantry.

I am

colonel sigurd Von ilsemann,

aide-de-camp to the kaiser.

My orders are to assume

immediate command

of the kaiser's bodyguard.

A captain?

All the majors are busy, sir.

The Dutch army guard

have deserted.

Your men can billet

in the stables.

- I'll need a command post.

- I'm in charge.

Within the grounds.

The female staff

are not to be interfered with.

Look forward

to working with you.

Wilhelm!

Wilhelm!

They're here.

- The army, your army.

- No. No. Not mine.

They have been sent

to protect you.

That in itself

is not without significance.

In return, it is vital to make

the right impression.

Oh, on whom?

Our friends in Berlin

have been constantly active

on your behalf.

The army want you back.

They always have.

The stage is set.

Every detail matters.

We must invite the commanding

officer to dinner.

So now we're running

a restaurant?

- He will be watching us.

- Yes, perhaps. From outside.

Wilhelm, do you want

your throne back or not?

You are the kaiser.

Secure the perimeter.

Get this place cleaned up.

- We have to go faster.

- Move it!

I'm looking for

gestapo inspector Dietrich.

Inspector Dietrich, I'm Brandt.

I expected you yesterday.

Apologies. My orders

were to report upon arrival.

No time was specified.

What can I do for you,

inspector?

The kaiser.

The former kaiser.

The gestapo keeps extensive

files on this individual,

but they are not up to date.

As part of your duties here,

you will compile

a detailed report.

In particular,

his attitudes towards the reich

and its leaders,

anything he says

about the war and its conduct,

noting also

significant omissions,

such as failure to agree

with statements

in favor of the reich.

You expect me to spy on him?

You'll also list his visitors,

noting the duration

of their stay.

- Is that really necessary?

- Ah.

You think because he is old,

he is unimportant?

The British secret service

have an agent in the area.

We picked up coded radio

transmissions from the vicinity.

It could be a kidnap attempt

or an assassination.

Assassinate an old man

ousted 20 years ago?

Personally,

I couldn't care less.

He is everything that was wrong

with old Germany.

Where was he

while we were all starving?

If anything happens to him,

captain, you'll be shot.

And I will do it.

Did you read the ss file on him?

Hard to believe

he wasn't executed.

He must have friends in Berlin.

Brussels fell

to our forces yesterday

and airborne troops have secured

the French border.

Holland is now

almost completely occupied,

- barring unofficial resistance.

- It's unnecessary.

Strategically irrelevant

and a waste of resources.

I mean, invading Holland!

Further south, armored divisions

are through the ardennes forest,

in behind the maginot line.

Forgive me, your highness.

I was told

you have coffee at this time.

You're new.

- Yes, your highness.

- No need to be alarmed.

What's your name?

- Mieke, your highness.

- Dutch?

- Yes, your highness.

- I see.

Well, tell me, child,

would you have invaded Holland?

What?

If you commanded

the German army,

would you have invaded Holland?

Why, yes, your highness.

Of course.

I see. And what precisely

is your military objective?

- Well, it's very nice.

- What is?

Holland.

Goddamn, sigurd. She's better

than half the general staff!

We will expect you

at tomorrow's briefing!

Yes, your highness.

She's the one my wife has been

complaining about, I suppose.

You know,

I don't mind telling you,

if I was

a hundred years younger...

Oh, never mind.

You know, sigurd,

I've been thinking.

Tonight we'll have fish.

The kaiser presents

his compliments.

He'd be pleased

if you'd join him

at dinner tomorrow night.

Take your clothes off.

Please.

Gently.

Please...

Tell the kaiser

I would be honored

to accept his invitation.

There.

F*** it.

Your highness.

May I take that, captain?

Thank you.

- You stink of schnapps.

- We must speak.

Not now. You're late.

He's waiting.

You'll call him sir

and his wife madam.

The treaty of versailles forbids

any other form of address.

His left arm

is slightly deformed.

You will not look at it.

You will speak only

when spoken to

and avoid politics.

Express no opinion of your own,

agree with his, and remember...

At the age of four,

he bit the Duke of Edinburgh

in the leg.

Captain Brandt.

Prince friedrich Wilhelm Viktor

Albrecht Von preussen

and his wife,

Princess hermine reuss

Von greiz.

Your highness. Your highness.

We are both so pleased

you could join us, captain.

That I have always found

so fascinating.

I published a book

on the subject in 1934.

You will have seen it.

For example, there are

some people who actually believe

that Adolf Hitler invented

the swastika.

Utter nonsense. The word

comes from the sanskrit.

It means well-being,

and the earliest examples

date from the indus valley,

3,000 years before Christ.

Oh, yes.

In many religions, it's...

It is a symbol of life,

of good fortune.

Not that it has brought much

to me.

And yet we must accept

that god has imposed

these terrible trials on us

for some inscrutable purpose

of his own.

Oh, these books they're writing,

my god!

They just dump bucketloads

of filth on my head

and nobody does anything.

Bismarck would have had

something to say on the subject.

But he had something

to say on every subject,

which is why I got rid of him.

His servants would pull

the wine corks in front of you.

But I must say the old boy knew

how to deal with troublemakers.

Freemasons, bolsheviks, Jews.

The unholy alliance

that we have to face.

Which is exactly why

a strong monarchy,

the physical manifestation

of god's will on earth,

is more vital now than ever.

Tell us about yourself, captain.

Where's your family from?

Brandenburg, your highness.

My grandfather was

an army officer,

as was my father.

He was killed on the somme

just before I was born.

- And your mother?

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