The Patrioteer is a scathing critique of authoritarianism social conformity and the rise of nationalism in pre-World War I Germany Heinrich Mann exposes the hypocrisy and moral decay of Wilhelmine society through the satirical portrayal of his protagonist Diederich Hessling a weak-willed yet ruthlessly ambitious opportunist who thrives on power and subservience The novel dissects the interplay between individual cowardice and collective tyranny ...