Released the same year as the more notorious Jud Süß and Der ewige Jude, it was produced under the Nazi regime (UFA) as part of a deliberate push for antisemitic cinema after Kristallnacht. Joseph Goebbels oversaw the effort; the film was intended to stir hostility toward Jews (portrayed as dangerous rather than merely comic figures) and to smear Britain. It premiered in Berlin on 17 July 1940, was later re-edited and re-released in 1941 with a stronger anti-British emphasis, but was considered less effective than the other two major 1940 antisemitic films and did not receive major distinctions
