Schtonk! (1992): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1992, Schtonk! is a comedy and history film directed by Helmut Dietl, running about 115 minutes. “One of the first funny german look at its past.” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Schtonk! is a farce of the actual events of 1983, when Germany's Stern magazine published, with great fanfare, 60 volumes of the alleged diaries of Adolf Hitler – which two weeks later turned out to be entirely fake. Fritz Knobel (based on real-life forger Konrad Kujau) supports himself by faking and selling Nazi memorabilia. When Knobel writes and sells a volume of Hitler's (nonexistent) diaries, he thinks it's just another job. When sleazy journalist Hermann Willié learns of the diaries, however, he quickly realizes their potential value... and Knobel is quickly in over his head. As the pressure builds and Knobel is forced to deliver more and more volumes of the fake diaries, he finds himself acting increasingly like the man whose life he is rewriting. The film is a romping and hilarious satire, poking fun not only at the events and characters involved in the hoax (who are only thinly disguised in the film), but at the discomfort Germany has with its difficult past.

Who’s in it. Schtonk! stars Götz George as Hermann Willié, Uwe Ochsenknecht as Fritz Knobel, Christiane Hörbiger as Freya von Hepp and Harald Juhnke as Pit Kummer, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.0/10, Schtonk! has been warmly received by audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Schtonk! page.

If you liked it. Fans of Schtonk! tend to enjoy Forrest Gump, Parasite, Life Is Beautiful and Fight Club.