- Count von Kaltenborn: This whole beautiful country, to which we have given our souls, is utterly doomed. It's going to be wiped out of human memory. Our entire heritage, even our name, our ancestors' names, wiped out, all wiped out!
- Prof. Blaettchen: Brightness is not a characteristic of the German race. We don't want brightness! People say, "Oh, so-and-so is so bright, he has such a clear mind!" No. We mistrust this brightness, this clarity. Let the new African races cultivate brightness. Our sources are in darkness. That is what drives us to unparalleled creativity.
- Abel: [voiceover] Young boys are so bold and courageous. No living creatures are as noble or as beautiful-- and yet so heartbreakingly awkward. I love nothing like I love the young boys. What a privilege, to gather them all in a castle they can call their own! Mostly they trust me, but sometimes they don't. And then I can feel the part of me that is made of stone. Hard and pitiless, I force them to come with me.
- Count von Kaltenborn: Mesmerizing ritual, songs and torches-- hard to resist. You are quite intoxicated by it, are you? The flames, the flags, it's a big show-- quite overwhelming, for a simple mind. Look at him. His father was a grocer in Leipzig. He stands there in his uniform as if he were selling sardines.