This is a hilarious film. It really pushes the comedy genre forward by being pretty self-aware and referential to the times. You start to see the ironic wit emerge that will characterize comedy later on in the twentieth century in terms of satire versus jokes. The lines are wittier and more poignant jabs at the political realities and inherent hypocrisies of the time.
The comedic nature of the 30’s was very much slapstick and gag based i.e. buster keaton, charlie chaplin, the marx brothers, and wrapped up in comedy and innuendo into one. Now we’re seeing a shift into political satire, and satire itself as a form. There’s more of a willingness to discuss with the audience the situation of the day. We see some precursor to Billy Wilder here, who did train under Lubitsch thus the lineage of comedy directors veering into discussing political realities is pretty clear.
The film is willing to delve into subject matter that is highly sensitive for the time. A departure from the culture of avoidance created by the Hays code. I mean to do a satirical film that takes place within Nazi Germany while America was at war with them was quite bold. It'd be like making a satire set in a Taliban camp in Afghanistan right after 9/11.
This film is quite racy for that premise. And it handles the political high-wire act very well in making sure the Nazi's are not humanized too much but also treating them as human characters who get drunk, get horny, and can be misdirected by human nature. It's a really provocative comedy for the day.