Adolf Hitler banned the film in Germany and in all countries occupied by the Nazis. Curiosity however got the best of him and he had a print brought in through Portugal. History records that he screened it twice, in private, but not his reaction to the film. Sir Charles Chaplin said, "I'd give anything to know what he thought of it." For political reasons in Germany, the ban stayed after the end of WWII until 1958.
Although this movie was banned in all Nazi-occupied countries, it was screened once to a German audience. In the occupied Balkans, members of a resistance group switched the reels in a military cinema from a comedic opera to this film, which they had smuggled in from Greece. So a group of German soldiers enjoyed a screening of this film until they realized what it was. Some left the cinema, and some were reported to have fired shots at the screen.
According to documentaries on the making of the film, Sir Charles Chaplin began to feel more uncomfortable lampooning Adolf Hitler the more he heard of Hitler's actions in Europe. Ultimately, the invasion of France inspired Chaplin to change the ending of his film to include his famous speech.
Released eleven years after the end of the silent era, this was Sir Charles Chaplin's first all-talking, all-sound film.
This film was financed entirely by Sir Charles Chaplin himself and it was his biggest box-office hit.