There are a number of articles and videos discussing and ultimately dismissing the charge that Metropolis was a pro-Nazi film.
"Fritz Lang's Monster: Was Metropolis a Pro-Nazi Film"[1] by Elly Hoffman is one of these, and it echoes the conclusions of the others:
"Thea Von Harbou may very well have attempted to slip her pro-Nazi opinions into Metropolis, but ultimately Metropolis not only does not reflect how Nazi Germany operated in practice -- -- the Nazis' failure to truly uplift the working class -- -but it actively disregards and objects to the pillars of Nazism. The Führerprinzip is rejected in Metropolis' critique of Joh Fredersen, the Volksgemeinschaft is contradicted in its promotion of general equality and its lack of a 'racial enemy', and the Judenkampf is contradicted in the absence of an all-evil Jewish caricature, as well in Metropolis' portrayal of the beauty of technology not lying in its use for exterminating the enemy, the Jew, but instead as being the very goal when building Utopia. The Nazi ideals, the Nazi vision of Utopia, not only does not exist in New Babylon, but Maria and Freder's mission ends up casting such ideals and visions into the gutter."
I found this critique misdirected. The thesis is that the ending of Metropolis, not the plot, has some fascist undertones. The author even admits:
> while Metropolis might posit some ideas with regard to cooperation between the classes for the ‘greater good’
But the movie does not stop there. It actually says "Gee, wouldn't it be nice if there was some Mediator guy that made everyone get along?". That's the "slight nod" I was referring to.
And the thesis that a movie is not leaning towards a certain ideology because it does not present all of its principles in spades is untenable. Olympia and Triumph of the Will also lack an "evil Jewish caricature" and "enemy-exterminating technology", but does that means they "object to the pillars of Nazism"?
Edit: I should clarify, I do not want to diminish the artistic value of Metropolis, which I love. I am just pointing out that it's better seen as a "fairy tale" (as Lang himself said) than as a "political" movie.
"Fritz Lang's Monster: Was Metropolis a Pro-Nazi Film"[1] by Elly Hoffman is one of these, and it echoes the conclusions of the others:
"Thea Von Harbou may very well have attempted to slip her pro-Nazi opinions into Metropolis, but ultimately Metropolis not only does not reflect how Nazi Germany operated in practice -- -- the Nazis' failure to truly uplift the working class -- -but it actively disregards and objects to the pillars of Nazism. The Führerprinzip is rejected in Metropolis' critique of Joh Fredersen, the Volksgemeinschaft is contradicted in its promotion of general equality and its lack of a 'racial enemy', and the Judenkampf is contradicted in the absence of an all-evil Jewish caricature, as well in Metropolis' portrayal of the beauty of technology not lying in its use for exterminating the enemy, the Jew, but instead as being the very goal when building Utopia. The Nazi ideals, the Nazi vision of Utopia, not only does not exist in New Babylon, but Maria and Freder's mission ends up casting such ideals and visions into the gutter."
[1] - https://medium.com/science-technoculture-in-film/fritz-langs...