Stars

In 1943, on their way to Auschwitz, Greek Jews are held in a Bulgarian town occupied by German troops. Ruth, one of the prisoners, asks a German sergeant, a former art student, for help for a fellow prisoner who is about to give birth. He helps as best he can and falls in love with Ruth. In this changed situation, he begins to reflect on his role, on fulfilling his military duty and acting on his own responsibility, and comes into conflict with his superior. He cannot bring himself to help Bulgarian resistance fighters, wanting only to save Ruth from being transported to Auschwitz, which he fails to do. Only then is he ready to truly resist... Konrad Wolf's DEFA film is considered the first German film to deal with the responsibility of Germans in the Holocaust. In 1995, it was voted one of the 100 most important German films.