Karl-Heinz Deickert

Peter, un humilde vendedor de coles, decide casarse, por lo que acude al hombrecito de cristal, que le concede dinero y bienes. Pero Peter gasta su fortuna a manos llenas antes de la boda, y tiene que invocar al malvado Michel para salir del apuro. Éste le exige su corazón a cambio de cumplir con sus deseos. Con un corazón de piedra, Peter se vuelve cruel e injusto. Sin embargo, un resto de humanidad le hace recapacitar, y en su desesperación clama de nuevo por el hombrecito de cristal…

The brothers Theo and Gustav Benthin pull profits through smuggling in divided Germany: Theo in the West and Gustav in the East. The East German police catch on quickly, however, and Gustav is arrested. The small band of smugglers disperses, with Gustav’s chauffer Peter Naumann fleeing to the West and his sister choosing the East after struggling to find work and lodging in the West.

Based on the records of the Nuremberg trial of the chemical giant IG Farben; a story about the collaboration between international corporations and Nazi scientists, whose research contributed to the death of millions. The chemist Dr. Hans Scholz lives through a tortuous political transformation and maturation process. Eventually, he adopts political neutrality and closes his eyes to the fact that the poison being produced in his factory is being used in the extermination camps. Standing before the judges at the Nuremberg trials, he must face the fact that he is implicated in the deaths of millions in the gas chambers of the concentration camps.

The mechanic Behnke wants to join the Nazi party to secure a good living. However, after his Jewish neighbors have been taken away, he changes his views. Trying to remain "a non-political man," he withdraws from reality and becomes a Nazis laborer.