Novel
In an act of friendship and solidarity between two mining towns in 1929, the locals of Kriwoj Rog, Russia, give their flag as a gift to the locals of Bergstedt, Germany. This quickly takes on a symbolic meaning for the miners in Bergstedt as the Nazi party demands that this Soviet gesture be erased and the flag be replaced with their own. The miner and communist party functionary Otto Brosowski (Erwin Geschonneck) publicly declares it his duty to defend this flag against every danger, and he keeps his promise despite his family being threatened by torment and torture.
Novel
Fritz Weineck, a worker′s son from Halle, loves music – and dreams to make a living out of it one day. When his friend Alfons, a World War I veteran, gives him a trumpet as a gift, Fritz seems to come closer to fulfil his dream. But then, Fritz realizes that after the end of the German empire workers still have to desperately fight for their rights, and decides to use his instrument for political means: At a meeting of militant workers, he uses his trumpet as a signal horn. But Fritz suffers a severe setback when a comrade dies in the fight for an arms depot because of his fault.
