This feature film based on the events of 1938 is a chronicle of the futile efforts of the Czechoslovak president Edvard Benes (Jirí Pleskot), politicians and ordinary citizens, to save the independence and the territorial integrity of the state from the advance of Hitler's Germany. On the 29th of March 1938 the leader of the Sudeten Germans Henlein (Werner Ehrlicher) has a meeting with Hitler (Gunnar Möller). Hitler orders him to intensify pressure on the Czechoslovak government. On the 24th of April in Carlsbad, the Sudetendeutsche Partei (Sudeten German Party) decides upon eight demands that are unacceptable to the Czechoslovak President, since they would ultimately lead to the break-up of the Republic. Benes still shows a certain willingness to negotiate, and Henlein resents this. The Germans are determined to make further negotiations impossible through incidents and violence.
El título "Todos mis buenos compatriotas" no está exento de ironía, ya que esta historia épica de la vida de un pueblo checo, poco después del final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, se concentra en las actividades de un grupo de amigos a los que no se les puede reprochar ponerse del lado de un político corrupto régimen para el avance material. ¿Son estos los "buenos compatriotas" del título o se refiere al resto de la aldea que desprecian a esta pequeña figura de autoridad con desprecio silencioso?
