When they start losing family members and neighbors due to WWII and the Nazi government's policies, a quiet married couple becomes disillusioned and begins spreading leaflets against the government - a crime punishable by death.
In the winter of 1943, against the background of battle scenes, a young German Lieutenant who increasingly distrusts the inhuman Nazi ideology struggles with the concept of war.
A Nordic fishermen's village surrounded by the raging sea. This is were fisherman Haldor (Wilhelm Borchert) is living. His marriage with the proud Salvör (Heidemarie Hatheyer) is going to be impend. While on the sea in a storm, he is being cast upon an island. There he falls in love with the farmer's girl Maria (Ingrid Andree). When Haldor learns, that Maria is pregnant, he takes her with him back home. Salvör who was still waiting, hates him for that and marries a rich merchant. Twenty years later Haldor's daughter Gunna and Salvör's son Ragnar, are falling in love with each other. And only now Haldor learns from Salvör that Ragnar is his son.
Young Olga Ahrendt almost succeeded in attempting suicide. She had thrown herself in front of a tram out of desperation about her miserable life, a desperation she shared with many in the post-war period. Fortunately, Privy Councillor Sauerbruch is at the scene of the incident, ordering her to be admitted to his clinic after a brief examination. Sauerbruch works both as a university lecturer and as a surgeon, a famous doctor who not only helps his patients physically but also gives them spiritual comfort. After he has taken Olga Ahrendt to his hospital, he discovers during an examination that her suicide attempt is due to a serious physical illness. He intensively takes care of her without forgetting about his other patients, to whom he can give a new will to live, even if only through a small story. And he will also treat Olga Ahrendt successfully...
After returning from a concentration camp, Susanne finds an ex-soldier living in her apartment. Together the two try to move past their experiences during WWII.
