Synopsis:
Jankowski, a Polish prisoner from Auschwitz, arrives at the Buchenwald concentration camp carrying a suitcase. Inside the suitcase is a small Jewish boy he has kept from harm. Once at Buchenwald, prisoners working in the property storage room discover the child. Although the sight of the innocent child moves many, his presence in the camp endangers the work of the camp's communist underground, who have organized a resistance group. With a heavy heart, some men decide to arrange for the child and Jankowski to be transported to another death camp. As liberation of the camp approaches, the prisoners must come together to keep the young boy safe from their Nazi captors.

Press Comments:
"The film, shot in stark black and white tones, is understated and surrealistic in its portrayal of telling details that it sometimes resembles a documentary." -- The Canadian Jewish News, 2002

"Although there has been an abundance of films from the Eastern European bloc on the subject of concentration camps, there are few to match this East German production for sincerity and production quality. It is a powerful narrative of the last weeks of Buchenwald." -- Variety, 1964

"Powerful! A moving experience." -- Variety

"A stunning performance by the young Armin Mueller-Stahl." -- Leeds International Film Festival

"One of the most powerful and accomplished anti-fascist films produced in East Germany." -- Vancouver Pacific Cinematheque

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