Götz von Bredow's elk-leather trousers have their own special meaning: whoever wears them cannot come to any harm. Only they must not be washed. The meticulous Mrs. Brigitte cleans them anyway - but they get lost because the squire Hans-Jürgen, who is guarding them, has to save the life of Eva von Bredow, who is floating in a wash barrel. Meanwhile, Privy Councillor Lindenberg has arrived at the Bredows' house and loses a large sum of money in the game that does not belong to him. He wants to make up for the loss with a robbery. Suspicion first falls on Bredow because his trousers were involved, but Lindenberg is convicted and sentenced to death. This throws the cavalry into turmoil, as robberies are an important source of income for them. The four of them march against the Elector, who is hunting in the Köpenicker Heide. But Bredow, who has his protective trousers back, comes to his aid.

Using the example of three generations of a Hamburg working class family, the rise of the working class from the founding of the Wilhelmin Empire to the First World War, over the time of the Weimar Republic and National Socialism to the destruction of the Third Reich.

1929: Marie Lehning, a farm worker from Warmsdorf on the Baltic Sea, falls in love with the fisherman's son Mingo. Both complete an apprenticeship in Lübeck. Marie wants to become a seamstress, Mingo a carpenter. After their first night of love, they swear eternal fidelity. But Marie has to return to the village, her mother is ill and her siblings are unprovided for. She starts working as a maid on a farm. Unexpectedly, she meets the young Kurt Meier from Berlin, whom she knows from before.

In a small town, everyone has tried to forget what happened shortly after WWII. That is, until a stranger finds a book that Jadup (Kurt Böwe) gave to the young refugee Boel (Katrin Knappe), who resettled in the town over 30 years ago. Painful memories about Boel and the post-war period begin to surface and shake up the whole town. Boel vanished back then and nobody knew why. Word spread about a rape and some tried to blame a Russian soldier. Jadup, the town's respected and popular mayor, remembers, though, how he mistrusted Boel and did not help her through this difficult time; HE didn't even notice THAT Boel loved him. Jadup's confrontation with the past gives him a new, critical view of his current situation and surroundings.

The wrenching story of a woman sentenced in 1934 to ten years in prison for antifascist activities. The love between her and her fiancée enables her to survive the tribulations of her time in prison, where she is one of few political prisoners.

Screen adaptation of Eichendorff's famous novella. A penniless drifter roams the land with his violin and preferably sings his songs to beautiful women. Two of his female admirers get him employed as a gardener at a castle. Yet he doesn't settle down for long, and moves on to his next temporary job as a customs officer. Finally, he travels to Italy where he joins the gang of Rinaldo Rinaldini and eventually meets the love of his life.

15-year old Klaus Kambor, called Kurbel, is living in a village in Lusatia and already thinks of himself as an adult. He can hold a lot of rhubarb wine and has already kissed a girl. But with his new method of lawn mowing, which he thinks is brilliant, Klaus makes a big mistake: He causes a wild fire in the forest. Then he does not react adult-like at all, but shirks the responsibility, which leads to the break-up with his girlfriend Daniela. Furthermore, Klaus does not realize that several of the places he likes the most in his environment are now going to be sacrificed to mining. When Klaus becomes friends with the teacher Konzak and with the construction worker Jule, he feels understood for the first time and starts to take more responsibility.

World War II is over and Heinrich, a young German boy, influenced by the Russians, starts to act according to Communist principles in a small German village.

The electrician Peter Drews is a brigadier at a Baltic Sea dockyard. His men are among the most reliable and diligent workers at the dockyard. Their motivation, however, increasingly suffers from Peter’s narcissism and imperiousness. Even his girlfriend Brigitte who is also a member of the brigade finds it increasingly difficult to accept his behavior. One day, Peter decides that the entire group must enter the navy - just because he has received his conscription call. While four men follow Peter into the navy, Brigitte, who has broken up with Peter, takes over the control of the brigade. During the work at the ship on which Peter is based at she meets the charming lieutenant Asmus.

Soldier Ignaz Wolz returns from WWI with an immeasurable hatred of capitalist war profiteers. He decides to start his own revolution, but tries to stay away from the organized class struggle. He steals from the rich men and divides the wealth among the poor. One day, Wolz is arrested and sentenced to life in prison; seven years later he is released due to mass protests. More than ever, it is hard for him to fit in. He severs ties with his former companions, who reject his ideas, and leaves Germany.