Franz Biberkopf has served four years in prison. His return to normal life is not successful.

A hilarious comedy of errors starring Dolly Haas: Annie, the locksmith's daughter, and Georg, a car salesman, meet at the fair but quickly lose touch. Later, Annie is tasked by her father with delivering new locks to a countess's castle. At the train station, she is mistaken for the countess's niece, whose arrival is imminent. She is taken to the castle in a magnificent carriage and encounters Georg again, who is out for an unauthorized joyride in a stylish car. Each now believes the other to be extremely wealthy. When the real countess arrives at the castle, she enjoys playing along with the charade and poses as her own companion, with whom Count Egon falls in love. After the confusion is resolved, there are two happy couples.

In Annemarie Brinkmann's small German village all the young men are recruited to the front in WWI. When her boyfriend Klaus Renken gets the call they spend their last romantic night together. Time goes by but one day when the pastor announces the names of the fallen villagers: Klaus is among them. Annemarie collapses while the congregation sings a funeral song.

Parisians Josette and Pierre are a happy couple, but also a completely broke one. An absurd chain of events leads them to Professor Trouhadec, who is in a predicament.

A German wartime biography of Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the Diesel engine. The movie links the importance of the engine to the war by starting the movie with newsreel clips of German Navy U-boats in action.