Little Matti and his friends are restoring the old abandoned fire truck .

1936 in a small town near the Czechoslovakian border. Albert and Fritz are close friends. Albert lives with his aunt, who is loyal to the Nazis. His father, an anti-fascist, is in hiding, and Albert only sees him secretly from time to time. His mother is in prison. Fritz's father, a member of the Social Democratic Party, has officially withdrawn from politics. Fritz also does not know that his father is working illegally and is disappointed by his apparent inaction. Together with Albert, he tries to stand up to the Hitler Youth and the Nazi teacher Wagner. By hoisting the red flag on the town hall, he brings his parents into the hands of the Gestapo. His mother cannot withstand the brutal interrogation and reveals the name of a communist. The boys inform the man and flee with him across the border to Czechoslovakia.