Helene Sonntag, 40, unmarried and a teacher. She has long dreamed of happy partnership, but things turn out as they should. In order to avoid the work overload caused by substitute teaching and vacation childcare, she is forced to make a move.

Set against the backdrop of post-war Germany, the screen adaptation of Siegfried Lenz’s short story released in 1949 shows a snapshot in time of Mr. Schwamm, an indulgent husband and caring father, who wants so save his depressed son. During the pivotal night of this mission, he has an odd encounter: Paired up by destiny, he confides his troubles to a bitter and insensitive stranger, who in the very last minute manages to turn the story into a touching parable for kindness and humanity.

1523. The Protestant theologian Thomas Müntzer is entrusted with the pastorate by the 'Allstedt Council'. On the one hand, he is to open people's minds and hearts to more freedom, and on the other, he is to serve as an ally against the count.

Florida, 1830 - Of all eastern Native American tribes, only the Seminoles have resisted being moved to reservations. Having retreated to Florida, they live a simple horticultural life. But white plantation owners, angry at the increasing numbers of black slaves fleeing to Seminole protection, want to take their land. Plantation owner Raynes, in particular, has convinced the military to wipe out the Seminoles. His rival Moore, a sawmill owner from the North who has a Seminole wife, is against slavery and considers it unprofitable. Chief Osceola sees the coming danger; he tries to avoid provoking the whites, but cannot prevent the war that breaks out in 1835.

The young officer Count Yorck von Wartenburg - he bears one of the most famous names of the German past - awaits his execution as a participant in the conspiracy of July 20, 1944. Von Wartenburg, together with his comrades, suffers infinitely long days of terrible torture, disrespect and humiliation as a death candidate. In a dream, he experiences his escape and the real continuation of his fight against fascist barbarism, for which he must detach himself from his class and is involved in the anti-Hitler front by communists and the Soviet army.

Berlin in the 1930s - Adolf Hitler comes to power, communists and social democrats are persecuted, books are burned and Jewish citizens are ostracized. The outwardly shiny façade of Berlin, the capital of the Reich, reveals nothing of the unequal struggle of young people against the increasing oppression...

Paul Schulte takes a spa stay on the Baltic Sea to have his heart condition treated. His wife Barbara accompanies him and finds interest in the valuable art objects in a nearby church. Together with her accomplice and lover Klaus Grunow, she plans to break into the church. But Paul Schulte sees through his wife's plans and tries to dissuade her. One morning, Paul Schulte is found dead.

They are just 17 years old when Gaby and Eva receive the offer to play in a feature film that ambitious Hamburg filmmakers want to make. Despite their youth, the girls are suspicious because they have already experienced a lot. On the other hand, that would be the opportunity to escape the difficulties they have been in for a long time. The filmmakers persuade them to cross the border illegally. The girls do not suspect that they should be used by the Springer company to provoke a scandal. But the Ministry of State Security has the action already in sight.

Enemy secret services from the West had used modern technology for the "cold war", i.e. the confrontation with the Eastern Bloc, and developed a device called COMMINT 3-72. Its nickname was "Radiokiller". This weapon was not much bigger than a soccer and could be easily camouflaged on the territory of the GDR, for example as a fieldstone, the remains of a wall or a lump of earth. These enemy objects were inconspicuous on the outside, but packed with complicated inner workings, i.e. highly sophisticated microelectronics.

Every year in the spring the pupils of the 8th grade in the GDR receive the 'Jugendweihe' and are admitted to the circle of adults. This year, Tim is ready. For him and his classmates, the day begins with a ceremony in the culture house, then he goes with the whole family in a hotel restaurant, to celebrate the event properly.