Mensch und Bestie

Summary

Man and Beast

In 1944, the young Franz Köhler is held in a concentration camp near the Eastern Front. He does the heaviest punitive work, while his half-brother Willy, raised to be a brutal SS man, is a member of the guard force. When the camp is about to be taken over by the Russians, the commandant comes up with the cruel plan to blow up all camp inmates in a mine tunnel. When the prisoners learn of this plan, Franz is chosen to flee to seek help. Willy, however, takes up the pursuit of his brother with additional guards. For several days, Franz manages to escape the SS men, but is finally shot by his own brother shortly before reaching the Russian front.