Germany, Year Zero

Twelve-year-old Edmund is thrust into the ravaged postwar economy and acts as the family's problem-solver. He tests boundaries through theft and becomes entangled with a criminal circle, revealing a boy who learns to survive by any means. His arc spirals from resourcefulness to murder and ultimate self-destruction, a tragedy born of wartime conditions.

Ailing and bedridden, he embodies the burden of a family left to fend for itself in a ruined city. Although he contemplates suicide, he clings to life as his family fights to care for him, a dynamic that heightens the sense of desperation around the apartment. His eventual death marks a turning point in the family’s struggle.

Edmund's sister who supports the family by trading companionship with soldiers for cigarettes, illustrating the commodification and resilience of women in occupation-era Berlin. She resists the temptation to prostitute herself beyond what is necessary, showing a stubborn desire for control over her own body and life.

The older brother who fought in the war and has not yet faced the consequences. He resists registering with authorities to hide his past, adding tension to the family’s precarious position. His arrest and the news of his father's death intensify the family’s sense of loss and despair.

A gang member who mentors Edmund into petty theft and later more serious schemes. Jo embodies opportunistic crime in the ruins, teaching Edmund the logic of survival at any cost.

A member of the same circle as Edmund, described as a mattress that dispenses cigarettes, indicating how she is used within the criminal network. She represents the commodification of young women in a city of scarcity.

The former teacher who remains a Nazi at heart. He preaches a brutal philosophy about the survival of the strong, and his cynical worldview influences Edmund, even if he denies giving direct orders to murder. He functions as a malignant ideological presence in Edmund's life.

The owner of the apartment block where the Köhlers are housed, either irritated by or resigned to the new housing arrangements set by the postwar authorities. His home is part of the social backdrop to the family’s struggles.

The wife of Mr. Rademaker and part of the family in the same building. She embodies the everyday resilience and constraints of postwar domestic life.

The daughter of the Rademaker family, a minor figure in the postwar social mesh of the building as Edmund navigates his environment.

The daughter of the Rademaker family who appears in the social network around the apartment. She is part of the environment Edmund interacts with in the ruined city.