Roses for the Prosecutor

In the final days of World War II, German soldier Rudi Kleinschmidt is arrested for the perceived theft of 'air force chocolate,' a purchase he actually obtained on the black market. At his court-martial, judge Wilhelm Schramm accuses him of Wehrkraftzersetzung and aiding the enemy and sentences him to death. The severity of the charges creates a grim, high-stakes atmosphere around his fate.

An Allied air raid interrupts the execution, saving him from immediate death. In the chaos, Kleinschmidt narrowly escapes and manages to obtain the execution warrant signed by Schramm. The clawback of power foreshadows a future confrontation with the past.

Fifteen years pass and Kleinschmidt survives as a meager street peddler. He navigates a postwar landscape where the effects of the war linger in every corner of society. His fragile existences underscores the persistence of old wounds.

During a visit to his friend Lissy Flemming, Kleinschmidt encounters Wilhelm Schramm again, now a successful prosecutor who has masked his Nazi past. Schramm presents himself as a reformer while secretly guarding long buried secrets. The encounter hints at a clash between truth and illusion.

Schramm initially does not recognize Kleinschmidt, but the meeting unsettles him. He senses that the past could come back to complicate his carefully constructed present. The encounter plants seeds of suspicion that will influence future actions.

Gradually, Schramm recalls Kleinschmidt and fears exposure of his own wartime past. He uses police harassment to scare him and forces a brief arrest. The tactic gives Schramm breathing room to maneuver and to protect his secrets.

During the police inventory of Kleinschmidt's belongings, Schramm secretly seizes the old execution warrant. He hopes to leverage the document to pull the past back into the present. This moment marks a pivotal shift in the power dynamic between them.

Though tempted to flee, Kleinschmidt decides to reopen his case and expose Schramm's past. In a bold act, he smashes a shop window to steal two boxes of the very same chocolate, triggering his arrest once again. The theft becomes a stark act of provocation directed at the system.

Schramm now appears as the prosecutor in Kleinschmidt's case, yet he unexpectedly defends him in court. His unusual defense raises suspicions about his motives and suggests that he may be protecting a secret from his past. The courtroom becomes a theater for hidden loyalties and fear.

During the proceedings, Schramm absentmindedly demands that Kleinschmidt be sentenced to death, exposing his true self to all who listen. The moment reveals the moral compromise behind his public persona. The balance of power shifts as the truth edges toward surface.

The trial is interrupted as Schramm makes a desperate attempt to escape the courtroom. Kleinschmidt and Lissy watch as the man who once held the power to condemn slips from authority. The confrontation hints at an unresolved reckoning between the two men.

After the dramatic confrontation, Kleinschmidt plans to leave town but ultimately chooses to start a new life with Lissy Flemming. The ending offers a note of cautious hope, suggesting that rebuilding life after trauma is possible, even if truth remains imperfectly in the open. The couple looks toward a future shaped by memory and a chance at redemption.