The Murderers Are Coming

A band of Third Reich soldiers, in a haze of alcohol, wander the unfamiliar town streets and voice their talk of national unity. They suddenly notice an old man peeking from a window, panic, and unleash a fatal volley before fleeing into the night. The event sets a grim tone for how fear and brutality permeate ordinary life.

A woman receives a government gift—potatoes, apples, and five marks—despite having donated double herself. The scene exposes the propaganda overlay of aid and sacrifice, and hints at the regime’s control over daily life. The gesture becomes a point of tension within the family.

The soldiers search the young woman’s home, turning over rooms and questioning family members. The mother, in a moment of desperate defiance, hurls a piece of the gifted apple at them as they threaten the household. The scene underscores the precariousness of ordinary lives under surveillance.

Anna and Theo debate whether survival under the regime is worth the cost, exposing the strain of poverty and political reality. Theo dismisses Anna's concerns, revealing a rift between idealism and fear. The couple's tension foreshadows broader dangers pressing on civilians.

Anna discovers chalk marks on her back, a chilling sign that she is being watched. She warns her brother Franz that danger may be near as the regime tightens its grip. The moment highlights how suspicion seeps into personal relationships.

A husband and wife fear retribution after their son, a Hitler Youth member, reads aloud about executions and appears to go to report them. He returns home unexpectedly with candy, easing the moment but not the fear that lingers. The vignette shows the paradox of indoctrination and the fragile safety of family life.

In a neighborly setting, a factory worker's wife mourns her brother on the Eastern Front and repeats unsettling rumors of German pilots executing parachuting comrades to shield secrets. Her anguished anti-regime remarks horrify her husband and neighbor, revealing how fear can drive dissent and tension within communities.

On the snowbound Soviet front, three looters abandon a wounded comrade after realizing they left stolen goods with him. The choice to leave him behind marks a moral collapse under war’s pressure and foreshadows further consequences. Their fear of discovery drives a dangerous decision.

Two of the men return to collect the hidden goods and find only sled tracks and their missing partner. Haunted by the signs of betrayal, they decide to flee, showing how guilt and panic propagate in war-torn terrain. The discovery intensifies the sense of impending danger.

As they try to escape, the looters encounter Soviet partisans who complicate their already perilous situation. The confrontation tests their nerve and resourcefulness amid shifting control of the front. The partisans' presence reframes the looters' desperation.

In a final act of defiance, the captain attempts to overpower a female partisan but is fatally shot. The partisan resistance underscores the stubborn courage of those fighting back against occupation. The capture and subsequent recovery of the wounded prisoner closes the episode with a somber reckoning.

The partisans recover their wounded prisoner, reaffirming the moral cost of the conflict and the resilience of resistance. The episode encapsulates the broader human and moral conflicts running through the two Germanys.