The Night of the Generals

In German-occupied Warsaw, a prostitute is murdered. Major Grau of the Abwehr launches an investigation into the killing, collecting early clues and interviewing witnesses. His findings point toward the involvement of one of three German generals: von Seidlitz-Gabler, Kahlenberge, or Tanz.

Grau's pursuit is abruptly halted when he is promoted and transferred to Paris, at the instigation of the very officers he suspects. The investigation is effectively suspended as he leaves Warsaw. The three suspects remain, and the case goes cold.

By July 1944, Paris becomes a hotbed of intrigue as Grau and the three generals converge there. Kahlenberge is deeply involved in the plot; Gabler knows of its existence but remains on the fence while pursuing extramarital affairs; Tanz is loyal to Hitler and has moved into the SS.

On the night of 19 July 1944, Tanz orders his driver Kurt Hartmann to procure a French prostitute. Tanz murders her in the same brutal manner as the Warsaw killing and implicates Hartmann in the act. Hartmann is offered the chance to desert as part of the cover-up.

Grau, now a lieutenant colonel in Paris, learns of the murder and restarts his inquiry. He gathers enough evidence to accuse Tanz of the crime, though his timing draws suspicion from the conspirators. The investigation intensifies as Grau closes in on the killer.

The following day, senior Wehrmacht officers attempt to assassinate Hitler, diverting attention from the murder. Grau presents his accusation to Tanz in person, but the news that Hitler survived shifts the dynamic. Seizing the moment, Tanz kills Grau to prevent exposure and frames him as a conspirator.

With Grau dead and Hitler alive, the 1944 investigation collapses, and Tanz remains unexposed for the moment. The Paris plot and the murder are left unresolved in the eyes of the authorities. The killer evades accountability as the war moves forward.

In 1965, Inspector Morand of Interpol reopens the cold case after Hamburg prostitute murders draw renewed attention. Morand owes Grau for not revealing his Resistance ties during the war. The investigation shifts from wartime intrigue to a persistent hunt for a modern killer.

Morand interviews General von Seidlitz-Gabler and Major General Kahlenberge, who reveal limited information but implicate Tanz as the likely killer. They confirm wartime plots and relationships that tie to the murders. The leads narrow the suspect pool and sharpen Morand's focus.

Morand traces Hartmann, who is still in hiding, and Seidlitz-Gabler directs him to Ulrike, the general's daughter who had a relationship with Hartmann and is now estranged. The connection to the wartime circle becomes clearer as the hunt intensifies.

Hartmann is found living with Ulrike, reinforcing the link to Tanz's past and the killings. Morand pieces together how the Warsaw and Paris murders fit into a single pattern carried forward decades later. The evidence accumulates toward a single suspect.

At a reunion dinner for Tanz's former Panzer division, Morand confronts Tanz with Hartmann as a witness. Tanz withdraws to a vacant room and shoots himself, ending the long-running case and erasing the killer from the scene. The investigation finally closes with Tanz's suicide.