The Third Generation

In his Berlin high-rise office, P.J. Lurz tells his American headquarters that their security computer systems struggle to win contracts with the Bonn government. He publicly cites sales difficulties but quietly reveals a secret plan to boost sales through a covert operation. The outline hints at using political leverage to create demand for the company’s products.

Susanne, Lurz's secretary, receives a phone call delivering the phrase 'The world as will and idea,' a key code among their circle. The phrase prompts her to mobilize the terrorist cell and arrange an upcoming meeting. She sets the covert plot in motion with this signal.

While en route home, Susanne and Gerhard stop at a hotel and become physically intimate, revealing their secret sado-masochistic affair to the audience. The hotel encounter foreshadows the personal entanglements behind the political plots. Place: Hotel along the route to their home.

The Gast family gathers for dinner, including Susanne's husband Edgar and Grandpa who notes that every generation needs a war. The meal juxtaposes domestic life with the looming violence of the conspirators. Place: Gast family home.

The terrorist group assembles at Rudolf's large apartment, where August is irritated by Ilse Hoffman, a drug-addicted roommate who poses a threat to their secrecy. The tension hints at internal fractures and rising paranoia. Place: Rudolf's apartment.

Paul arrives from Africa and is assigned to live with Hilde Krieger; he rapes her, and by the next day they have formed a couple. The dangerous shift in allegiance deepens the group's dynamics and foreshadows later betrayals. Place: Rudolf's apartment / Hilde's residence.

August Brem is revealed as the group's leader who is secretly a double agent, maintaining contact with Lurz to funnel money to the terrorists. The double game intensifies distrust and spycraft within the circle. Place: Unknown

August distributes paper squares to the group, some marked and some not, assigning Petra, Rudolf, and Hilde to break into an office at night to steal new identities. The operation’s stakes rise as the team prepares their disguises and alibis. Place: Rudolf's apartment.

Franz discovers Ilse dead from a drug overdose, a shocking blow that heightens fear and suspicion among the conspirators. The death undercuts their control and fuels paranoia about who is betraying whom. Place: Rudolf's apartment.

In a restaurant, Paul is gunned down by authorities, and Edgar witnesses the scene, recognizing his own father, Officer Gast, among the officers. The event cracks the group's confidence and intensifies their fear of discovery. Place: Restaurant.

To fund their activities, Petra and others rob the bank where Hans works, and they escape by changing their looks and names. During the escape, Petra shoots and kills her husband Hans, deepening the personal costs of their political crimes. Place: Bank / streets.

Bernhard is interrogated by Officer Gast about their whereabouts but secretly follows August, witnessing Lurz transfer money to August to finance the operation. The discovery deepens the sense of a traitor in their ranks. Place: Various locations

After Paul's death, August manipulates the group's suspicions by making them believe Franz is the traitor. He directs Franz to Ilse's grave and then alerts the authorities, leading to Franz's death. The maneuver demonstrates August's ruthless control over events. Place: Ilse's grave vicinity

With carnival disguises as cover, the remaining terrorists abduct P.J. Lurz and videotape him in a basement. He appears to smile for the camera, convinced his plan remains intact, even as the net closes in. Place: Basement