Figure 1.--"Stunde Null" is a wonderful German film directed by Edgar Reitz about the period in Germany immediately after the fall of the Third Reich. The story concerns Joschie, a former member of the Hitler Youth, who has fallen in love with America and American flying. He wears an American flight jacket over this short pants and as well as boots with white knee socks rolled down to his ankles.

A wonderful German film directed by Edgar Reitz about the period in Germany immediately after the fall of the Third Reich. The story concerns Joschie, a former member of the Hitler Youth, who has fallen in love with America and American flying. He wears an American flight jacket over this short pants and as well as boots with white knee socks rolled down to his ankles. Joschie intends to find Nazi buried treasure in a cemetery near Leipzig, left by the retreating Nazi soldiers. He has heard that such a place exists but he doesn't know the exact location. He meets Isa, a refugee girl, in a house near the cemetery, and together they hunt for the treasure and find it--a cache of medals and jewelry, which of course they hide to keep it secret. It is just the moment when Germany is being divided up into occupation zones. They are in the part to be taken over by the Russians, and when the Russian soliders arrive, Joschie almost causes a mass execution because he had fired a shot to warn Isa to keep the treasure hidden. The soliders spare the victims, however, because they think the shot was fired because the boy and girl are in love. Together Isa and Joschie decide to take the treasure and escape to the American zone where they expect that they will be welcomed warmly. They walk for hours. But when they finally cross into the American area, a jeep pulls up alongside the pair; the soldiers search Joschie's pockets, discover the valuables, and confiscate them together with his flight jacket. They ride off with Isa in their jeep leaving Joschie disillusioned and alone on the country road. A very sad and ironic ending. Anette Junger played the part of Isa; Joschie was acted by Kai Taschner.

Created: May 21, 2004
Last updated: May 21, 2004