The Murderers Are Among Us

It’s 1945. After three years’ internment in a concentration camp, Susanne Wallner returns to her old apartment, now occupied by Dr. Mertens. As a doctor and former German officer, Mertens is haunted by the images of a mass execution of Polish civilians. Susanne is able to convince him that retribution for such guilt is not a private matter, but that the war criminal must face justice in court.

THE MURDERERS ARE AMONG US was the first film to be made in Germany after the Second World War. Produced by the newly established DEFA studio with the support of the Soviet occupation forces, it marked the beginning of German cinema’s confrontation with the country’s immeasurable guilt and search for atonement.

Image © PROGRESS Film-Verleih / Eberhard Klagemann