The Turning Point (1983 film)

The Turning Point German Der Aufenthalt is a 1983 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Sylvester Groth, Fred Dren and Klaus Piontek. The film is based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Hermann Kant, which was based on Kants own experience as a prisoner of war in Poland. The film tells the story of a German prisoner of war at the end of World War II who is wrongly accused of being a war criminal. The film was controversial upon release as Polish commentators criticized that the film showed the Polish army wrongly accusing someone of war crimes. Nevertheless the film was successful and won several awards and was the East German official submission to the 56th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

After four months of solitary confinement he is transferred to a new prison cell he is sharing with Polish criminals. As a German he is subject to their hatred and is regularly harassed. He is also assigned the most dangerous works, having to remove stones from bombed houses in Warsaw. During one of his assignment he saves a child, but breaks his arm. He is transferred to a hospital where he learns that he is charged with murder.After his hospital stay he is transferred to a new prison, where he has to share a cell with German prisoners of war. The German prisoners maintain strict military order according to their former ranks. They are led by General Eisensteck Fred Dren and Major Lundenbroich Klaus Piontek who still cling to fascist ideals. Little by little Niebuhr gets to know his fellow prisoners. Although everyone is maintaining his innocence, Niebuhr slowly realizes that they are murderers and war criminals. He begins to distance himself from his fellow prisoners and realizes his guilt as an ordinary German soldier. While his cell mates are one by one executed, the Polish authorities ultimately believe Niebuhr and release him. ........

Source: Wikipedia