The series tells the story of Hermann Steputat, born in 1934, in the village of Jokehnen in Eastern Prussia. The day he is born is also the day Hitler comes to power in Germany, and Hermann grows up under the Nazi regime and during the years of WWII. At first, it seems the village can survive the war, but eventually the Soviets break through the defenses and march into Eastern Prussia. The attempt to of the villagers to join the trek of replaced Germans towards the West is stopped by the Soviet troops, the men from the village are sent to Siberia; women and children are initially sent back to the village, but when the region becomes part of Poland, they are evicted and sent West to Germany under appalling conditions.