A young survivor of World War II and former member of the reputed "Barefoot Battalion", a close-knit pack of disciplined orphaned boys, recounts to a homeless street urchin the story of 160 orphans who aided the Resistance.

In a poverty-stricken post-World War II Thessaloniki that's struggling to get back on its feet, a young man, Dimitris, catches Stavros, a street urchin, in the act of stealing a wallet. Intent on lending the boy a helping hand--and almost ten years after the end of the war--Dimitris recounts the powerful and heartwarming story of the nearly one hundred sixty orphans who were expelled from the city's orphanage by the Germans, during the German occupation of Greece. They were the reputed "Barefoot Battalion", a proud and close-knit pack of disciplined orphans, who took their lives into their own hands, every time they stripped a German truck of its food and medicine, to aid the Resistance and the multitudes of impoverished people of the town. To them, stealing was an art, and a grave necessity; nevertheless, now that the war is finally over, what is Stavros' excuse?—Nick Riganas

Released in the USA as "The Barefoot Battalion", this is the story of a besieged country in wartime and the effect of such on the children. Told in flashback by a young man after the war, he tells how he (Stavros Krozos in flashback) and his orphaned sister (Ketty Gyni) can barely subsist and he has become a petty thief. He comes across a group of boys, the "Barefoot Batallion", who steal food from the Germans and distribute it to the needy and destitute of the city. The boys take pity on the brother and sister and let the two join them. In addition to their work of stealing food and provisions, they also hide and eventually smuggle an American aviator out of the country. The score is played by the Symphony Orchestra of Athens.—Les Adams <[email protected]>