Female prisoners of various ethnic background struggle to survive the hardships of Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

Martha Weiss, a Jew, is sent to Auschwitz concentration camp with her family. On the first day of their arrival Martha is, by a coincidence, chosen as an interpreter, but her entire family is killed. Waiting for the Red Army to deliver them from the prison camp, the film depicts Martha and her friends' struggling life under the tyranny of camp guards and equally bad 'capos', administrative personnel chosen from among the prisoners.—Heikki A.

DVD Back Cover (Polart 2009) provides this information: "Martha Weiss, a Jew, is sent to Auschwitz concentration camp with her family. On the first day of their arrival Martha is, by a coincidence, chosen as an interpreter, but her entire family is killed. The horrible lives of female immates {sic] of Auschwitz are chronicled in this chillingly accurate recreation of actual events. Filmed on location at the notorious German concentration camp, it tells the story of one woman's attempts to survive until she is eventually rescued. Based on the actual experiences of film director, Wanda Jakubowska, as a prisoner of a German concentration camp."—jollro

Daily life in the women's section of Auschwitz. New echelons with prisoners of different ages from different countries are constantly arriving. New arrivals are separated from their relatives, undressed, cut, marked with tattoos. They do not even know what fate awaits them.—Tango Papa