During the Battle of Stalingrad, five German soldiers and officers are taken prisoner of war by the Soviets. In an interview, they talk about the fear of retribution, the question of guilt and the gradual shattering of an enemy image. The process of their rethinking is also due to their encounter with the "National Committee Free Germany". Pilot officer Charisius got into conversation with the Soviet writer Fedin in the camp. Decades later, Charisius remembers it. Pictures of the destroyed Stalingrad and scenes of the men in their present-day environment complement the conversation.