The Marriage of Maria Braun

Germany 1943: Just one day after his wedding in the middle of a hail of bombs, Hermann Braun has to return to the front. His newlywed wife Maria makes a living as a barmaid. Hermann remains untraceable after the end of the war and Maria begins an affair with the coloured GI Bill. When Hermann surprises the two when he returns home, Maria kills the American. Hermann takes the blame and goes to prison for several years. Meanwhile Maria hires herself out in the office of the terminally ill industrialist Oswald, who offers her a large inheritance for her affection. In this way Maria wants to build a new existence for herself and Hermann. But Hermann's return after Oswald's death does not mark the hoped-for beginning of the long-delayed married life...