The movie starts on a morning in January 1945. The spectator is advised of the real events on which the movie is based. The first pictures show images of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, and afterwards the inside of barrack 20 – the “death block” – is shown. 500 Russian soldiers, who have refused to fight for Germany after being arrested, sleep on the floor. Then the wake-up-call rings. Having been put on a harsh diet, many get up only laboriously, while some are completely unable to do so any more.