A 17-year-old boy, growing up without a father in 1933 Berlin, becomes a patient of a psychoanalyst. Two years of therapy help him overcome his social isolation and guide him toward finding his place in society. That society offers an opportunity – he joins the SS. His new status fosters self-confidence. For the first time, he begins developing a relationship with a girl. He abandons therapy, no longer feeling the need for it. Eventually, he is sent to work as a guard at a concentration camp. His time there plunges him into a personal crisis. He unexpectedly recognizes his former Berlin therapist among the prisoners. The guard turns to the prisoner for help. The prisoner helps his guard.
