So when his wife Pauline starts to run the shop alone, her character is subsequently of public interest for all citizens who are concerned about the well-being of their families during the ongoing war.

Pauline, still young and attractive, shares the fate of other soldiers' wives who constantly face the fear her husband might return crippled, maimed or not at all.

But because her husband's shop is highly important for the town's community, she gets somebody who can ease her working load, and so a Polish prisoner of war named Stanisław must serve her.

I didn't know the realities, and had to resort to fiction.The German audience sensed this unreality at once, which afforded them the opportunity to reject, with relief, the problems touched upon in the film.On Rotten Tomatoes, A Love in Germany holds a rating of 55% based on 22 reviews.

The consensus states: "Hanna Schygulla's thoroughly compelling performance isn't quite enough to outweigh A Love in Germany's leaden execution -- but it comes close.