The film depicts the fate of some of the last remaining Jews in Berlin, who in April 1943 were rounded up at the Berlin-Grunewald station and sent to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

The film stands out due to its proximity as well as the unsparing realism with which the brutality of a transport to the Auschwitz concentration camp appears.

During filming, director Joseph Vilsmaier fell from a crane and suffered permanent, albeit minor, injuries.

It was widely released in theaters in Germany by The Central Cinema Company on November 9, 2006, the 68th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

[2] Eddie Cockrell of Variety stated it had "erratic production values and one-dimensional characterizations" and it is "destined for specialty fests and undiscerning cablers, with solid ancillary classroom use".