The book was based on the story of two ordinary Germans, Otto and Elise Hampel, who committed acts of civil disobedience against the Third Reich, were caught and sentenced to death.

Anna and Otto Quangel, a working class couple, live in Berlin in simple circumstances and are not particularly interested in politics.

The first filmed version was Falk Harnack's 1962 television play, Jeder stirbt für sich allein produced and broadcast in West Germany.

In 1970, DEFA produced a three-part miniseries, Jeder stirbt für sich allein in East Germany, directed by Hans-Joachim Kasprzik.

[1] Elsa Grube-Deister and Erwin Geschonneck played the main roles and supported by Wolfgang Kieling and Fred Delmare among others.