It premiered at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival in 1980, where it was nominated for a Golden Bear award.

On Lene's birthday, she learns that Hans has been conscripted to fight in Poland because he is a low-level bureaucrat who is not in the party, while Ulrich has been spared.

In Poland, Hans murders civilians and has a hard time adjusting to war, like many other soldiers.

When he returns on leave, he and Lene conceive a child, Anna, who is born during an air raid.

The teasing breaks Hans' cheerful mood (whose fragility is likely due to post-traumatic stress), leading him to beat Anna to tears.

This further isolates and depresses Lene whose facial paralysis persists, who takes to her bed, withdraws from Anna, and wears a veil when she has to go out.