[1][2] It is based on a true story, that of Otto and Elise Hampel, a working class couple in wartime Berlin who began a postcard campaign to resist the Nazis and the Third Reich and were arrested, tried before the Volksgerichtshof and executed at Plötzensee Prison.

Though their son is fighting on the front, they are apolitical and Otto is not a member of any political party.

Otto and Anna learn that their son has fallen "like a hero" in France and are devastated.

[3] In his grief and horror, Otto becomes politicized and decides to take action against the Nazis,[1][3] hoping to foment a mass rebellion against Hitler.

Though nothing comes of their efforts, the Quangels remain proud of what they've done; it enabled them to retain their faith in humanity.