Werner Holt, a young Luftwaffenhelfer in an anti-aircraft gun crew stationed on the eastern border of Germany in the last days of World War II, is awaiting the attack of the Red Army with his friend and commander Gilbert Wolzow.

He remembers how he began to lose faith in the war's aims, after witnessing the brutal crushing of the Slovak National Uprising and having a sexual encounter with an SS officer's wife, which left him disgusted.

[4] Director Joachim Kunert, writer Claus Küchenmeister and cinematographer Rolf Sohre all won the National Prize of East Germany, 2nd Class, on 6 October 1965.

"[9] Sabine Hake cited The Adventures of Werner Holt as one of the most notable films that, using a modernist style, challenged the traditional East German anti-Fascist narrative by introducing a more personal perspective to the theme.

[12] Authors Antonin and Miera Liehm classified it as one of the "army epics", a genre that used the setting of the German military to convey strong criticism of the country's militaristic tradition.