CineCentrum Deutsche Gesellschaft für Film- und Fernsehproduktion mbH

The 13 days from April 20th to May 2nd, 1945, are unique in the history of Germany: They are the final act in the history of the third Reich which was supposed to last for a thousand years and succumbed after twelve in an orgy of violence and fire. In the catacombs of his bunker under the Reich Chancellery in the capital city of Berlin, which Adolf Hitler wanted to make to the centre of the world, the dictator operates with ghost divisions during the final days of the war. Only in the final moment, he takes his own life. Meanwhile, On the streets, in the ruins, and the basements of the destroyed city, the final battle wages on: Adolescents are sacrificed without purpose, women get raped, loyal party comrades commit suicide in the thousands, Jews who were in hiding for years hope for the liberation.

A German couple travels, shortly after reunification, to the Netherlands. Happiness does not last long. The wife receives a letter from an unknown woman.

They are actually a mother-daughter team that could hardly be more harmonious: the respected Hamburg pediatrician Claudia Kayser and her almost 17-year-old daughter Carolin. Since the tragic death of her beloved father, the two have become even closer - at that time the girl helped her grieving mother to overcome a difficult emotional depression.