Cologne at the end of WWII. The city is in shambles, everyone is terrified, and many people have died. It is a very inhumane epoch. The young Edelweiss Pirates of Cologne refuse to yield to Nazi regime pressure. They fight alongside the Hitler Youth and write anti-war propaganda on the walls. Karl is a member of the Edelweiss Pirates, while his younger brother, Peter, is a member of the Hitler Youth movement. The two young men have been alone since their mother was killed in a bombing raid; their father is serving at the front, and their older brother, Otto, was killed in action. Cilly, Otto's fiancée, is doing everything she can to keep her children alive during the war. Carl is making an effort to assist her.