The movie begins with Friedrich Kellner as a political activist for the Social Democratic Party of Germany before the war. He campaigns against Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. The re-enactments show Kellner trying to stop the riots against the Jews during Kristallnacht. Kellner is brought before a tribunal, and he is threatened with imprisonment in a concentration camp. The movie shows Kellner’s active and passive resistance against the Third Reich. One scene shows him distributing leaflets that had been dropped from American planes. When World War II comes to an end, Kellner helps to restore the SPD. He becomes the chairman of the party in his region. Interwoven in the story about Friedrich Kellner is the story of his grandson.