1923:
As the German economy is at its lowest point, the orphaned Johann Shmidt is in
the Munich Home for Wayward Boys, managed by a brutal Director. His friend
Dieter finds a stray puppy and Johann helps him hide it from the dog catcher
and from the Director. Late one night, Johann goes downstairs but Dieter thinks
he is going to tell the Director but he is getting food for the dog from the
kitchen. Dieter ends up in the infirmary after another beating and Johann runs
away. The Director follows him but they are stopped by a Nazi march on City
Hall; the Director tells Johann these are the true German patriots. Gunfire
breaks out; the Nazi leader is hustled to safety by his men. The Director
forces Johann to stand firm but the boy runs away and jumps into the dog
catcher’s truck. He asks to see how the dog catcher kills the dogs. The dog
catcher stuns the dogs with a blow to the head with a club and then he cuts
their throats with a knife. He hands Johann the club and knife and tells him to
do the next one. Then he produces Dieter’s puppy but Johann can’t bring himself
to harm the pup. The dog catcher congratulates him for still having some
humanity, puts the pup in a pen with other dogs then leaves. The bigger dogs
attack the puppy so Johann enters the pen and beats the big dogs brutally with
the club. Afterward, he discovers the puppy is mortally wounded so he cuts its
throat and leaves….