The story of a young boy living in the ruins of Berlin in 1946. In his “Dictionary of Films,” Georges Sadoul notes:
“The actors were all nonprofessionals. Made in the neorealist style of films like Rome, Open City and Paisan, this lyrical view of Germany in the immediate postwar period has some magnificent scenes, even though, as a whole, it does not match the earlier Rossellini films. Among the memorable scenes are the voice of Hitler on a phonograph among the ruins of the Chancellery and the death of the hero in a gutted building, accompanied by the tragic sound of a passing tram. The film was relatively unsuccessful and this prompted Rossellini to move in other directions. ‘Although the story of Edmund and his family was invented by me, it is nevertheless the common story of German families. It is a mixture of reality and fiction, treated with the license that is the prerogative of any artist' (Rossellini). The film was made with French financing and the assistance of the East German film company, DEFA.”