杰出的犹太族外科医生马姆洛克教授是一个只关心医学，不过问政治的人。他看不出纳粹产生的危险，也不明白看病的瓦尔特为什么会为了政治主张而置自己的健康而不顾。在他看来，纳粹分子就跟黑尔帕赫博士一样，既“不顾大局”，也决不会杀人。当他的儿子罗尔夫投入反纳粹的斗争中时，他把儿子赶出家门。他相信，不需要暴力，光靠理性和讲道理就能解决问题，取得胜利。希特勒上台不久，因为马姆洛克是犹太，他便不能继续在医院里工作了……

"Two main protagonists dominate this epic film. Chairman Mauch, who had supported Hitler, finds new fame and fortune in West Germany after the war. The bourgeois chemist Dr. Hans Scholz lives through a tortuous political transformation and maturing process. Finally, he becomes wrapped up in his political neutrality and closes his eyes to the fact that poison is being produced in his factory. Standing before the judges at the Nuremburg Trials, he learns that he is partly responsible for millions of deaths in gas chambers at concentration camps."--Container