Boxer a smrť (1963)

Camp commandant Walter Kraft spends many hours alone in a gym set up specially for him inside the camp, keeping in shape for the prizefighting career he hopes to resume when he returns to civilian life. He dismisses his wife’s suggestion that he find a sparring partner among the prisoners, since they are “flies,” as he calls them, and far too weak. When he tries to punch Jan Kominek, a prisoner recaptured after an escape attempt, to the ground, Kominek’s reaction tells Kraft that he was once a boxer. Kraft takes the starved Kominek with him for a practice bout, which Kraft wins after a minute and a half. Spurred on by this and tired of fighting a punching bag, the commandant orders the already planned execution called off and has the prisoner prepared for a real boxing match. Kominek is given complete freedom to regain his fighting weight and improve his condition. The camp doctor, who also acts as referee, sees him as a subject for his medical experiments. Willi, a Slovak SS guard, becomes Kominek’s personal minder, while only SS officer Holder opposes this turn of events. Kominek is unpopular with his fellow prisoners, who resent his privileged position. He finds support only in Venzlak, a prisoner housed in another barrack. Venzlak knows a little about boxing and becomes Kominek’s secret trainer. In their next match, Kominek lasts two rounds, enabling his minder Willi to win a bet. A training run outside the camp also helps the two boxers improve their stamina. At the end of the run, Kraft invites Kominek to have a glass of beer at an inn. There Jan sees the innkeeper’s daughter, Halina, for the first time and tells Venzlak about her. Venzlak and his friends ask him to find out during his next training session on the other side of the fence how many escapees she can hide, since she is the contact with helpers outside the camp. But there is no further run: Holder has reminded the commandant of his limits. After some time, Kominek is ready to attempt a ten-round match before a larger audience. At the start of the fight, Holder learns that Venzlak is Kominek’s friend and shoots him. The fight is evenly matched, and both men go down several times. Kraft is declared the winner by seven rounds to three, but lasting the full distance is a victory for the prisoner too. Immediately afterward, Kominek runs to tell Venzlak, only to learn that he is dead. So enraged is he that he tricks the commandant into agreeing to an immediate rematch, intending to knock him out—and succeeds. Holder is therefore ordered to deal with the prisoner, which means certain death for Kominek. Persuaded by his wife, Kraft has second thoughts, brings Kominek back, and gives him the discharge papers of a prisoner who has already died. But Jan will leave only if no alarm is raised after he exits the camp and the 40 prisoners in his barrack are not sent to the gas chamber, as usually happens after an escape. Kraft agrees, but later SS officer Holder plans to telephone Berlin to report the incident to the higher authorities, which would have serious consequences for Kraft. So Kraft decides after all to raise the alarm. When Kominek reaches Halina and tells her that several prisoners are planning to escape, so she can prepare, the sirens begin to wail. He turns back toward the camp to save his comrades’ lives.