Ein Dorf wehrt sich (2019)

The historical film is set in the final days of the Second World War. The Allies are drawing ever closer, but the National Socialists still rule Altaussee. The Altaussee salt mine, used as a storage site for looted art, holds works destined for the planned Führermuseum in Linz. Miners from the Altaussee salt mine, including Josef Rottenbacher, haul sculptures and paintings into the tunnels under armed guard. Rottenbacher tries to stay out of everything and hopes the war will end. By contrast, his friend Franz Mitterjäger and Franz’s wife Elsa, who accuses Rottenbacher of cowardice, secretly supply deserters and partisans in the mountains. Although they are very careful, they attract the attention of the Secret State Police. Rottenbacher manages to warn his friend Mitterjäger, but Mitterjäger is shot while fleeing. After the National Socialists refuse to allow a burial, Rottenbacher and Elsa retrieve the body. The villagers join them, and Franz receives a dignified burial. Before the surrender, Gauleiter August Eigruber orders the tunnels to be blown up. The artworks are to be destroyed so they will not fall into the hands of the approaching enemy. However, the miners, led by Rottenbacher, actively resist, not least because destroying the mine would also destroy their livelihood. They receive support from Gestapo chief Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who in return expects the people of Aussee to put in a good word for him with the Americans. Together with the partisans, the miners stand against the demolition squad to prevent the destruction of the mine and, with it, the artworks. They remove from the tunnels the aerial bombs intended for the demolition and blow up the entrance to the tunnels.