Nachtwache (1949)

Johannes Heger arrives in the small town of Burgdorf with his ten-year-old daughter, Lotte, to take up the vacant post of Protestant pastor. At a hospital, he meets the doctor Cornelie Badenhausen. They like each other immediately. In the course of their conversations, it becomes clear that Cornelie has a very reserved attitude toward God and the Church in general. He only learns later that this is because Cornelie cannot come to terms with the loss of her little daughter and is at odds with God. In turn, during her conversations with Johannes Heger, Cornelie realizes that something is missing from her life, that there is an emptiness she cannot fill. Heger quickly connects with his Catholic fellow clergyman, Kaplan von Imhoff; the two men share a similar view of how they can help people through these difficult postwar times. They do not yet know that a special night lies ahead for them, too. As it happens, the actor Stefan Gorgas comes to Burgdorf after taking on the role of Everyman in Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s play. He is also a friend of Kaplan Imhoff; during the war, the two men were fighter pilots in the same unit. He was glad to accept the engagement in Burgdorf in part so he could see his old friend again. At this point, he does not know that he will meet Cornelie Badenhausen there—the mother of his child, who died during the bombing raids in the final days of the war. Events come to a head when Cornelie and Gorgas meet. They had gone their separate ways during the war, and now Gorgas wants to rekindle their relationship, but Cornelie wants nothing to do with it. In his disappointment, Gorgas provokes a scandal, and Cornelie is advised to resign from her post. Pastor Heger tries in vain to find a solution acceptable to everyone. Cornelie wants only to leave and heads for the railway station. A tragic event thwarts her plans, and everything takes a different turn. Heger’s daughter Lotte is riding with Gorgas on a swing boat when she sees Cornelie driving past in her car. The girl tries to wave to her, loses her balance, and falls out of the ride. Cornelie is not the only one who tries in vain at the hospital to save Lotte’s life. “Mückchen,” as Pastor Heger has always affectionately called his little daughter, closes her eyes forever. On this fateful night, Kaplan von Imhoff stays by Heger’s side and tries to support him. But all their pleas to God are in vain. Pastor Heger questions his faith, and despair over the death of his beloved child overwhelms him. Now it is Gorgas who shows him the way back to God. Blaming himself for Lotte’s death, Gorgas, in his despair, is about to take his own life by jumping. Pastor Heger is there in time to help the desperate man, and in doing so, finds his own way back to faith as well. Heger also manages to get through the first children’s service without his “Mücke.” Cornelie, who has accompanied him there, is impressed by his inner strength. She realizes that being rooted in faith is more than an empty phrase, and in this way finds her faith in God again. Liberated, she joins the children in their hymn of praise: “Lift up your hearts—we lift them up to the Lord.”