Paranoia (1967)

The story is about a young man serving as a soldier in the Dutch army when the Second World War breaks out. The five days during which the Netherlands can defend itself against the Germans are far too short for him to take action: before the soldier even reaches his destination, he is told that the fighting is over. He spends the rest of the war as a recluse. Three years after the war, he lives with his girlfriend in an attic room in Amsterdam. One day, when he reads in the newspaper that a dangerous SS man is still at large, he imagines that he is that SS man. The young man begins behaving exactly like the war criminal and fully immerses himself in the man’s life. Because he must not be seen by anyone on the street, he shuts himself off from the outside world. His girlfriend and landlord, however, observe this behavior and think he is insane. But the young man’s behavior is caused by his wartime trauma: the feeling that he could not fight when the Germans invaded the Netherlands has given him a guilt complex. One day, when the young man finds a pistol, he shoots his landlord and his girlfriend dead because they could betray him and turn him over to the police. The young man seeks peace and freedom and therefore decides to jump out of the window.