Wohin die Züge fahren (1949)

Max Engler and his young acquaintance Gustav Dussmann meet at a freight yard—the place the trains in the title are headed—in the hunger and scarcity year of 1948. They are both typical homeless Germans of that era, two uprooted men who survived the war with difficulty and are finding it very hard to settle back into their homeland, which lies in ruins. With no roof over their heads and no family waiting for them anywhere, their lives unfold on the open road and among the ruins, in freight cars and in night shelters. Just to get something to eat, both men try their hand at swindling wealthy farmers’ daughters into marriage. Max is also driven by an unshakable determination to find his fiancée Martha again by this unusual means. One day, a down-to-earth young woman responds to an advertisement placed in the newspaper. She devotedly cares for Hannele, an abandoned child she has taken in. Her name is Fanny Förster. She was once evacuated from Bavaria to Freiburg and now lives in a dilapidated house ruin, getting by as best she can. She begins to fall in love with the mature Max. Meanwhile, his young buddy Gustav gets into trouble with the law and has to spend some time in prison. When Max has to watch Martha, who has turned up again, throw herself into the arms of an American occupation soldier, he is deeply disappointed and opens himself up to Fanny. The two now have an excellent chance of a future together. Max resolves to stand by Gustav as a good friend and help him make a fresh start once he is released.