The American troops have just defeated the Nazi army and there is a frenzy of freedom as the concentration camps are releasing prisoners. Still, American troops are uncertain what action to take with in Poland, so the U.S. takes control of the Polish camps. Here, Tadeusz (Daniel Obrychski) has been avoiding the ruckus of the freeing of prisoners by burying himself in books and voraciously reading. He meets a young girl, Nina, who is visiting the camp, and develops feelings for her. Trying to help Tadeusz understand that the situation requires action, Nina loses her life in a lesson that is hard for Tadeusz to swallow. Andrzej Wajda's brutal post-war portrait features one of the Polish master's most revered sequences, the rapidly paced opening depicting the reactions to freedom for those long occupied in Nazi death camps.
