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A noble family struggles to survive the political upheaval and social change of the early 20th century in this grim drama based on a true story. Prince Hans von Teuss (Jan Nowicki) divorces his wife when he discovers she has been the lover of Emperor Wilhelm II. He becomes wheelchair bound when he suffers from paralysis. The bad luck for the Prince continues when he discovers his eldest son Franzel is a Nazi sympathizer. As if things couldn't get worse, the Prince catches his young bride Marisca making love to his youngest son Bolko. The Prince divorces Marisca and forces Bolko to marry her in a humiliating public wedding. Bolko is arrested in 1935 and is subjected to cruel medical experimentation before his father witnesses his agonizing death. The middle son Conrad (Jan Englert) is the only one to survive World War II, and he transforms the family palace into a tourist trap.