Before the Fall 2005

In 1942, the boxing talent of Friedrich Weimer earns him a place at a National Political Institute of Education (NaPolA), a boarding school that serves as a gateway into the Nazi elite. When his factory-worker father who questions the regime refuses to sign, Friedrich takes matters into his own hands, forging the required permission slip and slipping away in the night. He hitchhikes to the fictional Napola Allenstein, where he meets his new roommate, Albrecht Stein, and the two boys quickly become allies, supporting each other through a brutal regime that prizes conformity and strength.

From the start, the school’s culture is harsh: rigid discipline, older students preying on younger ones, and teachers who turn a blind eye or even encourage cruelty. A notable target of mockery is Siegfried, whose bedwetting makes him a frequent butt of jokes. The NaPolA curriculum pushes the Nazi Party doctrine of racial hierarchy, the so‑called “Rassenlehre,” and lessons that frame “survival of the fittest” as natural law, with Jews and enemies of the state labeled as treacherous and inferior. The boxing trainer who first helps Friedrich emphasizes ruthlessness, telling him that compassion for opponents is “bullshit” and insisting that strength must come first.

A troubling thread runs through Friedrich’s life at Allenstein: a letter from his mother reveals that his father recently received an undesirable visit from the Gestapo, a consequence linked to the very instructor who has been shaping Friedrich’s path. Albrecht, meanwhile, opens up about his love for writing and the arts—an interest his Gauleiter father deems inappropriate for men. He begins contributing to the school newspaper, taking Friedrich’s feedback as he hones his voice.

Friedrich’s first NaPolA boxing match arrives quickly, and he overpowers his opponent, driving him into a corner and delivering a brutal knockout amid the cheers of staff and students. The celebration is tempered by Albrecht’s rebuke, who sees the act as cruel rather than heroic. The same period brings a chilling display: a live-stick grenade exercise in which one student panics and flees the trench. Siegfried sacrifices himself by diving onto the grenade to shield his classmates, a sacrifice that earns him a grand funeral and martyr status at the school. The boy who panicked is expelled, while the instructor who abandoned his post is quietly commended, underscoring the regime’s double standards.

The weekend at the Stein family mansion intensifies the tensions. Gauleiter Heinrich Stein openly criticizes Albrecht for his sensitivity and artistic leanings, favoring Friedrich’s athletic prowess instead. The visit also exposes a rift between the boys, though the shared boxing heat continues to test their bond. When winter arrives, the class is mobilized for a forest patrol after a group of Soviet prisoners of war allegedly stole weapons. Armed with Karabiner 98k rifles, Friedrich and Albrecht join the search. They encounter armed figures in hiding and open fire, only to discover that the supposed enemies are children. A horrified Albrecht tends to a wounded survivor, but his father arrives with a search party and shoots him. As they return to Allenstein, the other prisoners are shown being rounded up and shot.

The next day, Albrecht’s courageous condemnation of the executions—read aloud in class as an essay—puts him at odds with the school authorities. He denounces the killings as criminal, and, in a powerful confrontation, accuses his own father of ordering the persecution. The response from the school is brutal: Gauleiter Stein announces that soon his son will be withdrawn from Allenstein to fight on the Eastern Front, a fate equated with death in the regime’s logic.

A final, harrowing test awaits on a frozen lake. The class is divided into pairs, each pair jumping through two holes cut in the ice with a rope guiding their approach. Friedrich reaches the other side, and Albrecht follows. When Albrecht disappears, Friedrich runs to the spot, calling for him. Albrecht briefly surfaces, makes a decisive sign to Friedrich, then slips away again—choosing to vanish rather than be pulled back into the world they were raised to inhabit. Friedrich, devastated, writes an obituary for his friend and asks the headmaster to publish it; the headmaster refuses, stating that among those who died for Führer, Fatherland and Nation, there is no place for suicides.

Ahead of Friedrich’s crucial boxing match against another NaPolA school in Potsdam, the stakes feel existential. Scouts from universities watch, and Gauleiter Stein attends, dismissing his son’s earlier act as weakness. Friedrich dominates the bout but decides not to deliver the finishing blow. The other boy recovers, lands a punch, and Friedrich is knocked out as the arena falls silent, leaving Allenstein stunned and humiliated.

The following day, Friedrich is expelled, stripped of his uniform, and sent back to his room to dress in plain clothes. He is forbidden to speak to his roommates as he packs, and he is escorted out through the gates. He casts one last look at Allenstein before walking into the falling snow, a lone figure stepping away from the regime and its tyranny.

“Amidst people who have died for Führer, Fatherland and Nation, there is no place for suicides”