Blind at Heart

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• 2023
• 2 hr 16 mins
• Drama, Documentary

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Helene spends her youth together with her sister Martha in idyllic Lusatia. After her father died in the First World War, her Jewish mother increasingly withdrew into mental confusion. Helene calls this "blind at heart" and suffers from the coldness of her mother, who hardly seems to notice her daughter anymore. The two sisters find a way out of their difficult circumstances and flee to an aunt in Berlin. While Martha throws herself into the drug-fueled party life of the 1920s, Helene pursues her dream of becoming a doctor. She catches up on her A-levels and meets the student Karl. The two share a kindred spirit, which leads to a great love affair. But shortly before their engagement, Karl dies tragically. Helene plunges into deep grief and loses her sense of existence. Only her work, now as a nurse, helps her to endure life. At the hospital, she meets the enthusiastic engineer Wilhelm, who persistently woos her. At first she is dismissive, her heart belongs to Charles. But with the political shift towards National Socialism, Helene runs the risk of losing her position as a nurse. As the daughter of a Jew, it is impossible for her to prove that she is Aryan. Wilhelm, who has very good contacts, offers to help Helene find a new identity with papers. In order to survive, she finally agrees to marry Wilhelm. She changed her name to Alice and moved with her husband to Stettin, where their son was born. It soon becomes clear that Helene's wishes do not match those of Wilhelm. The marriage fails. Emotionally cold, left alone and overwhelmed with her child, Helene takes refuge in working at the hospital. When the war ends, Helene makes a momentous decision that haunts her for years to come.