BeFreier und BeFreite plot
Three women (Frau Hoffmann, Frau Ludwig and Frau Deutschkron) who were raped in Berlin in 1945 by Red Army soldiers talk about their experiences. In collaboration with historian Barbara Johr, Helke Sander investigated the history of women who were raped by Soviet soldiers in Berlin after the liberation in May 1945. Sander and Johr often received disapproval and lack of understanding for their research. Helke Sander interviewed the women herself, but also gave the floor to German and Soviet soldiers who admit to having raped women during the war. The first part of the documentary lets the women speak and looks for the reasons for the atrocities. The second part of the documentary discusses the consequences of the rapes for the women and the children.