First part of a documentary film about the First World War following German writer Ludwig Harig, as he travels to the Somme to try and learn and understand why his father was unable to speak about the war. Archive film of the German army in camps, on the Front and scenes of life of France under their occupation are shown, with interviews with surviving villagers from the Somme area, who talk about their experiences and what life was like at that time close to the front, and under German occupation.