Olympics 40 1980

Synopsis

The year 1940. Prisoners of war – soldiers from Poland, France, Great Britain, Belgium and Norway – live in a German Stalag. Depressing captivity, backbreaking work in the quarries, food shortages and a lack of hope for the liberation cause quarrels and ethnic divisions among the prisoners. Lieutenant Schultze, who arrives at Stalag from Berlin, is supposed to help the Camp Commander establish iron discipline and increase productivity in the quarries. Among the Polish prisoners Schultze recognizes Piotr, who was his rival at the Olympics in Berlin in 1936. He offers Piotr a better treatment in exchange for cooperation. Piotr refuses. He is involved in the organization of the POW Olympic Games aimed at unification of all ethnic groups of prisoners. The Olympics enthusiasts devise ways to modify the particular sports events so that they could be held in the camp conditions. Underground trainings begin...
The film is based on real events that took place in September 1940 in the Nazi XIII C Langwasser Stalag, where prisoners – on the initiative of the Poles – organized underground sports games.