This film produced in 1949, captured the mood right after the devastation of World War two. It starts with a German Blitzkrieg, which sends citizens scurrying for shelter, while an orthodox Rabbi, believing that God will help him and his family, continues his Friday night Kiddush (blessing of the wine) together with his family uninterruptedly. He soon finds out that the world is cruel enough when he is deported and needs to leave his house carrying his personal belongings, though still believing that it is only a temporary experience. While the Jews are being herded into trains to be taken away, the camera projects lengthy images of a cold and brutal winter. It is a metaphorical message of lifelessness and alludes to the world's cold response and the hopelessness yet to come.
In the next scene Jews are huddle together at night. In a flashback, the camera takes a close up of one mother when she says: "The living envies the dead, me they sent to the right but my Yankele, they sent to the left, to die. They killed him and spared me." The tragedy and human suffering are clearly seen on the faces. The dreary winter helps to create an image that only a miracle will give hope to this persecuted people.
The miracle occurred when the protagonist escaped from the train into the unknown and hostile world. Yet, he was fortunate enough to find a righteous farmer who helped him evade the German searching team.
This farmer is a symbol of the many exceptional individuals who emerged when they were called upon to show courage. These individuals challenged the German machinery of death and destruction and helped Jews. Their lives would surely be over if they were caught. Yet they rendered their assistance so Jews could escape death. Eventually, many Jews who were sheltered by these righteous Gentiles immigrated to Israel and started new lives. They founded agricultural and cooperative farms and rebuilt the Jewish homeland. Today Israel is a modern society with scientific institutions and democratic government.