Immediately after the capitulation of Warsaw on September 27th, 1939, the German occupation authorities began a broad registration of all Polish citizens, with a special attention for young men fit for military service. In order to fill the ranks of the German "Wehrmacht" 250.000 young Poles were declared "Volksdeutsche" (of German which meant Aryan decent) and drafted, many of them directly from the defeated Polish army. Called "Beutesoldaten" (looted soldiers) by the German soldiers they were forced to fight in Russia and France in a foreign army, in a war that was not theirs, against their conviction. It seems that the Germans feared resisitance from their "looted comrades" as the high command allowed only small numbers of them to serve in the same unit. Director Gropper asked eyewitnesses to talk about their experiences, which also included the ostracism of Poland`s post-war society as traitors. It was only in 1989 when the communist regime was toppled and the aging ex-soldiers had to take legal action for their pensions that turned to the public with their history.