Burgendorf, a small village in Bavaria only days before the First World War. Mother Bernle has four sons: Franz is in the army, Johann works at the forge, Andreas tends the sheep. The fourth, Joseph, has just received the offer of a job in the States. Mother Bernle has been secreting away the money he needs for the passage for quite a while. On the day of her birthday he leaves for the USA.
Then war is declared. Franz and Johann, excited about their new uniforms, join their units and go of to war. Meanwhile in America Joseph runs the German-American Delicatessen with his new wife Annabelle. The reports of the first German battles with the Russians sound good. But at home in Burgendorf Mother Bernle receives her first black-edged letter. When America does enter the war, Joseph enlists. With the war now lasting for several years the situation in Burgendorf has worsened. Von Stomm, the local major, accuses Mother Bernle of being the "mother of a traitor".