In December 1944 the actor Adolf Grünbaum and his family are arrested in the concentration camp Sachsenhausen and at the same time Adolf Hitler lives in Berlin, which is heavily destroyed, in his new "Reichskanzklei". Meanwhile Joseph Goebbels and his propaganda machine are preparing a big event for the New Year's Day of 1945 in Berlin's "Lustgarten" to motivate the war-weary German population. Hitler shall excite the masses with an excellent and aggressive speech. But he is ill and depressive and doesn't want to show off in public.
That is why Grünbaum is taken from the concentration camp to teach Hitler acting. Hitler begins to trust the Jew and even tells him stories about his childhood, when his father ill-treated him. Grünbaum's feelings are quite ambivalent. On the one hand he often thinks of killing Hitler, but on the other hand he prevents an assasination on Hitler and defends him discussing with his wife, saying that he is just a product of the conflicts in his childhood.
During the lessons the two are observed by many important leading personalities. Goebbels and Himmler are planning to kill Hitler during his speech with a bomb set under the platform. They think Hitler's depressions threaten the final victory. The blame for the assasination would fall on Grünbaum and thus also strengthen the hatred on Jews again.
Grünbaum always has to report to Goebbels about the progress of the lessons and finally can mangae that his family is set free. But he fails to achieve the setting free of the other imprisoned Jews. Grünbaum declares he will not work for Goebbels any longer and he and his family are sent back to Sachsenhausen. Adolf Hitler, waiting impatiently for his lessons, orders their return and Goebbels pretends the release of the Jews from Sachsenhausen to make Grünbaum come back.
In the meantime the route through Berlin, from the "Reichskanzlei" to the "Lustgarten", is prepared to be filmed and the bombed houses are replaced by wooden buildings.
On New Year's Day Hitler is hoarse in such a way he can't perform his speech. But the event cannot be delayed, as it has costed about 3.5 mio. "Reichsmark" and shall be filmed all the time. So Grünbaum has to sit under the platform, reading the speech and Hitler just has to move his lips and gesticulate. But Grünbaum soon stops reading the original text and makes fun of Hitler. He is shot and thus Hitler is prevented from the assasination attempt.