The Case of Sergeant Grischa (1930)

The Case of Sergeant Grischa (1930) follows the journey of Grischa Paprotkin, a humble sergeant in the Russian Army who finds himself captured by the Germans during World War I and confined in a prisoner-of-war camp. Seizing an opportunity to escape, Grischa ends up staying with a young Russian refugee named Babka. As time passes, Grischa yearns to return to his homeland in Russia. Despite her growing affection for him, Babka agrees to assist him in his journey. To avoid detection as an escaped POW, Babka secures the credentials of a deceased Russian soldier, Bjuscheff, for Grischa. On his way back to Russia, Grischa stops at the home of one of Babka's friends in Mervinsk. When a German soldier arrives, Grischa hides in the basement. The soldier notices a Russian soldier's cap that Babka had dropped, leading to her capture. Grischa is then mistaken for a Russian spy and sentenced to execution. While in captivity, Babka's true identity is revealed, but the German command refuses to overturn the sentence. Babka and her allies plan another escape attempt, while a prominent German general, von Lychow, learns of Grischa's case and decides to intervene. Grischa declines Babka's help, trusting von Lychow instead. Von Lychow meets with the German Commander-in-Chief, General Schieffenzahn, who insists on proceeding with the execution. Despite their disagreement, Schieffenzahn later changes his mind and orders the execution to be halted. However, a storm disrupts the communication lines, and the message never reaches its destination. Tragically, Grischa is executed.