Die große Liebe (The Great Love), which premiered in 1942, became the most commercially successful film in the history of the Nazi Germany. From the film’s musical score: “Davon geht die Welt nicht unter” and “Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder gescheh’n” became big hits.
The plot: Paul, a Luftwaffe fighter pilot stationed in North Africa, flies to Berlin to deliver a report and is given a day’s leave. At a cabaret, he sees the popular Danish singer Hanna and falls in love. After the performance, he accompanies her home and they are forced to take cover in an air raid shelter. After spending the night spent together, Hanna says she loves him, but he must return to the front. Although a series of miscommunications and missed opportunities keeps them apart, their bond grows. Paul asks Hanna to marry him but is called to duty on the night before the wedding. Hanna then leaves for Rome for a guest appearance. Paul manages to get leave, but the wedding is again postponed because Paul feels he is needed at the front. There is an argument and Paul thinks he’s has lost Hanna forever. When the war in Russia breaks out in 1941, Paul is sent to the Eastern Front. After he is wounded, Hanna comes to the hospital and agrees to marry him. In the finale, confident in the future, Paul and Hanna look skywards as squadrons of German bombers fly by.