European Upbringing

For the fourth year, Poland has been under German occupation. Doctor Twardowski, a physician from Vilnius, who has already lost two older sons in the war, takes his youngest, 14-year-old Janek, to the forest, where he has already dug a shelter for him. The father promises to visit Janek every few days. More than a week passes, the father does not appear, and Janek understands: something terrible has happened. Following his father's advice, he goes wandering in the forest, hoping to find partisans, and indeed meets a group of "greens," as the local residents call them. In the squad, he meets the scout Zosia, who, despite her young age, has experienced many tragedies. The partisans fight not only against the occupiers but also against hunger and cold, and in the evenings they listen as former student Adam Dobransky reads them excerpts from his manuscript titled "European Upbringing," where he reflects on the future of a free Europe.