The story takes place during 1944 in Breman, a fictional, small town in Colorado.   WWII is still raging when the town faces tragedy -- the town's only doctor, Doc  Hansen, has been murdered at a local POW camp.

Harmon Cobb, a good friend of the Doc's, is a local country lawyer who is given the unfortunate task of defending Geiger, the Nazi prisoner of war who accused of killing the doctor.

The case seems open and shut, and Cobb's basic role, as he is clearly told by presiding Judge Bell, isn't to mount a serious defense, it's merely to make the process look good. In fact, the judge makes it clear that he assigned Cobb because he believed him to be incompetent. He wants to use Geiger as bartering material to help free three American Airmen being held prisoner of war in Germany, and who are scheduled to be hung.

Cobb has to deal with the antipathy of the townsfolk, and even some threats from those who are convinced of Geiger's guilt. He also has to deal with his own anti-German feelings left over from his service in WWI -- feelings that are intensified after he receives news that his son was killed in Europe. He ultimately settles into the role he's been given, and begins to uncover an unsavory cover-up taking place at the POW camp -- with the full knowledge of its commander.

Norbert's character, Riefenstahl, is seen presiding over the funeral of a POW that died at the camp. He was the ranking NCO at the camp.
Note: German POWs in America were provided flags and the materials to make crosses in order to honor those who died while being held prisoner.

The reality is that a POW by the name of Riefenstahl is the leader of a group of Nazis that provide night security to the POWs after taps when the American Army MPs are no longer on duty inside the camp. Riefenstahl and his henchmen are free to patrol the camp at will and proceed to kill anyone that speaks ill of them or the Nazi party. It seems the doctor had been covering up eight murders by Riefenstahl and his men, and was about to confess. When his partial confession was discovered by Riefenstahl, he and his men murdered him.

Riefenstahl and his men framed Geiger as he was the one POW at the camp not intimidated by them. They made it appear as if he had been in possession of the baseball bat that was used to murder the doctor, and planted his Iron Cross in the doctor's hand upon his death. They assumed they could get away with it as Geiger had been seen pushing the doctor to the floor earlier in the day, and was the obvious person to have murdered him.

A friend of the family and local police officer Wallace, comes by to tell Cobb that Doc has been murdered out at the POW camp, and a suspect has been taken into custody. Wallace is portrayed by William Schallert.

Susan Blakely has the role of Cobb's daughter-in-law, Billie. Her husband is in France fighting against the Germans. Arianna Richards plays her daughter, Nancy.

Barnard Hughes plays Doc Hansen. He comes into the local cafe for lunch, but is clearly upset over something, and leaves before his food arrives. Later that night, Cobb finds him staggering down the street mumbling about the "poor boys."

Walter Matthau is a self-taught,
simple country lawyer Cobb who wants to see the suspect hang. He is in for a shock when the Federal judge handling the case informs him he will be the defense attorney or
face disbarment and jail time.

Robert Carradine has the role of U.S.
attorney Domsczek. Harvard trained and confident, it seems he will make quick work of any defense Cobb can
bring to the court room. He knows full well that Cobb's heart isn't in it, and that his reputation as an attorney isn't exactly stellar.

The reality is that Geiger knows that Riefenstahl and his men have murdered a new arrival, Private Schmidt, because he made a joke about Hermann Goring. They visited Schmidt's barracks after lights-out and beat him with a baseball bat. His murder was the final straw for Doc Hansen, who was filled with guilt over falsifying death certificates of the eight German soldiers who were murdered.

It isn't until Doc Hansen's fishing buddy finds a confession in his tackle box that the truth starts to emerge. Doc could no longer hold back the horrible secret that he had lied about eight murders at the camp, and that he had signed the death certificates stating that the men died from "natural causes."

While Wallace and Cobb are in Doc's office, Riefenstahl and his men come in and threaten them with a baseball bat, the same type of weapon that they used to kill the Doc. Wallace scares them off with his gun and they retreat. Wallace and Cobb now have all the evidence they need to free Geiger and implicate the camp commander, along with Riefenstahl and his men, if they can bring together enough witnesses and testimony to prove it to Judge Bell.

Wallace convinces Cobb to go out to the POW camp with him so they can look into Doc's files. An MP reluctantly lets them in, afraid that the camp commander will find out and send him to the Brig. Cobb assures him that it's actually the camp commander they will be investigating because he has been involved in the cover-up of the deaths, and he will not be in a position to harm him by the time they are through with their investigation.

The Incident was written by Michael Norell and James Norell.

                                                               With a sneer, Riefenstahl gives
                                                               Geiger a defiant look at the end of his testimony as if to dare him to speak out against him and his band of men that murder in the night. Geiger remains silent and gives Riefenstahl a hard look back, not intimidated by him in the least.

Domsczek questions a lead MP about suspicious activities out at the camp, but he is reluctant to say too much and hedges a few of his answers.

As the ranking NCO at the camp, and one who would be familiar with the other POWs, Riefenstahl is led into the courtroom to testify that Geiger is indeed a hard-core Nazi, and a dangerous man. He plays the likable innocent and claims no ties to the Nazi party.

Cobb finally convinces the MP to testify against the camp commander. With his testimony and also that of the coroner who helped falsify the death certificates, Cobb proves to Judge Bell that it was Riefenstahl and not Geiger that killed Doc Hansen.

The camp commander is arrested for perjury and further investigation.

Cobb and Geiger come to an understanding after Riefenstahl and his men are arrested and sentenced to hang, and wish each other a better life after the war, since they have both lost so much because of it.

Harry Morgan is feisty U.S. Judge Bell. He thought he had a loser in Cobb and could
breeze through to a guilty verdict, but Cobb defies him, and even wins the support of Domsczek, who also wants to seek the truth about the Nazi "Lager Gestapo" as Geiger has called them, also referring to them as "Angels of Death."

Peter Firth is Geiger. He is wrongly accused, but is defiant and reluctant to speak openly with Cobb about the corruption at the POW camp. At first it seems as if he is willing to risk his life, but soon comes to realize that Cobb genuinely wants to help him. He finally asks that Cobb look deeper than the
circumstantial evidence that implicated him.

Guests Behind Barbed Wire: German POWs in America,
This is a link to an article about this wonderful book and it's author, Ruth Beaumont Cook. I own this book and found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable read. Her extensive research as resident and former librarian in a small Georgia town is evident, and her writing style is warm and cordial. She also delves into the thoughts and reactions of many of the local residents when they discover that their sleepy little town is about to host over 6,000 German POWs, most of them from North Africa. When many of the residents took jobs at the camp, they found themselves realizing that these mostly very young men were industrious and respectful, and also talented -- so well versed in the arts that they could produce and perform plays from memory, and also paint and sculpt. The POWs made such an impression on the residents that there is an annual reunion of many of the surviving POWS each year in the town, and many of the residents have traveled to Germany to visit their former guests.

Guests Behind Barbed Wire: German POWs in America  --  
This is a link to that wonderful book -- available on Amazon.com.

Nazi Prisoners of War in America, a book available on Amazon.com.
I also own this outstanding book by Arnold Krammer, which is probably the most comprehensive book on the German POWs in the U.S. There were POW camps in every state, sometimes several of them, many of them hosting up to 6,000 soldiers. The POWs often worked on roads, built bridges, helped out on farms, and kept the infrastructure, agriculture and commerce of America going strong while our men were overseas. They were occasionally allowed out in small groups while under guard so they could attend movies, eat at local cafes, or enjoy nature. The POWs also built libraries and theaters at their camps, and hosted local residents at their plays and orchestral events. Mr. Krammer also deals with the hard-core Nazi situation and tells how they were sent to separate camps in order to protect the regular German soldiers. This is a fascinating read of a little-known or talked about aspect of recent American history.

History Undercover: Nazi POWs in America DVD  - this is the tie-in DVD as presented on The History Channel. It is a thoroughly enjoyable documentary, hosted and narrated by Mr. Krammer.