The Loaf

Hamburg. World War Two is over. Food is still scarce. So, when hungry Hermann creeps into the kitchen to steal an extra slice of bread at 2.30 a.m., he gets a shock when his wife Martha catches him red handed. Martha is dismayed because she feels that he has broken their agreement to ration the bread equally between them. This apparently small incident takes on an ever-increasing emotional significance as past, present and future come under close scrutiny. ‘You’re right. We have to look to the future. But every now and then I feel I cannot get on with the present, because, first, I have to come to terms with the past.’