Ein Kriegsende

Set in the final days of the Second World War, Ein Kriegsende follows the German minesweeper MX12 as it sails toward hostile waters to collect wounded soldiers. A mission fraught with danger tests the crew's nerve and discipline. Amid the thrum of engines and the tense chatter of sailors, a radio announcement declares the end of hostilities. The men insist on aborting the mission, fearing mines and ambush more than any enemy, but the ship's captain clings to the plan and orders the course to be kept. As the clock ticks, fear, duty, and the weight of orders collide on the narrow deck, shaping fates in the gray light. The ship and its crew become a pressure chamber of decisions.

Released in 1984, the picture is directed by Volker Vogeler with Franz Xaver Gernstl and draws on the writings of Siegfried Lenz for its narrative core.

Box office data for Ein Kriegsende is not publicly disclosed, so overall grosses and international performance remain unavailable to date.

Critics framed the film as a stark restrained war drama that probes duty, obedience, and moral choice under duress. It places a small crew in a claustrophobic setting where a decision about continuing or aborting a mission exposes conflicting loyalties and the human cost of war.