On November 21, 1947, the play premiered at the Hamburg Kammerspiele, one day after the author's death, who was only 26 years old. A whole generation identified with the front soldier Beckmann, who returns home from Russian captivity and struggles to reintegrate into civilian life. Beckmann is driven away by his wife, and even the Elbe River, into which he throws himself, does not want him. Borchert had written the role of Beckmann specifically for the actor Heinz Quest.