The Bridge at Braunau-am-Inn

May 1945: Adolf Hitler has been dead for two days and the war in Europe is ending.

US Army officer Paul Stoebel, 22 years old, of German parentage and Jewish background, stands on the German side of the River Inn looking at a partially destroyed iron bridge that forms the gateway to the Austrian town of Braunau. He reflects that this broken link mirrors the collapse of the seven-year Nazi-inspired Anschluss between Germany and Austria.
He expects to pick his way across the wrecked structure with his fellow soldiers and spend the night in the Braunau house in which Adolf Hitler was born. Instead, he suddenly receives orders to travel immediately to Dachau.
His experiences as a member of the American legal team investigating the extraordinary crimes committed at Dachau and other Nazi death camps affect him severely for several years and stunt his ability to function normally in society.
Paul achieves a level of contentment in later life through a loving relationship with a strong woman, but the political elevation in Europe of a one-time Nazi officer resurrects his Dachau demons. It seems that they can only be completely excised by one more visit to the bridge at Braunau-am-Inn.