In the dead of a November night in 1942, a group of young women are escorted by SS officers through the woods to Wolf's Lair, Hitler's headquarters in Eastern Prussia. They are candidates for the post of personal secretary to the Fuehrer. Among them is 22-year-old Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara), a fresh-faced girl from Munich. Traudl is chosen for the job and she is overcome with joy at the thought of serving beside her Fuehrer.

BERLIN, APRIL 20, 1945: Hitler has retreated to a bunker system under the German Chancellery. Traudl Junge is asleep in her room, deep beneath the ground. She is awakened by tremors from artillery fire. The enemy is getting closer.

Inside Hitler's bunker, his mistress, Eva Braun, is preparing the celebration of his 56th birthday, as the Russian Army is closing a ring around Berlin. While the city burns above them, Hitler and his Minister of Propaganda, Josef Goebbels, continue to hope for a final victory.