Die Seelen im Feuer

Bamberg 1630. The era of witch-hunting. The surgeon professor Cornelius (Mark Waschke) returns from Vienna, where he is a renowned physician, to his homeland. He is soon forced to face the show trial of witches and appraise, as medical expert, the methods of Commissioner Mr. Berger (devilish Axel Milberg). Cornelius feels his blood churning inside when he is ordered to stay in the city. Snow in June, crop failures, the Catholic Church is worried about those obvious signs of the Devil's presence in the Reformation and its growing power. Rumors start wafting through the city of important people tempted by the Evil. Eventually the first alleged witches come in detention. Who wants to get rid of someone or hurt him, simply accuses him of being a magician or witch. One day the pyre threatens his childhood sweetheart Johanna (Silke Bender). Cornelius plots with bold city councils against the arbitrariness of the church and the fanaticism of Bamberg's authorities. He tries by all means to save Johanna. But the hunt continues unabated. More and more pyres burn. The Church - Alexander Held convinced as auxiliary bishop and chief ideologue of the fanatical pursuit - plays their power mercilessly. At the cruel Maleficent Chamber, Mr. Berger is the wily witch Commissioner. He benefits greatly with the witch processes, because the legacy of the condemned flows to the Church coffers. Cornelius escapes Bamberg and presents the case before the emperor in Vienna. Can he convince him to put an end to the horrific events in Bamberg? But how can Cornelius enforce the law and order in time to save Johanna?