Katharina Blum works as a Munich housemaid. On a Thursday evening, during a pre-Lenten carnival party, she meets and falls in love with Ludwig Götten, whom she invites to her apartment for the night. The next morning, heavily armed police marksmen burst in to arrest Götten, a suspected thief and AWOL soldier, but he has already escaped, with Katharina's help, through the heating ducts. The police detain Katharina for harboring a wanted man. The interrogations, coupled with the humiliating slander and psychic rape unleashed by a tabloid newspaper, ravage her once-quiet life. The same scandal sheet transforms the petty thief Götten into a "terrorist" and "anarchist." A cynical journalist depicts Katharina as a "whore" and "heartless bitch," and she becomes the target of public outrage. Germany in the early 70s faced a wave of terrorism from 6 anarchists who robbed banks and kidnapped industrialists. The nation responded by passing laws restricting freedoms and giving powers allowing the police to abuse civil rights while rooting out the anti-social element. The German yellow press became a major accomplice in the smearing of many individuals tainted by association, or just the accusation of association, with possible anarchists. It was proven on at least one occasion (shown in a docu accompanying the feature) that the press accidentally reported a raid before it actually happened. 1. Women - Civil Rights : 2. Journalism - Moral and ethical aspects : 3. Journalism - Political aspects : 4. Social Justice