On 6 June 1944, the Allies launch Operation Overlord — the largest amphibious invasion in history — opening a second front in Europe and accelerating the collapse of Nazi Germany. But behind the front lines, a darker story unfolds.

In August 1944, an American B-24 bomber is shot down near Frankfurt. Its captured crew is marched through the devastated town of Rüsselsheim, just hours after a massive British bombing raid has reduced much of the city to rubble. Grieving and enraged residents brand the prisoners “terror flyers” and unleash a brutal lynching in the streets.

Six American airmen are beaten and executed by a mob led by air-raid warden Josef Hartgen. Two survivors escape — and live to tell the story.

After the war, U.S. military courts hunt down those responsible. The trials expose the deadly power of propaganda, mob violence, and individual choice — ending with executions that bring grim justice to the killers.

This film tells the full story of the Rüsselsheim Airmen Massacre — from D-Day’s triumph to one of the war’s most haunting acts of civilian revenge.