On 16 July 1946, inside the former Dachau concentration camp, Allied judges deliver verdicts against the men responsible for one of the most infamous war crimes of the Western Front — the Malmedy Massacre. American prisoners of war and Belgian civilians were lined up in the snow and machine-gunned by Waffen-SS troops during Nazi Germany’s final offensive in the Ardennes.

At the center of the case stands Joachim Peiper, a rising SS officer and former protégé of Heinrich Himmler. From witnessing early Nazi crimes in Poland and the euthanasia program, to earning a brutal reputation on the Eastern Front and in northern Italy, Peiper’s career was marked by ambition, loyalty to Hitler, and ruthless violence.

Convicted and sentenced to death, Peiper’s punishment is later reduced amid controversy over interrogation methods. Released after just 11 years, he attempts to disappear into civilian life — but his past finds him again.

In 1976, in a quiet French village, his house is set ablaze. Inside, police discover a burned body so damaged it is barely recognizable.

This film traces the rise, crimes, trial, and shocking end of the man who became one of the most infamous SS commanders of World War II.