The first part is styled as a political thriller.

Berlin in 1932/33 was the setting for the episode "Abfall," written by Helmut Pigge. The Hörzu review criticized the fact that the inner drama was often overplayed by crime thriller elements, which increased the suspense but at the expense of the intellectual content.

Oliver Storz was responsible for "Niederlage". Hörzu wrote about this part that it showed "the play on two levels: the Viennese workers' uprising in 1934 and the confrontations between the liberal historian Stetten (Guido Wieland portrayed him subtly and with restraint) and the communist Dr. Faber," who was portrayed "with nuance" by Günter Mack.