Maria marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. Alone, Maria puts to use her beauty and ambition in order to find prosperity during Germany's "economic miracle" of the 1950s.

This movie follows the life of a young German woman, married to a soldier in the waning days of WWII. Fassbinder has tried to show the gritty life after the end of WWII and the turmoil of the people trapped in its wake.—Neel V Kumar <neelvk@iname.com>

Maria is married in the last days of World War II and spent an afternoon and a night with her husband Hermann before he went off to fight. With the war over, she spends her days at the railway looking for her husband. Daily survival is a challenge and Maria takes up with an American sergeant who is more than happy to provide her and her family with the basic necessities. When she's told her husband is dead she refuses to believe it. In her own way, she is quite loyal to her husband, patiently waiting for his return. It will be many years however before they come together and then fate takes its own course.—garykmcd

Immediately following Maria and Hermann Braun's wedding during WWII, Hermann, a soldier in the German army, returns to active duty to fight on the Russian front. Hermann goes MIA, he or his body not yet having been found by the end of the war. The situation of post-war Germany and Hermann's missing status makes life difficult for poor Maria, who also supports her long widowed mother with who she lives. Maria uses her cunning and her beauty and feminine wiles to survive. In using all of the above in dealing with men, Maria will do much to get what she wants, including having sex for financial gain and to satisfy her sexual needs, but she is up front that she will never marry any of those men, many who would want to marry her, in her love and memory for Hermann. Maria's situation and the primary reason for wanting/needing money changes over time, but her ability to manipulate especially men for her own gain does not change. However, one of those men may know more about Maria's life than she would imagine, which may affect she reaching her end goal.—Huggo

Maria (Hanna Schygulla) marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. Alone, Maria puts to use her beauty and ambition in order to find prosperity during Germany's "economic miracle" of the 1950s. Rainer Werner Fassbinder's biggest international box-office success, The Marriage of Maria Braun is a heartbreaking study of a woman picking herself up from the ruins of her own life, as well as a pointed metaphorical attack on a society determined to forget its past.

The film opens with a portrait of Adolf Hitler hanging on a brick wall. Suddenly an explosion blows a hole through the wall and inside is Maria Braun (Hanna Schygulla) and Hermann Braun (Klaus Lowitsch) about to get married. What is supposed to be a ceremonial and memorable moment for them has turned violent as bombs are going off around them. The setting is Berlin during World War II. As the ceremony is brought to a halt by the bombs, the Priest attempts to leave only to be stopped by Hermann. Separated for a brief moment as bombs continue to rain around them, Maria, Hermann, and Priest take cover on the ground and are finally able to sign their marriage license. After the opening of the credits, we see Marias mother eating a small piece of bread with a tiny drizzle of oil. The economic times are bad. Maria returns after being unable to sell off her wedding dress. However, she does not return empty handed. Amongst the things she brings back is a shaving brush. Then catching a photo of her husband Hermann, she begins to break into tears. Hermann has been sent to the front. With her mother cheering her up, they decide to cook up some potatoes with bacon. With a poster hanging behind her back with the information of Hermann, Maria waits with anticipation at the train station, where the women wait for the men to arrive from the war. However, Hermann doesn't show up. Taking refuge in a soup kitchen, Maria talks to a woman working in the kitchen about the death of her husband in the war and remarriage. These are desperate times for everyone as several men dive for a cigarette butt thrown by a soldier. Heckled by a couple of American soldiers, Maria's strength is revealed as she confronts one of them, only to be given a packet of cigarettes. She decides to give it to her mother only in exchange for her brooch, which the mother agrees to. In the following scene, we see Maria once again roaming the city with the poster of Hermann hanging on her back. This time she is accompanied by her friend Betti Klenze (Elisabeth Trissenaar), who also has a poster of her husband Willy Klenze (Gottfried John) dangling on her back. Near the end of the day, they help each other put on heavy makeup in order to search for a job that their husbands might or might not approve. Maria believes that Hermann would have no qualms about her. On the following day, Maria meets up with a peddler (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) who trades a dress for her in return for Maria's brooch. She wears the elegant dress and manages to find a job as a waitress in a bar. Paying a visit to her childhood doctor (Claus Holm), she asks for a health certificate for her new employer. The following morning, she returns back to the train station and doesn't find Hermann. Giving up on her hope, she tears Hermann's photo off and tosses the poster board onto the train tracks. At her new job at the bar, she meets and shares a dance with Bill (George Eagles), an African-American soldier. Spending an afternoon in the woods, as Bill teaches Maria English, their relationship suddenly has become more passionate and intimate. In the next scene, we see Betti reunited with her husband Willy. However, he brings with him the news of Hermann's death. Maria returns and is shocked to find Willy back. Although ecstatic to have Willy back, Maria cries because her husband is not with her. Her only means of comfort now is in Bill. As Bill and Marias relationship begins to grow more intimate and close, she soon finds herself pregnant with his child. As they celebrate the announcement and preparing to make love, they are paid an unexpected visit. It is Hermann. As Bill and Hermann wrestle each other, Maria grabs a bottle and hits Bill across the head, which kills him. As the Americans put Maria on trial, Hermann takes responsibility and admits that he is the one who killed Bill. As Hermann is put in jail, Maria says that she will wait for him so that they can start a new life together. Furthermore, in spite of picturing their future with a new child, Maria tells her doctor that she is going to abort it. In the meantime, Maria focuses on attaining wealth. During a train ride, she meets Karl Oswald (Ivan Desny) in first class, a half-German, a half-French business who owns a factory in Germany. He has returned to restart it after enduring difficult times during the war. Changing to her more seductive dress, Maria strikes a conversation with him. However, her nonchalant and in different attitude ultimately attracts him. He also admires her firm demeanor as Maria is able to drive away a drunk and noisy American soldier from the train. As they share a car ride with Karls accountant Senkenberg (Hark Bohm), Karl decides to give her a job as his personal advisor. Later as she tells her family about her new position, Maria decides to move out of her mothers house in order to prepare for a future home with Hermann, much to the disagreement of those around her, especially Betti. Visiting Hermann in prison, she tells him that she is going to change thanks to this job. In one of her first duties as personal assistant, she becomes a translator for Karl and an English speaking customer. However, she doesn't translate faithfully in order to tell Karl what he wants to hear. As Karl and Senkenberg argue over whether or not the company can afford to buy three SE Machines, Maria asks for 30-minutes alone with the customer. In the scene that follows, Karl congratulates Maria with a toast for her contribution. However, Senkenberg remains skeptical as he would only drink in five years time of the company. As Karl reprimands Senkenberg for not being able to have fun, Maria jumps to his defense. We soon find Maria in bed with Karl. He even asks her to be with him over the weekend in the country. However, she tells him that she has to visit someone on the weekend. Maria though does not divulge the fact that she is going to visit her husband. As Karl tries to understand her and show her his affection, Maria shrugs it away. Instead, she chooses to talk about her salary as she tells him that she has to earn a lot of money over the next few years. On the day Maria visits Hermann, she tells him that she is sleeping with Karl. She reassures him that she wants to sleep with him because she is dependent on him. Furthermore, she does it in order to give herself the upper hand. Upon returning home, Maria finds Karl waiting for her. Having spent the night together, Karl lets it known that he was going to propose to her had she gone with him to the country. Maria tells him that she will never marry him, but is willing to settle as his mistress. In a business event, Maria finds out from Willy that his marriage with Betti is in trouble for he is unable to communicate with her. Willy describes her as someone who cooks for me. In the following scenes, Karl once again reiterates his love for Maria. Yet, his love remains unrequited as she simply offers her body to him. One day, Karl pays a visit to Hermann in order to meet the man that Maria loves. Karl makes a secret deal with Hermann that if he stays away from Maria until Karl dies, than they will get the company. Later, on her mothers birthday, Maria finds that her mother has a new lover. During the party, Betti reveals that she is losing Willy. Like the strong assertive woman that she is, Maria tells her that she can do something about it. As Maria dances with Karl, he declares his love, fully realizing that he is going to die soon because of his liver. Finally on the day of Hermann's release, she realizes that he has left to Australia or Canada. As agreed upon with the deal between Hermann and Karl, Hermann will leave a rose every month for her to remember him by. Maria soon loses herself in her job. Her personality begins to transform as her once firm demeanor evolves into certain ruthlessness. Her family, co-workers, and Karl become victims to her change. As the film draws to its end, Karl passes away. Hermann finally returns back to Maria. However, upon finding out that her husband and Karl made a deal on her behind her back, she does not accept it lightly. As Maria and Hermann are in her new home, she accidently leaves the gas stove on in order to light a cigarette. As Senkenberg leaves after handing over the company to the Brauns as promised, the house explodes as Maria lights her cigarette. The film ends with Senkenberg witnessing the dead body of Maria Braun.