"Löwengrube – Die Grandauers und ihre Zeit" is a German television series first aired between 1989 and 1992, created by Willy Purucker and directed by Rainer Wolffhardt. It is set in Munich and follows the lives of Ludwig Grandauer and his son Karl, both policemen, covering the years from 1897 to 1954. The TV show is based on Purucker's radio play series Die Grandauers und ihre Zeit (‘The Grandauers and their time’). The series’ main title "Löwengrube", meaning ‘Lions’ Den’, refers to the address of the Munich Police Headquarters inaugurated in 1913.
As a young boy, future emperor Nero witnesses the mad Emperor Caligula kill his father and exile his mother. While in exile in the pontine islands, Agrippina, his mother, sees a vision telling her that her son can become emperor, but she will have to die first. She accepts the proposal. Back in Rome, Nero, now being raised by emperor Claudius after Caligula's death, Agrippina returns. She poisons Claudius' food and Nero becomes emperor. At first, Nero cuts taxes and introduces successful programs and invades Brittania. Soon he meets a beautiful slave named Claudia Acte, and marries her, throwing off his engagement with Claudius' daughter, Claudia Octavia, telling her she can marry someone she will be happy with. Heartbroken, she arrives at an island and kills herself. Nero enjoys being married to Claudia Acte, but soon he gradually goes mad with power and sets fire to Rome.
The year is 1943. Anna Petrova (Katerina Shpitsa) is a combat pilot who was seriously injured. She returned to the rear and works as a leading engineer at an aviation plant, where new Gyrfalcons aircraft are being prepared for testing. The plant's management, unaware of the consequences of her injury, instructs Anna, together with Major Zotov (Alexander Gorbatov), to drive the prototype of the "Gyrfalcon" to the front. In addition to the desire to defeat the enemy and return home with a victory, Anna pursues a personal goal. She is determined to get even with Major Briggel, the German pilot who killed her lover.
1941. Trying to escape from unhappy love, Pavel Zhilin, a first-year student, gets into the border guard shortly before the Nazi invasion. However, love overtakes him there: having survived the German offensive, Zhilin does everything possible to save his beloved and her newly-made husband.
The story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.