On Wednesday, February 5, 1975, on the evening of Weiberfastnacht, a young woman leaves her apartment to partake in a private dance event. Four days later, after a dramatic development of events, she rings the doorbell of the Chief Criminal Commissioner, Walter Moeding, and confesses to having shot the journalist Werner Tötges... This young woman, Katharina Blum, meets a young man, Ludwig Götten, at a private ball given by her aunt, and takes him home to spend the night with him. On the following morning, her apartment is the target of a major police raid: Götten is a wanted deserter. Katharina is arrested for allegedly helping him escape. The girl's arrest makes headline news in all the papers. Leading the sensationalist reports is the newspaper "die ZEITUNG". With its circulation of one million, the rag appears daily with new scandalous stories and defamatory articles about the "tramp", the "killer-lady". Katharina doesn't have a chance against the tangle of publicity and the police force. She arranges an exclusive interview in her apartment with the reporter Tötges, in order to save the only thing that she has left - her honor and human dignity. Katharina Blum: "I immediately saw that he was a pig, a real pig. He asked me, "Why are you looking at me so dumbfoundedly, my little Blumy - if you ask me, we should start this off by having a little fuck. I thought: 'Sure, I'll fuck you.' And I took the pistol out and shot him.

Awards
1975 San Sebastian Int. Filmfestival – OCIC Award (Volker Schlöndorff)
1976 Deutscher Filmpreis / Bundesfilmpreis – Filmband in Gold für Beste Darstellerin (Angela Winkler)