Under the guidance of Professor Bergheim, sociologists carry out a survey of the inhabitants of a village. As a result of the general economic situation, the village is on the verge of a severe depression. Despite all scientific 'objectivity' which Ruth Weiss, Philipp Strauss and Kurt Schrader are supposed to observe, they begin to identify themselves with the inhabitants - their everyday problems and daily routine. Just as their work is finished, a young unemployed worker returns from Vienna. He had been given money for the train fare to Vienna so that he could look for a job there. His search for employment had been unsuccessful and he had returned with two acquaintances. They plan to set up a branch of the national socialist party in the village ... This feature film is based on the famous social and psychological study by Paul Lazarsfeld which was written in 1933, 'The Unemployed of Marienthal'. The nazis banned it after they annexed Austria.