Eight-year old Francois has moved from Paris to a quiet chateau with his parents who want to escape the stress of the war. In a nearby town, his father's mistress works as a tutor. Soon his father allows a refugee family of Polish Jews to move into the basement. Francois has a terrible crush upon their daugther. Real trouble begins when a Nazi commander and his unit also move into the house, totally unaware of the refugees living below them.

A young boy is hired as a lift attendant in a grand hotel when his mother dies. To fulfill his dream, he takes part in a competition organized by the manager, and wins 1st prize: a two-day stay in one of the princely suites. He wants to share the experience with his young girlfriend, the florist, but discovers that she has betrayed him and returns to her elevator.

A family of four lives off of scams in which they pretend to be injured by automobiles.

A war correspondent who was stationed in Paris during WW II married a French girl who was murdered by the Nazis. After the war he returns to to try to find his son, whom he lost during a bombing raid but has been told is living in an orphanage in Paris.