History is full of stories that remain hidden for decades before finally reaching the light. One of the most unsettling is that of the women forced to risk their lives tasting food for Adolf Hitler during the final years of World War II. That extraordinary and deeply disturbing chapter of history now arrives in cinemas with The Tasters, directed by Silvio Soldini and released in UK and Irish cinemas on 13 March 2026 by MetFilm Distribution.

Based on the bestselling novel At the Wolf’s Table by Rosella Postorino, the film reconstructs the true story of a group of young German women coerced into becoming the dictator’s food tasters while he hid inside the heavily guarded Wolf’s Lair headquarters in East Prussia. At the centre of this story is Margot Wölk, the only known survivor of the group. For decades she kept silent about her wartime experiences. It was only in 2012, at the age of 95, that she revealed the secret she had carried all her life: for more than two years she had been forced to taste Hitler’s meals before they were served to him, waiting anxiously afterwards to see whether the food had been poisoned. Until Wölk spoke out, the existence of these “tasters” was virtually unknown.

Each day followed a terrifying ritual. The women were served the same meals prepared for Hitler, strictly vegetarian dishes of rice, noodles, peppers, peas and cauliflower. While the food itself was reportedly well prepared, enjoyment was impossible.“There was never meat because Hitler was a vegetarian,” Wölk once recalled. “The food was good, very good. But we couldn’t enjoy it.”

The women had no choice but to eat everything placed before them. Afterwards, they were forced to wait an hour under watch, the most agonising sixty minutes of their day. If none of them became ill, the meal would then be declared safe for the Führer. The fear was overwhelming. Some of the young women reportedly cried while eating, terrified that every bite might be their last. Relief only came when the hour passed without symptoms, proof that they had survived yet another test. The women lived under strict security near the Wolf’s Lair, one of Hitler’s most secretive military headquarters. Despite their proximity, Wölk later said she never actually saw the dictator himself, only occasionally glimpsing his dog. Their work unfolded during an increasingly tense period inside the Nazi leadership, particularly after the failed July 20 Plot, which intensified fears of poisoning and internal betrayal. Amid constant danger, the tasters formed close bonds with one another. Sharing fear day after day created a fragile sense of solidarity, even as the war around them moved toward its catastrophic end.

The final months of the war brought even greater horror. As Soviet troops advanced through East Prussia, Wölk and the other women attempted to disguise themselves as elderly civilians. It did not save them. In later interviews she described the violence they endured after capture, recalling a traumatic ordeal that haunted her for the rest of her life. Eventually, with the help of a German officer, Wölk managed to escape and reach Berlin. She survived the war, but later learned that the other tasters had reportedly been killed when Soviet forces reached the area. Although she was reunited with her husband Karl after the conflict, the couple struggled to rebuild their lives and eventually separated.

Wölk’s late-life testimony captured international attention and inspired Postorino’s acclaimed novel At the Wolf’s Table. That book now forms the foundation for Soldini’s cinematic adaptation. For the director, the story’s emotional truth was more important than historical certainty. “If it wasn’t true, it doesn’t make much difference to me,” Soldini has said. “The film and the book say something important about power, dictatorship, violence and their impact on women.”

The Tasters stars Elisa Schlott as Rosa, one of the women forced into the role, alongside Max Riemelt and Alma Hasun and Nicolò Pasetti as Gunther Halder. The film marks Soldini’s first period drama, a challenge he approached with a strong focus on authenticity and emotional realism. Casting proved crucial. After an extensive search in Berlin, the director assembled a group of actresses in their twenties and early thirties who could convincingly portray the young women bound together by fear and survival. Soldini spent weeks rehearsing with the actors before filming began, ensuring the characters felt fully alive before stepping onto the set.

While The Tasters is set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany, its focus remains firmly on the women themselves, ordinary individuals trapped inside a brutal system of power and paranoia. The film examines the psychological toll of living under constant threat, where even the act of eating becomes a potential death sentence. Eighty years after the events that inspired it, The Tasters brings this little-known story of courage, fear and survival to the big screen, offering a powerful reminder of the human cost hidden behind the machinery of dictatorship.

The Tasters arrives in UK and Irish cinemas on 13 March 2026.