Grand Illusion ending explained

What happens

Boeldieu dies in the sacrifice that frees his comrades, and Rauffenstein cuts his last geranium. Maréchal and Rosenthal struggle through the snow, find shelter and love with Elsa, then slip into Switzerland as the German patrol holds its fire.

The last image

Two small figures wade through deep snow toward the Swiss border while the German soldiers lower their rifles and let them go.

What it says

Class loyalty ends in a lonely death, while the survivors cross a border that matters less than the kindness they found with Elsa. Renoir ends on a quiet gesture of mercy, not a victory, to show how thin the old divisions are.