"Golem" is a creature brought to life by black magic in the city of Prague during the 1700's. Rabbi Loew (Albert Steinrück) has an interest in astrology, and one day while stargazing he has a vision that shows him that the destruction of the Jewish people is close at hand. Using mysticism he is able to build a monster out of clay, animate the creature to do his bidding, and imbue it with human emotions. He programs the golem to protect the Jewish people in the ghettos from an anti-Semitic government which wants to perpetrate ethnic cleansing on his people. The golem does his duty well. He terrorizes the rulers into leaving the Jews alone. No longer needed, the rabbi is set to destroy the monster and send him back to the earth from whence he came. A problem arises however when the rabbi's assistant Famulus (Ernst Deutsch) decides to use the golem for his own selfish purposes. He is in a rivalry over the hand of the rabbi's lovely daughter, Miriam (Lyda Salmonova) who is currently in a relationship with a knight. The golem does kidnap Miriam, but then his conscience begins to bother him and he goes berserk. He starts destroying everything and everyone in his path.