Lena: My 100 Children (1987) - full transcript

(Multicom Jingle)

(melancholic music)

- [Lena] By 1945 the
war had finally ended.

I was lucky to be alive since

most Polish Jews had not survived.

Those that did survive were now returning,

but there was little to return to.

Poland was torn apart first by the war,

and now by civil unrest.

I spent much of my time outside

the Jewish Refugee Center,



hoping to find out about my sister, Fela.

Was her name on the
latest list of survivors?

The list was always short, too short.

(suspenseful music)

(crowd chattering)

- (gasping) He's alive, he's alive!

- By any chance, madam,
you have seen them?

- No, sorry, wait, my sister

Fela, have you seen her?

She was fighting with the
partisans in Sokolow region.

- No, we were taken to Auschwitz.

I escaped.

- Hello.

Who are you?



Excuse me, these children were left here.

Can you help me?

Did someone leave you here?

You're not gonna talk to me?

Do you want some candy?

Do you want some candy?

Come on, take it, it's all right.

Look, it's all right, come on, take it.

It's okay.

Come here, come with me.

Come with me here, come in here.

Come on.

(man moaning)

(man coughing)

Excuse me, director.

Look, these children, I--

- We have no space, no money.

We cannot take your children, madam.

- They're not my children.

I found them outside on the doorstep.

What shall I do with them?

- Third floor, upstairs.

(dark melancholic music)

Excuse me.

Upstairs, hold my hand.

(sighing)

(door creaking)

- Hey.
(gasping)

Got any cigarettes?

- No.

- Wanna buy some?

15 zlotys.

- No,

I have candy.

(children clamoring insistently)

No, I have nothing, nothing!

Stop it!

(sobbing loudly)

(melancholic music)

- Oh Lena, we started to worry.

Are you all right?

You look pale.

- Any news of Fela?

You've heard something?

- No, not today, maybe tomorrow's list.

I'm all right, I'm fine.

Where did you get all this?

- Edna and Vladik brought friends.

Darena and Hamish bought this

at less than black market prices.

As for Vodka, my dear
sister, you would be amazed

to see what a colonel's uniform can do.

- I'm not amazed by anything
living here with you.

- And now it is time for a toast.

Stefan, you are the man of words.

- No, far too many words, I fear.

To the end of the war,
may it be the last ever.

To the reopening of our beloved department

of psychology at our beloved university.

To Lena, achieving her doctorate.

To Vladik, publishing his manuscript,

if he can remember where
he hid it from the Nazis.

(laughing)

To us all, resuming life.

Good health.

Happiness.

- [Guests] L'Chaim.

(coughing)

- What's the matter?

What's the matter?

- It's the Vodka. (chuckling)

It's been so long, it goes
right to my head. (laughing)

- Don't drink this, have
something to eat, dear.

Eat this.

- You know what I would really like.

For you to play for us, Lena.

- No, it's been too long, Stefan.

- Lena,

play for us.

(sighing)

(contemplative piano music)

(sighs deeply)

- I'm sorry.

Ugh.

- Lena.

- Mm-mm.

There are children starving
at the refugee center.

I saw them there this afternoon.

- Lena, you are asking for trouble.

There are children starving everywhere.

Let the government provide for them.

- They'll be dead by then.

Don't talk to me about the government.

I cannot stand by and do nothing.

(dishes clanking)

- She had the candy.

(children clamoring)
- Wait, wait, wait!

No, stop it!

I have enough food for everyone.

(children clamoring)
No, quiet!

First one to sit down
and be quiet will be fed.

Now,

who can help me?

- I can.

- I can.

- All right, take.

(children chattering excitedly)

One apiece.

- I wanna piece, I want one.

- One at a time.

Each, one each.

(children sighing with relief)

- [Child] Yum.

- Don't, that's Saulos.

Just put the food down, and he'll take it.

- Hello, Saulos, I'm
not going to hurt you.

- He was kept in a wall
to hide from the Gestapo.

He goes crazy if anybody touches him.

- You've been working for hours.

You need a break.

- I haven't been working at all.

My mind's no good, I can't concentrate.

- Children.

- How will the little ones survive?

How will they survive this long?

- There are people there to help them.

- None that I saw.

- Lena, once you finish
your doctoral work,

you will teach young minds
hungry for education,

but you must pass your oral exams first.

- I won't fail, Stefan, because I spend

a few hours with children.

They have no one, Stefan.

- Lena, these children will
not bring your own child back.

- I know that.

Step along through.

I must speak to you about the
children on the third floor.

They're sick, they're starving.

They're sleeping on the
floor in their own filth.

We have no right, sir, we have no right

to care for children this way.

- No right, we have no right?

(exhaling) Nobody wants these children.

They are Jews.

The orphanages don't want Jewish children,

so they bring them here.

The families that hid them
for years bring them here,

priests, nuns,

peasants, here!

We are supposed to take
care of our own now,

with what?

Good intentions, passion,
sorrow, self-righteousness, huh?

Where is your tattoo?

Your number, you are not even a Jew.

- I am a Jew and you're hurting me.

- [Woman] (gasping) Why did he do that?

(dark suspenseful music)

- Excuse me, I'm sure you've
heard the children upstairs.

(sighing)

I need your help.

(person sneezing)

(man in lobby coughing)

(man in lobby moaning and coughing)

Will you help me?

(truck engine roaring)

(footfalls pattering)

(soldiers talking quietly)

(door slamming open)

(soldiers chattering quietly)

(door slamming shut)

(soldiers chattering quietly)

- Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me.

- So, you see, madam, I have nothing left.

There is simply no food.

I know Colonel Kuchler.

- He's my brother.

You are my last hope.

- I see, to hear it told I'm
the last hope of the world.

Who is this list for, madam?

- Children, sir, Jewish children.

- Alive?

In Krakow?

- A hundred of them starving in one room

at the refugee center.

- Astonishing.

- Is there anything

at all?

(lighter clicking)

(pen swishing on paper)

(stamp thudding on desk)

Sugar, 2000 kilos of sugar?

- Madam, on the black
market, sugar is as valuable

as gold itself.

- I'll never forget this kindness, sir.

- You will forget immediately,
madam, and tell no one else.

This is our secret, and you'll
transport the sugar yourself.

I have no trucks or wagons to spare.

Understood?

- Understood.

- I only wish I could do more.

- Do you have any soap?

- You're a most unusual woman. (chuckling)

Yes, I think we have some.

(pen swishing on paper)

(wagon doors slamming open)

(people chattering in the street)

- You brought us life!

(sighing)

- One more.

All right next, yes, good.

Anna,

you're next.

Very good.
(child squealing)

What?
(moaning softly)

Sh, sh, sh, it's all right.

(child squealing)

What's the matter with you?

Come on, get her in the tub.

Come one, I have to get this off.

Anna!

You're a boy!

How did this happen?

- How did this happen?

Because if you're a male,

the Germans can tell you're a Jew

by pulling down your pants.

Want me to show you?

(boys laughing)

(child coughing)

- This is her name, all written down,

and where she was born.

She's a Jew.

Her parents promised to
pay me when the war ended,

but they

they have not returned
yet, so I ask you to pay.

- Madam, we do not buy children here.

- I have no money, no food.

I have fed her, clothed her,

since she was a baby for nothing.

I am very fond of her.

If you will not pay me
something, I will leave with her.

- The child needs food.

- We have sugar,

two sacks full.

- Sugar?

Goodbye, Mira.

- Bye, momma.

- This way, please.

- Goodbye.

(melancholic music)

- Is your name Mira?

I had a little girl once named Mira.

She would be just about your age now.

Will you come with me?

Oh good, you're both here.

The most remarkable thing happened today.

An orphan child was brought
in, a little girl named Mira.

I looked in her eyes, I saw my own Mira.

It's as if I'm being given
a second chance at life.

- Mira is dead.

It was three days before
the liberation of the town,

and the innkeeper turned
her in to the Gestapo.

She was shot to death.

(sobbing)

- Sh.

Sh, sh.

- Lena,

the war has taken from each of us.

We cannot replace,

but now is the time

to put the death and the
suffering behind and begin again.

- Stop it, please stop, Stefan.

We were together in Warsaw,

posing as Catholics.

I bleached my hair, I bleached her hair,

but you thought she
still looked too Jewish.

You thought she endangered
me, so one day she was gone.

Does she look too Jewish, does she?

Does she look more Jewish than me?

- Lena,

there's no sin,

no shame in surviving.

She made her own choice, Lena,

as you made yours.

- What choice?

Choice, my life is a lie
and I live among murderers.

(person sighing deeply)

(woman moaning softly)

(children talking faintly upstairs)

(children laughing and
chattering upstairs)

(boy muttering to himself)

Stasek, what are you saying
to yourself all the time?

- Numbers.

- Why?

- Keeps my mind occupied.

- [Lena] So you're good with numbers, huh?

- [Stasek] Try me.

- All right, what's seven times eight?

- What's 23 times 34?

You give up, 782.

- All right, wise guy,
what's 195 divided by 13?

- 15.

(water splashing loudly)

(suspenseful music)

(sighing)

- My name is Lena.

- Bella.

- We just finished washing the last one

and the first one is dirty again.

It never stops.

(woman whimpering)

(people yelling faintly in the distance)

- [Man] Bring that girl back here!

- Let me go, let me go, please!

Let me go!

Wait.

Let me go.

Help!

(crowd yelling)

Help me!

- Go, I have it opened up!

(crowd clamoring angrily)

- She's my daughter, they
would not give her back!

- No, he's a Jew, he's not my father.

My name is Irma.

- Leah, please!

(children screaming loudly)

(crowd clamoring terribly)

(children screaming)

- What are you doing, where are you going?

(crowd clamoring)

Harold, boys come back here!

Stop it, no, no!

No!

(crowd clamoring)

- We have gasoline in this bottle!

- Harold, stop it!

- Get away from me!

You have one minute

to get out of here!
(children screaming upstairs)

I have gasoline in this bottle!

I will light it and blow you all to hell!

(children screaming)

We have bombs and grenades!

- You don't scare me either!

- [Man in Crowd] Let's back off!

(people chattering)

(children whimpering loudly upstairs)

- Oh, yeah, come here, sh!

It's all right.

(water splashing)

(suspenseful music)

Where's Saulos?

Where's Saulos?

What?

Saulos,

it's all over.

Will you come,

please?

I promise you won't be hurt.

Give me your hand.

Yeah.

Come.

I promise, I promise you'll be safe.

(sobbing)

- I came back from fighting in Leningrad.

My wife and sons are dead.

She's my only family.

- Maybe, she can stay
with us for a little while

and get used to the idea
of her father being a Jew.

And you could get used to the idea

of your daughter being a Catholic,

which she obviously is.

- May I pray the way I want?

- Yes.

- [Maria] Leave me alone!

- Oh my God, what are you doing?

Stop it, stop!

Hanka!

Get off, get off, stop it!

Do you hear me?

- She's just the same as the rest of us!

But she hides behind that cross,

because she's afraid to be called a Jew!

- My parents were Jewish
but I am a Catholic!

The nuns brought us here
after the Germans left.

They said that if my parents were alive,

they'd find me here.

- Go back to your priests and nuns,

you humiliate every Jew here.

You make us remember
what we want to forget.

- Hanka,

is it so terrible

to want to survive?

I too became a Catholic during the war.

It was the only way I knew how.

- So you're a coward too.

(exhaling) When you grow up, you'll see

that life is not so simple.

- I've seen plenty in
my life, Ms. Lena Tina.

I killed 14 Germans
fighting with the partisans.

This bores me.

(sobbing)

- The children must be moved,
we can't have them here

if there's another attack.

- We've located a house nearby.

- No, I don't think Krakow is the place.

I feel they should be in the country

where they can heal and be educated.

- There are two possible choices:

Drawno and Zakopane.

Zakopane is the best,
it is in the mountains,

and it was a resort before the war.

The owners are willing to rent to Jews.

(gasping)

- Yes, this is very good.

- Zakopane, there's known
history of antisemitism there.

I feel it would be unsafe.

- No place in Poland is
without risks for us.

And they need the good air, the sun.

(dramatic music)

(footfalls pattering)

- No!

No, don't take me away!

- Stasek!

Stasek!

(sharp suspenseful music)

Stasek.

It's Harold.

What's going on?

- The Germans will kill us.

- We're going to a place
where there are no Germans.

And if they come, I'll protect you.

(melancholic music)

What do you say?

- You want to go with me, sh, sh, sh.

Thank you.

- When I last saw my family,
they were being taken

away in trucks not too different.

What do you expect?

- Goodbye, Stefan.

- Glimick and Bronia
are your housekeepers.

They will be waiting for you.

(moves into suspenseful music)

- You said we weren't going
to that stinking, old village.

- Kidding around, shut up.

(truck engine roaring)

(moves into melancholic music)

(moves into persevering music)

- [Lena Voiceover] To know what
was in the minds of children

such as these.

Yesterday, the trucks meant death.

I promised them that
today they meant life,

and they believed me.

I hoped I was right.

Thanks to the sugar and
the relief aid from abroad,

our journey from the nightmare of Krakow

to the Zakopane Resort had begun.

I was frightened leaving
my brother, my career,

my whole life behind me.

Also, we knew there would
be antisemitism in Zakopane,

but we believed the
children could be healed

and educated there.

(birds twittering)

Sh, sh, sh.

Sh.

Everyone be very quiet.

Oh, (gasping) this is it,
we're here. (chuckling)

(gasping and laughing)

(inhaling) Smell the air.

- Lena, flowers!

- Hello, Glimick.

Hello, Bronia.

I'm glad to meet you.

It's beautiful here.

(children chattering)

(utensil clanking against water bucket)

(slurping)

(children talking faintly outside)

- Towels.

(children chattering)

(melancholic music)

(Lena reciting in foreign language)

(people speaking in foreign language)

(reciting in foreign language)

(people singing in foreign language)

(reciting in foreign language)

(people singing in foreign language)

(birds twittering)

(children chattering and laughing)

- Yacob wants to be a printer.

Stasek says he'll be a
doctor like his father was,

he thinks.

- Good, we'll educate them.

They'll get good jobs.

- Some of them that don't
know how to read yet?

- It's all right, they will
by the time school begins.

The knowledge is already in their heads.

They'll learn quickly.

- You will put these children
in the public school?

- Absolutely, Bronia, we can't
teach all hundred children

by ourselves.

- By September, in a school where

there have never been Jews?

- The government says that
all children are entitled

to an education.

- Perhaps it says not to advertise

that there are so many
of us living here now.

- We can't hide forever, Bella.

We'll prepare the
children for their exams.

(children talking faintly outside)

- Now, the Lord

said unto Abram,

"Get thee out

"of the country."

- Thy country.

- Thy country.

And from thy father's house

into a land

that I will show thee.

I'm tired, let someone else finish.

- One more line and then we'll applaud.

- And that land is

the promised land.

(children applauding)

(children talking quietly)

- I don't think I can take Yacob.

I'll leave him with you.

Take care, I love you.

I love you.

Oh goodness, very nice pictures.

Look at you, I have to go.

I have to go, buh-bye, buh-bye.

- Are you leaving?

Why are you leaving?

- I have too, I have to get food.

I have to get medicine,
and there are things

I have to do in Krakow.

- I wanna go with you.

- No, you can't, you have to stay here

with the other children.

- But you will come back?

- I will, I promise, very soon.

I promise, please.
- You be safe, Lena.

- Let go, don't worry, I'll be back soon.

- Polonski warned me to
expect your call for help.

- (chuckling) Well, now that
you've been warned, help me.

- There is talk of foreign funds,

but if and when they do
appear, they will be used

for Jewish resettlement, not groceries.

- Resettlement?

- In Palestine.

- Palestine.

(car engine rumbling loudly)

We barely made it to Zakopane, Rhea.

How do we get across how many borders?

- We have people who can
make those arrangements.

- For a hundred children?

Right now, Palestine is not my concern.

We've traveled enough for now.

- There were once a million
Jewish children in Poland

and now what, a handful?

Lena, these are the most
important children of our history,

our survival as a people depends on them.

- That's exactly why I
need food, groceries,

and a doctor.

- These names, they
should help you for food.

They live in the Zakopane region,

but we do not have a
Jewish doctor in the area.

- Doctors are doctors, I'll find one.

- Shalom, Lena.

And thank you, thank you for
taking care of our children.

- Mm-hmm.

Come visit.

- [Nurse] Madam, Kuchler.

(water splashing)

- So, what can I do for you?

- It's my children, doctor.

- Show them in, please.

- There are a hundred of them.

- What?

- 100.

- [Doctor] In Zakopane?

- Outside, at the resort house.

- Oh yes, I heard, from Krakow.

- Yes, most of them are very sick.

I don't know how many
have ever seen a doctor.

I have some medicines
arriving from Krakow.

- As you can see, I'm busy.

Many doctors didn't return from the front.

- You are the only doctor?

That's what I'm saying.
- These children

are desperate, doctor.

- Jews?

Correct?

- Yes, who have survived the camps.

Who have lived in holes and
attics, with no light for years,

with no human warmth.

- Madam, this is Zakopane.

It is best that few people
know that you are here.

I have a family, a practice.

Good day.

Good day.

- Excuse me.

You've taken an oath of medical ethics.

By some Miracle you have survived this war

and so have these children.

Come at night, if you
must, so you won't be seen.

Make up a story if you
have to, but please come,

we need your help.

- I said good day, madam.

Next, please.

(wagon rattling)

- [Mira] Momma, momma!

(children chattering)

You broke your promise, you
were gone longer than you said.

- Oh, I'm sorry, my love.

- Where have you been?

- Away, sweetheart, I've been everywhere.

- Did you bring grapes?

- No.

- Do you have any candy?

- Apples.

- Your father's come for you, Irma.

- I have a place for
both of us to live now

and a job, so I can
take care of you, Leah.

- He's doesn't even know my name.

- I'm sorry, your name is Irma.

And I love you.

- He's your real father, Irma.

- I know, I remember.

- A letter arrived from Zakopane school.

(gasping)

- Maybe, it's about the entrance exams.

It's from the principle of the school.

Dear madam,

since the only candidates
for the entrance exams

are from the children's shelter,

the staff declines to prepare these exams.

Why doesn't he just come
out and say what he means?

- It's for the best.

- Not to have them go to school?

- [Klimek] It's best to avoid trouble.

- This is trouble, Klimek.

I didn't bring these
children here from Krakow

to be prisoners.

- They'll be aware of us now, against us.

- Oh, so it's all right to be alive,

just don't let anybody know about it?

- [Superintendent] The teachers
will be here momentarily.

- And what are you going to do?

- I will tell them that your
children will be permitted

in the Zakopane school, if they qualify.

That's the law, and as
District Superintendent,

I will insist.

They are coming now.

I have this letter.

There's no need to read it, really.

It's a disgrace.

- Louder, please, comrade superintendent.

- A disgrace, a complete disgrace

to madam Kuchler, to her
children, and to this country.

Is that loud enough?

It's time to end this
obsolete backwardness.

It's time to stop being ruled by hatred.

Those teachers who do not
agree will be replaced.

The entrance exams will be given

to madam Kuchler's
children tomorrow morning.

Those who qualify will be educated here.

Questions, comrades?

You're excused.

They are good people.

They care about children,
but their prejudice

won't end overnight.

(crickets chirping and frogs croaking)

- [Bella] Very good, Hanka.

- Thank you, Bella.

- Who wants to be the next reader?

(chuckling)

Let's have one of the young men, Harold.

Are you embarrassed?

- No.

I just want it made clear.

I'm not afraid of going to school.

They don't teach what I want to learn.

I want to learn Hebrew like my father.

- You go to school, you
do that, all of you.

And I'll teach you Hebrew.

And if you like, the Torah.

- What's this, no studying?

- We're leaving.

- Why, Paul?

- To find work in Krakow.

- No, won't you stay and
take the exam, go to school?

There aren't very good jobs
for young men who can't read.

- Go ahead, give it a try,
Paul, she may be right.

- I want to be out on my own.

Stefan, Tinkus, let's go.

(suspenseful music)

Thank you, goodbye.

- Goodbye.

(moves into melancholic music)

- I'm gonna go read more.

At times, it comes easier.

- I can't keep them here forever.

I'm not their real mother.

(birds chirping)

(children talking faintly in the distance)

- Well?

- We're in!

- Who?

- Everyone!

- Oh! (laughing)

(children chattering excitedly)

- Hello, Lena!

(birds chirping)

- I love it here.

She's like a cat.

- I'd forgotten what it was
like to feel a child's love.

- I look at all these
babies and think about

what images they must have in their minds.

And I can't help
remembering my own daughter

and how gray she looked in her death.

- I didn't know you had a child.

- She died just after she
was born of malnutrition

in a hospital that didn't care
whether she lived or died.

My husband thought it was for the best,

easier to pass for Aryans
without the burden of a child.

- What happened to him?

- I heard rumors that he
took up with a German woman.

(sighs deeply)

- My father was so happy when I was born,

that he wanted me named after my mother.

When she was shot by the Germans,

outside of our house on the street,

he became unreachable.

He hung himself one week later.

(melancholic music)

In Auschwitz,

I felt so silent.

(sighing)

Thank you for

making me feel again.

- I have to tell you this.

I'm so ashamed

that I lied to stay alive.

(sobbing)

- I would've done the same.

(children talking faintly in the distance)

(bell ringing)

- You, begin the reading.

- It is the combination

(children laughing)

of these two groups

which created that part of Poland,

of which Warsaw is the most

recognized.

(laughing)

Now, Warsaw is the center of our

cultural life.

(laughing)

- Nine times 12.

- 108.

- 312 divided by eight.

- 39.

(bell ringing)

(children chattering)

(door creaking)

(door banging)

- The little ones on the inside,
bigger ones on the outside.

Come on, come on!

(children chattering nervously)

Go get Lena!

(dissonant dramatic music)

(children clamoring)

(children screaming loudly)

(gasping)

(suspenseful music)

(birds twittering)

(inhaling)

- Sh, sh, sh.

I'm sorry.

Thank you for coming, doctor.

- I'm a Pole and I'm
very proud of my country.

I just cannot stand idly by.

I'm sorry, madam, I've done what I could,

but there is so little medicine.

- No!

(glass clinking)

- I'll get him.

- I thought he was gonna kill me.

Inject me with gasoline.

- Relax.

We're all right here.

Have a cigarette.

- Thanks.

In Auschwitz, I've seen so
many kids murdered that way.

(crickets chirping)

(glass shattering loudly)

(man yelling)

(dissonant dramatic music)

- Did you see anyone?

- Three or four, maybe.

- We have to get the children
away from the windows

into the center of the house.

(child screaming loudly)

(child screaming)

- Sh, sh, sh.

It's all right, oh gosh,
it's only a bad dream.

- Sh, sh, sh.

(child whimpering)

Sh, sh, sh.

(humming)

- The only help I can offer
is advice, madam Kuchler.

Remain at your post.

- Captain.

- All our men are in the field
fighting the reactionaries.

I can't spare my men for
guard duty at your house.

- Captain, these are
children, not soldiers.

We don't have posts.

- This is a civil war, madam.

Every citizen is a soldier.

- But a few men, even one
man, some show of force.

We're defenseless.

- I can give you guns,
that's the best I can do.

- Fine, good.

(trunk slamming open)

(crate rattling)

- We can't use them like this,
they'll have to be cleaned.

Good, grenades.

Look at this, Lena.

It's a machine gun.

(truck engine roaring)

(car engine rumbling)

(birds twittering)

- Welcome.

Welcome.

(melancholic music)

(moves into unsettling music)

- They were healing, coming alive.

Then they were attacked
at the school, beaten.

Now, they're falling back again.

(moves into dark dramatic music)

I couldn't get any soldiers, any guards,

any protection at all.

I had no other choice.

- In Rabka, the Jewish
center was attacked.

It is happening in many cities, Lena.

We came to warn you.

- They threw hand grenades
very much like these, no doubt.

- Isn't fortunate we have them?

- It's sad.

- Yes, it's sad.

Am I wrong to want to live,

and be willing to fight
back in order to survive?

Short bursts along the line.

(machine gun booming)

Kneel up, kneel up.

(gun banging)

- I don't want this.

Anyway, I'm not very good.

- So?

- I don't think I could kill
anyone one intentionally.

- I understand.

(gun clicking)

Aim high.

(gun banging)

The noise is more important
than the marksmanship.

(gun banging)

- The situation here is dangerous too.

We're under siege.

I don't want to stay here anymore.

I want you to get us to Palestine.

- You want to risk a journey to Palestine,

smuggling children across a dozen borders.

- I cannot have these children
living like prisoners,

terrified like subhumans,
with no food, no medicine,

under threat of constant attack.

Will you help us?

- I think I can make the arrangements,

but you must be very cautious.

The borders are strictly guarded.

I can get passports for all of you.

You will walk perhaps 12
kilometers to the border,

then train through Czechoslovakia,

and finally to France or Sweden.

It is your choice, Lena, France or Sweden.

- France, it's closer to Palestine.

(gun banging)

(frogs croaking)

- Get Lena.

- Does anybody remember Purim?

Purim.

- [Lena and Children] Purim, Purim.

- We will tell the story
of Esther and Mordecai,

and the King Ahasuerus,
the king of Persia,

and the wicked Hama, and every
time I read his name, Haman,

we'll stamp our feet, Haman!

Haman, and shout him down, no!

(children stomping and yelling)

Very bad!

- Lord have mercy on me,
mistress, you must get away now.

They're in the village
with guns and horses.

- They are coming here?

- Yes, yes, you must go.

There's been too much trouble.

- Thank you, madam, thank you.

(door slamming closed)

Oh, children, sh, quickly,
we're going to the basement.

Quick, quick, quick.

(grunting)

Sh.

(children talking quietly)

(footfalls thudding)

(frogs croaking)

- Remember, short bursts.

The first 30 seconds are what counts.

Short bursts, please, or the
gun will overheat and jam.

- It's the 10th time, Harold.

Please, I'm not an imbecile.

Stasek, see anything?

- Nothing.

(children talking quietly)

How are you, Maria?

- I'm shaking so much, I don't know

if I can fire the pistol.

- When it happens, you'll be all right.

(footfalls pattering)

(children talking quietly)

- Come sit, little ones.

Everything will be all right.

(sighing in relief)

- Warm tea, mistress.

- Thank you, Klimek.

(gun clicking)

(frogs croaking)

- God be with you, madam.

- The flare may confuse
them, and if we get off

enough rounds, we'll scare 'em to death.

They'll never expect us to have guns.

(dark suspenseful music)

(whistling)

(horse hooves thudding)

(gun clicking)

(horse hooves clopping)

(gun clicking)

(moves into dramatic music)

(gun clicking)

(horse whinnying)

(moves into dissonant dramatic music)

(horse neighing)

(gun banging)

(man yelling)

(machine gun booming)

(guns banging)

(children screaming loudly)

(guns banging)

(machine gun booming and men yelling)

(guns banging)

(horse hooves thudding)

(sighing)

(sobbing)

They're gone.

(sobbing)

(sobbing)

- Are you all right, Maria?

- Are you hurt?

- Why, Lena?

- What?

- Why do they come after us like this?

- Oh my God.

(sobbing)

(birds twittering)

(children chattering)

Yes, hello.

May I have your attention, please.

Who knows the story of the Exodus?

- That's easy.

- Yes, Yacob, you know it, tell it to us.

- God delivered us from
bondage and suffering in Egypt.

- And brought us where?

- To the land of Canaan,
the promised land.

- I promised you a life.

A place to grow, be free,

to be safe.

The little ones don't have a choice.

The older ones, you can
decide if you stay or go.

It's going to be soon.

It's going to be dangerous,

so we have to keep it our secret.

Yes?

And it's going to be Palestine.

(melancholic music)

- They work, I know it's hard to believe,

but the border guards only want money.

They will count the passports
and pass through that number.

- [Bella] Maybe, we should
put a beard on Saulos.

- Our group is experienced
in resettling Jews.

And I have been assured that
your train will be waiting.

Here are zlotys

(thudding)

and Vodka to bribe the guards.

- My ancestors settled in Poland,

in the 15th century.

The vigor of our life,

the richness of our
past, has been destroyed.

It's a vanished world.

- Yes.

Past is over.

Now unto the future,

so be it.

(suspenseful music)

(moves into unsettling music)

We began our second exodus at first light

to avoid detection by
those who have attacked us.

Walking out in the open,
I knew these children

would be defenseless.

I had no choice, however,

but to trust in God to get us there.

The older children chose to
place their trust in guns.

(birds twittering)

On and on, we trekked
kilometer after kilometer.

This was only the beginning of a long

and dangerous journey.

If we reached this border,
there would be another

and another, but they never complained.

(moves into sharp suspenseful music)

(footfalls crunching over leaves)

(horse hooves thudding)

(bird squawking)

(moves into unsettling music)

(children sighing in relief)

We prepared for the Polish border.

Any mistake here and we
could be turned back,

thrown into prison or worse.

(gasping) Two passports missing.

- Are they lost, were you given enough?

- Find the two smallest,
we'll put them in knapsacks

and carry them across.

(children talking quietly)

We're the group from Zakopane.

You're expecting us.

- Lift it.

(gate creaking)

(suspenseful music)

(moves into unsettling music)

(children chattering urgently)

(footfalls pattering)

(children chattering)

(steam engine hissing)

(locomotive thumping)

(wheels rasping on rails)

- [Child] It stopped.

- Sh, sh, sh.

Quiet.

(rooster crowing)

- Czechoslovak border,
passports, passports out.

- Yes, I have the passports here.

(child sneezing)

(child coughing)

(footfalls pattering)

(rooster crowing)

- [Lena] What are you doing?

- They're gonna send us back.

- Put that away.

- Madam, your passports are fraudulent

and you bribed guard.

You will be returned to Poland.

- Haman.

(children stomping and yelling loudly)

- Quiet.

Quiet!

Quiet!

- Momma!

- This is your mother, child?

What is your destination?

- Palestine, sir.

- You can shoot us right
here at the border, go ahead.

But we won't go back to a place

where our parents were killed!

- Do not get off this
train in Czechoslovakia.

(train whistle blasting)

(melancholic music)

(moves into exhilarating music)

- [Harold] Stasek!

(moves into unsettling music)

- Momma?

(moves into affectionate music)

- [Lena] For the next two years
because there were barriers

preventing Jewish
immigration to Palestine,

as well as many other countries,

we found a temporary shelter in France.

However, in the summer of 1948,

after the state of Israel was created,

my 100 children and I
finally reached our home,

in the promised land.

(melancholic music)

(Multicom Jingle)