Last Five Days (1982) - full transcript

FIVE LAST DAYS

A FILM BY PERCY ADLON

On-site prison of the Secret Police
at the Wittelsbacher Palais,

Munich headquarters.

Thursday, the 18th of February, 1943.

Day 1.

10 a.m.

Yes?

Yes, sir.

Yes?

Yes.



Of course.

Will do.

My pleasure. Heil Hitler.

What's going on?
What's wrong?

They caught students leafletting.

They were throwing loads of them down
at the university.

Down from where?

From the whatchamacallit upstairs
that goes around.

I've never been in there either.

That doesn't mean anything.
It doesn't have to be them.

No, but it might be them.

11 a.m.

Fräulein Else, lunch.

They're arresting the students.
- The painters?



New arrivals.

They really gave us the runaround.

Not you.

I saw their graffiti.

"Down with Hitler."

"Hitler: Mass Murderer."

"Freedom."

That big.

Along Ludwigstraße,
the University.

Crossed-out swastikas.

Well, if they're the ones we caught...

12 noon.

Bring him to interrogation!
The young lady to reception.

Come, Fräulein.

Have a seat, Fräulein.

I must remind you that you will be liable
to prosecution

if you don't answer
the following questions truthfully.

Did you understand that?

Yes.

Of course!

Last name?

Scholl.

First name?
- Sophie.

Sophia Magdalena.

Date of birth?

May 9th, 1921.

21, 22, 23.

You're 22 years old.

21.

I would have said younger.

Expose your ear.

21, 22, 23.

Place of birth?

Forchtenberg am Kocher.

Expose your ear.

21, 22, 23.

Where is Forchtenberg?

In Württemberg.

Occupation?

Student. And kindergarten teacher.

That's that.

What are you studying?

Biology.

And philosophy.

Marital status?
- Single.

Prior convictions?
- No.

No prior convictions...

Let's do that again on the other side now.

Thumb...

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

And the pinky.

Now, hand over everything
you have on you, Fräulein...

Fräulein Scholl.

Fräulein Gebel, take her personal belongings.

Coat pockets.

Coat.

Scarf.

Last name?
- Scholl.

Anything else in your pockets?

First name?
- Hans.

You can keep that.

Date of birth?

September 22nd, 1918.

Let me see that barrette.

Place of birth?
- Ingersheim.

Perform the body search, Fräulein Gebel.

According to the regulations!

Prior convictions?

No.

No prior convictions.

12:30 p.m.

If you want to get rid of something...

A leaflet...

I'm an inmate myself.

You needn't be afraid.

I'm not afraid.

You can get dressed.

She doesn't have anything.

Yes?

Yes, sir.

Together.

You're welcome.

Get your things.
I'm putting you with Scholl.

Unlock the large cell.

Wait.

The VIP cell!

It's usually for wayward party members.

It won't be so tragic, Fräulein.

I'm sure you'd rather take that one.

Thanks.

Have you been here long?
- A year.

They caught me a year ago.
On a train.

An inspection.

But they only found a letter

with a quote from Ludwig Thoma in it.

It describes our beloved Führer to a T.

How do they treat you here?

Not bad.

I'm a bookkeeper.

They have me working in registration.

I find out a lot of things there.

Fräulein, prepare for interrogation.

Wait!

You did nothing, all right?

But they find things everywhere.

Don't admit to anything.

To anything ever!

3 p.m.

Groß, Angelika.
You can go.

Finder, Rainer Xaver.
You can go.

Meier, August.
You have to wait.

Kranz, Luise.

Go to interrogation.

Dubois, Herta.
You have to wait.

Molchinger, Max Emanuel.

Go to interrogation.

Wimmer, Susanne.

You have to wait.

Vogel, Sebastian. You can go.

I'm sure Fräulein Scholl didn't do anything.

I'll eat my hat if she did!

It's possible.
She didn't get the good cell for nothing.

Here's another one.

I'd really like to ease that girl's mind.

Too bad we don't find anything out down here.

I already spoke with our colleague.

He intimated
that we could let the Scholls go.

They want to take the train to Ulm today
to pick up laundry from home.

They even have an empty suitcase,

which was just the right size
to fit all the leaflets.

A nice girl.

A leader in the German Girls League!

He's not bad either.

A sergeant. Already served in Russia.

Student company.

No, Fräulein Gebel,

traitors who keep the leadership in Berlin
on their toes do not look like this.

Yes.

Yes, sir.

Nothing.

6:30, yes.

The list of names.

Yes, sir.

The Scholls will be further interrogated
right away. They're not to be fed.

Fräulein Else, dinner!

Tell her that her brother was able
to deny everything.

Does he have anything to hide?

They found stamps
belonging to Hans and me.

Where?

In the apartment.

So? What's the harm in that?

270 of them.

I told them that I always stock up

because I write a lot.

And it's true.
I love to write letters.

Especially to my family.

But he asked if I send them printed material.

Did you have three-cent stamps...

Yes.

I...

Sometimes they even let me get my hair done.

Is there a hairdresser here?
- No.

In town.

I am under guard,

but it's not particularly heavy.

A girlfriend of mine told me

that she received a leaflet in the mail.

A leaflet from the "White Rose."

I immediately loved that name.

And did you read it?

Yes.

A few weeks later.

It said what we all are thinking.

That every honest German is ashamed
of his government today.

Then they got extremely agitated
in here.

Every time they heard
about one of those campaigns...

They were all abuzz in here.

Who's your case worker?

Mahr.

That's good. He's a decent man.

He's fair.

Yes.

Decent even, for one of them.

Did you have enough to eat?
- Yes, thanks.

Can I do anything else for you?

I'm dying for one of my cigarettes.

Scholl, Sophia.
Prepare for interrogation.

I'll get them for later.

Are you still working, Fräulein Else?
It's already past eight.

I had to register the new students.

God, they land in here
because they picked up a leaflet.

They're finding more and more
incriminating evidence.

They already have the paint and the brushes.

I heard it from Fietz,
who's in the cell with Scholl.

Do you have a cigarette?
For Sophie.

Don't.

Don't!

No.

No!

She...

She...

She is...

She is...

Day 2.

Friday, the 19th of February, 1943.

7:30 a.m.

Was she released last night?

She's still being interrogated.

For thirteen hours?

You can go home.
- What about my brother?

We're keeping him here.

The brother's already back.

He confessed.

He took responsibility for it all.
She should deny her part in it.

Graf, Willi. Born January 2nd, 1918,

Kuchenheim...

Graf, Anneliese.

No, not Anneliese Graf.
We just released her again.

Have you already had coffee?
- No.

Well, go get some.

You haven't had any coffee today,
Fräulein Else.

You can drink your coffee here, too.

Thanks.

It was better last night.

Did he...

Did Mahr offer you anything?

Real coffee.

Let me tell you, that was really good.

Would you like a cigarette?

Thanks.

Unlock the cell.

Yes.

Let's go.

Can I go with them?

I need to get something.

It's that time of the month.

I'll be right back to get you.

I don't even know your name.

Else.

The air smells so good!

I took the blame for it all. Else.

Maybe I'll get Hans released.

Your brother took the blame for it all.
I hoped...

I mean, he hoped to get you released.

Don't you want to lie down?

Do you want to tell me why you're here?

I was the messenger.
But only once.

When they caught me,
they'd already arrested the others.

Bavarian royalists?

You mean, because I look so respectable?

No, no.

Leftists. Communists.

As far as I know, 48 of us were arrested
in Munich and Berlin.

My brother, too.

He was an officer and purser in Berlin.

He's also been in jail for a year
without a trial.

His views are very radical.

Sabotage in every sector.

Rendering food inedible,
for example.

Anything to ruin Germany as it is now
as quickly as possible.

Would you like one of my nightgowns?
- Yes.

You shouldn't have to wear
the same things day and night.

I've never been able
to just look at water.

A stream, a pond...

Off went my shoes and socks
and I'd dip my feet in at least,

even if it was really cold.

At home in Forchtenberg,

there was a flat levee.
As kids, we always played there.

I loved that.

There.

Try it on.

They found the design for a new leaflet
at our apartment.

Soon they'll have figured out
who wrote it.

Was it you?

No, no. It wasn't Hans either.

Let's hope they don't catch him.

They arrested students again last night.

Named Graf.

The girl was released this morning.

Oh, that's great!

Was it his design?

I don't know you. Hello.

Heil Hitler.
- Else, could I have my cigarettes?

Only by request.
- Yes, of course.

We'll ask upstairs first.

12 noon.

Not having to deny it anymore
makes everything easy.

The denying was the worst part.

Now we have to be smart
to protect our friends.

How smart do you think Hans is?
He's got brains.

Do you know what Mahr told me?
- What?

His colleague,
the one interrogating Hans,

said that in his entire career

he'd never encountered such a lucid mind.

That he was the kind of person,
on whom Germany's future depended.

Yes, I'm sure he thought that.

When I didn't answer,
he started lecturing me.

...eliminated unemployment.

We've done away with the class system

and cast off the Jewish parasites.

The Führer has scored major victories

and given the Aryan race new Lebensraum.

There are good races and inferior ones.

The Führer is allowed to do wrong
when the good of the nation demands it.

We must obey him,
no matter what he orders us to do.

Because he sees the big picture,
while we only think of ourselves.

Look, Fräulein Scholl,

your humanitarianism is sentimental.

You people and your petty
individual morality,

do you want to return to the chaos
of the Weimar Republic?

You call for the military to be undermined.

Do you really want to negate everything

that the German people have made great
sacrifices to achieve since 1933?

There is such a thing as German honor.

Even you must feel it in your blood,

whether you want to or not.

Fräulein Scholl,
if you had thought about all that,

you would never have allowed yourself
to be seduced into committing such acts.

You're mistaken.

I would do it all again,
exactly the same way.

Because it's your worldview that's false,
not mine.

I would do it all again,
exactly the same way.

Because I feel guilty.

Guilty...

Guilty of the murder of Jewish people.

Of the abduction of girls
from the Polish nobility to SS brothels.

Of the deaths of the young men
torn to pieces in barbed wire...

and the innocent soldiers who froze
and starved at Stalingrad.

Of the degradation of women,

as we are reduced
to being baby-making machines.

I feel guilty

because we may no longer read and write,

say, listen to and look at the things

that we consider good, beautiful,
worth knowing and true.

Guilty,

because I was too weak...

too frightened and too apathetic

to commit all, all of my strength
and all, all of my mind

to one thing: fighting against
this inhuman, murderous regime.

But what you do is directed
against the Fatherland.

What I do is on its behalf.

That's how you ease your guilty conscience.

He was trying to build a bridge.

I know, Else.

You said that you needed
to be smart for your friends.

Please, Sophie, do it for yourself as well.

It will be over soon.

Think about your relatives
and the time after this.

No, I couldn't go on living after that.

They have made a mockery of everything
precious to mankind.

They've debased and butchered it.

Should I say that they're right?

You also have an obligation to stay alive.

Yes, Else...

You're so good-hearted.

I totally agree with you
that only life can create life.

Yes, Sophie, yes.

A dead mother can't bear children.

No, Sophie, no.

Do you remember that scene
in the Old Testament?

When Moses held his arms up in prayer
day and night, hour after hour,

asking God for victory?

And when he let his arms drop,

then his people lost favor in battle.

I can't let my arms drop now.

I had the same dream again.

Will you tell it to me?

I was taking a walk with Hans and Schurik.

I was in the middle, arm in arm with them.

I was partly walking,

partly skipping

and partly being lifted in the air
by the two of them and floating along.

Then Hans said:

"I know a very simple way to prove

the existence and agency of God
even in the present day.

Human beings need so much air to breathe.

Over the years
the whole sky should be polluted

by stale human breath.

But...

to keep this food for the blood
of mankind from running out,

God breathes a mouthful of his breath
into our world from time to time.

It pervades the stale air and replaces it.

That's how he does it."

Then Hans pointed his face
toward the gloomy, gloomy sky.

He took a deep breath

and blew all the air from his open mouth.

The shaft of his rising breath
was a brilliant shade of blue.

It grew large and then larger...

and went all the way up to the sky.

It pushed away the dirty clouds

and in front of us,
above us and around us

was the clearest, bluest sky.

It was beautiful.

Fräulein Scholl,
please prepare for interrogation.

You would have had to work
on them for half a year

in order for you and your brother
to produce the 25,000 leaflets on your own.

But you were studying and your brother
was at the front for seven months.

We worked hard, day and night.

You want to protect your friends,
but you're dragging them deeper into it.

You should have heard,
for example,

how often Fräulein Schertling
has contradicted herself.

Your circle has been exposed.
We know who your accomplices are.

Every name you withhold from us
becomes twice as interesting to us.

Fräulein Scholl, are you listening to me?

You can take a break.

I'd like to ask you something.

It's common knowledge
that the Gestapo tortures suspects.

That the Gestapo...

tortures suspects
to extract confessions from them.

Don't you think it's only right
to extract confessions from them?

I don't intend to have you tortured.

I've been a civil servant for 25 years.
I'm doing my duty.

I don't dislike you, Fräulein Scholl,
but I can't do anything for you

unless you meet me halfway.

Well?

What do you want?

How is my brother?

9 p.m.

Paul's epistle to the Romans.

"I am convinced that the suffering
of the current times...

is nothing compared to the splendor
that will be revealed to us.

We know that up until this moment
all of creation

has been groaning in expectation.

Not only it,

but we ourselves as well,

who have the first fruits of the Spirit,

groan inwardly

and wait for adoption,
the redemption of our bodies.

For although we are saved,

it is in hope.

But hope that is seen

is not hope,

for who can hope for something
that he can see?

But if we hope for what we do not see,

we wait for it patiently."

Bang, what did I tell you!

Now we have to get undressed
in the dark like two prudes.

Do you like to dance?
- No.

I really love to dance sometimes.

A girl at school once complained
about my indecent way of dancing.

I'm sure she was just jealous.
There!

Thanks.

Some pop songs are really funny.

That one made us laugh so much!

Which one?

Do you know "Can Love Be a Sin"?

Of course.

At the orphanage

where I did my internship
as a kindergarten teacher,

that was our favorite song.

And once,

when I was bawling out one of those rascals,

he stood there in front of me

and sang in a little boy's bass voice:

"Can love be a sin?"

Now the ribbon is all tangled up.

Let me help you.

Wait.

Do you have anyone on the outside
waiting for you?

You mean a man?
- Yes.

No.
Men have always found me off-putting.

Off-putting?

How so?

Well, not that there were many of them.

I always said right away
how I imagined being in a relationship.

That scared them away.

Yes,

we're only supposed to show our need
for affection. That impresses them.

Now it's untied.

Thanks.

I like being alone.

I need it.

Me not so much.

But I always have my clients anyway.

Clients?

One lady can't get down the stairs
by herself.

I feed the bird for other ones
when they're on holiday.

Another wants to cry on my shoulder.

There's always something going on.

Strangers?

They're not strangers for long.

"Be not only hearers,

but also doers of the word."

Yes, Sophie.

For me there's only the one faith
and the one hope.

But I also do things for myself.

The main thing is my choir.

You sing?

In the church choir.
I like Bach best of all.

Yes, you can't fake it with Bach.

That's true.

Do you play an instrument?

Piano.

When I feel bad,
I like to concentrate on Bach.

Do you want to go to sleep?

No.

Where's your home?

In Ulm.

My father has an office
on Münsterplatz.

He's an tax accountant.

He spent two months in prison last fall

for calling Hitler a "Scourge of God."

His secretary ratted on him.

He was a conscientious objector
during the First World War

and did his service at a military hospital.

That's where he met my mother.

She was a Deaconess nurse.

Where do your parents live?

They're no longer with us.

My father died when I was 15.

He was a newspaperman.

A journalist?
- No, administration.

He ended up
as a publishing house director.

A restless guy.

He always got into quarrels
and had to move on.

My mother got really sick of it.

And at one point they were in Augsburg.

That's where I was born.

Do you have any more
brothers and sisters?

Yes, Arno.

He's apolitical,
nothing like Willy.

I kept house for Willy for 15 years
after Mother died.

What about you?

What?

Any brothers and sisters
besides Hans?

There are five of us,

three girls and two boys.

I spent my first seven years
in Forchtenberg am Kocher

in Würrtemberg.

It was like a little medieval town.

They still had a stagecoach.

My father was the mayor.

Built a railway

and sewers.

Then they voted him out of office.
Too progressive.

On Saturdays...

we would go from the mayor's house
to the bakery

and then take a bath in the big tub.

Afterwards, we'd have pretzels.

What kind of dog is that?

Have you seen one of them?

They're Great Danes.

In the communication trench.
It's quite...

Go on with your story!

Where was I?

You had to take care of your brother.

Oh yes.

I was 20 when my mother died.

It was very hard.

My girlfriend always talks about
how sad I looked

when I started working at Uhlfelder's
dressed all in black.

Because we were always giggling later on.

What's Uhlfelder's?

It was a department store
here in Munich.

It was expropriated four years ago.

After the horrible...

Night of Broken Glass?

Yes.

Our boss, Mr. Uhlfelder, was a fine man.

Kind...

Our pet name for him was "Father."

My girlfriend was his secretary

and I was in bookkeeping.

The morning
of the 10th of November, 1938,

we tried to get in the store: closed.

The windows had been smashed.

It was still burning in the back.

"Let that Jewish swine's business burn down!"

said an SA trooper.

"Yes, of course!" said a fireman.

"Let the whole street burn with it."

Then they put the fire out.

The Nazis had gotten our boss
out of bed during the night.

He was forced to stand in his pyjamas
for hours in an open delivery van.

Then they took him to Dachau...

Fortunately he was able to get out.

But I don't know where he is now.

Before that, were you

friendly towards the Nazis?

No, never.

That goes against my Christian beliefs.

It was different for us.

My father warned us from the start.

We were impressed by the Hitler Youth.

Hans especially.

Campfires, patriotism, camaraderie...

Singing, outings and all of that!

I was even a leader in the Girls League.

But when Hans came back
from the Nuremberg convention,

he was a changed man.

The mindless marching...

the platitudes, the boasting,
the cruel jokes!

At that time, one of our friends, Otl Aicher,
made a great impression on us.

Right before finishing school,
he refused to join the Hitler Youth

and put his graduation at risk.

He would always bring us books
and familiarize us with them,

like the Confessions of St. Augustine.

Theodor Haecker, Pascal,

Bernanos.

We then found out that the Nazis
were killing mentally handicapped kids,

and more and more horrible things.

After graduating,
in order to avoid the National Labor Service,

I enrolled in kindergarten training.

But they stuck me in an arms factory...

Some nice women from Russia
were slave laborers there.

They sabotaged all kinds of detonators.

Finally, I was allowed to study!

In Munich.

That was a whole new world.

One day Hans said:

"What we need is a copy machine."

Are you asleep?

No, Sophie. I'm listening.

Day 3.

Saturday, the 20th of February, 1943.

Midday.

The new arrivals are to be registered.

The interrogations are on Saturday,
none on Sunday probably.

If anything is still unclear,
ask the supervisor.

Well, you're almost like
a real employee here.

Contact with upstairs...

You know who I mean:
Hans Scholl and Willi Graf...

...is absolutely forbidden.
I'm warning you.

Well, what you people downstairs do...

Help yourself to that tea
that your girlfriend brought me.

All right then, see you Monday.

Yes?

Yes, he's still here.

It's for you.

Yes?

You too.

All right. Heil Hitler!

No further interrogations this weekend.

Sophie!

You're done with interrogations for today
and tomorrow. Isn't that nice?

I don't know.
- Come on now!

I think these interrogations are interesting.
I find them stimulating.

4 p.m.

I've wanted this agonizing sadness to end
once and for all so many times.

It's ruined every desire I had
to do anything.

When I picked up a book,

it was as if someone else were doing it.

I often thought that I'd much rather

experience the worst pain,
even merely physical,

than this empty stillness.

Now do you see
why I want the interrogations to go on?

Why I want it to go on at all?

I brought you a little something.

Thanks.

That's really very, very nice
of you, Mr. Mahr.

Have a nice weekend.

Thank you, Fräulein Scholl.
I must get back to work.

Enjoy the food.

I need to go to the office.
- What for?

The boss is fine with it.
You'll get some, too.

5 p.m.

There!

We're rich!

Look how rich we are.

Where did you get that?

My girlfriend brought it for you.

But you have to give some to Fatty.
He's not always so nice.

What's going on here?

Fatty's in a good mood today.

Yes, Philip!

Well...

Butter.

What are you?
Where did you pick that up?

My mother brought it.

Are you from a farm?
- Yes.

We don't have a knife.

Come on, Sophie. Help me.

Further to the left.
The table has to fit in between.

Sit down.

How nice!

Where are you from?

From Rotis.

Where is Rotis?

In the Allgäu.

This tea is really good.

How big is Rotis?

The mill is in the south,

we're up there,

the woodcutter is back there
where the wood is.

Seven farms or so spread out.

How did you land here?

Because of my hobby.

Valentin is a ham radio operator.

Your name is Valentin?

He picked up all the foreign signals.

From London, Stockholm.

People came to him from far away
to listen on the sly.

Moscow.

I picked it up, too.

It must be nice.

Other countries...

The ability to just travel
to wherever you want.

Come on, Valentin, have a cookie.

Thanks.
- They're good.

Would you like tea, Philip?

Your name is Valentin.

Karl Valentin is my absolute favorite.

"I would have liked to want to,

but I was afraid to allow myself to."

This tea is so delicious.

That was a feast fit for a king.

All we need now is some music.

Or theater.

Or a film.

Well...

Put the bed back there.

That too, please.

Here, the front row!

Yes, Philip!
You could perform that anywhere.

That's what I do, Fräulein Else.

That's my profession.

Until they locked me up for doing that.

Thank you.

It was very beautiful.

Everyone, all of us inside here,

are impressed by you.

Even the others,

the Gestapo.

We're powerless.

But you all...

You are...

Hope.

The White Rose.

In our desolation...

your voices were...

Our heads...
We raised our heads up!

Hope!

Hope.

The White Rose's leaflets...

Hope...

We could use some more tea.

This has to stop now.
I'm putting my neck on the line.

Look at the moon.

"The moon has risen.

The golden stars shine
in the sky, bright and clear.

The wood stands black and silent

and from the meadows
the white mist miraculously rises."

"...and from the meadows
the white mist miraculously rises."

"How is the world so quiet

and, wrapped in dusk,
so sad and so lovely?

Like a quiet chamber
where you can sleep away

and forget the misery of the day."

"...where you can sleep away
and forget the misery of the day."

"Do you see the moon up there?

You can only see half of it,
but it is round and beautiful.

That's true of many things
that we safely laugh at,

because our eyes can't see them.

We proud children of man
are poor, vain sinners

who do not know much at all.

We spin webs of air

and seek many arts
and get further away from our goal."

"God, let us see your salvation,

let us neither trust in transitory things

nor enjoy vanity!

Let us become naive

and let us be, in your eyes, here on earth,
devout and happy like children."

"...devout and happy like children."

"Take us in the end
without grief from this world

in gentle death.

And when you take us,
let us get to heaven,

you, our Lord and our God."

"So lie down, brothers,
in God's name.

The evening breeze is cold.

Spare us punishment, God,

and let us sleep peacefully,

along with our sick neighbor!"

Day 4.

Sunday, the 21st of February, 1943.

8 a.m.

New arrival last night.

Another person was brought in last night.
- Who?

I don't know.

But probably one of you.

On Sundays I work at 10 a.m. for two hours.

I can check then.

What might the name be?

I don't want to burden you with knowing that.

The first name starts with an A.

My brother Werner should be home
on leave from Russia any day now.

That would nice for our parents now.
- Stalingrad?

No, luckily.

But my fiancé is in Stalingrad.

I'm very worried about him.

Is he good-looking?

Yes.

Sometimes I'm afraid of influencing him
too much.

Have you been together long?

Do you think our parents have found out
that we're here?

Did any of your friends at the University
see you being taken away?

We looked past all of them to avoid
incriminating them, but I think so.

Then your parents know.

Aren't they allowed to visit us?

If the Gestapo doesn't get anything more
from their questioning, then for sure.

Maybe even tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

The first name doesn't start
with an A, Sophie.

It's a student named Christoph Probst.
- No!

Sophie!

Sophie!

Calm down.

Yes, Sophie...

Come on!

Who is he?

Is he your fiancé?

No.

My fiancé

never knew about any of it.

Christoph...

designed the new leaflet

that they found on Hans.

He...

He has...

He has...

He... He has three little kids.

His... His wife is down with childbed fever.

Of all people, Chris was to be protected.

If he only designed something,
they can't...

Right, Else?
They can't kill him.

They can lock him up,
but they can't kill him!

I'm sure they can't.
I'm sure!

Now...

calm down.

Sophie!

Come now.

Come now.

It will be fine.

It will be fine.

Tomorrow you go back to your old cell.

Yes, I know.

Freisler, the Chief Prosecutor,

is arriving from Berlin tomorrow
for the trial.

They're not dilly-dallying around.

When is the trial?
- Tomorrow at 10 a.m. Too bad I'm on duty.

At 10 a.m., then?

Tomorrow at 10 a.m.
People's Court!

Whatever they did must be really awful.

Don't get dragged into it,
right at the end.

Scholl, Sophia?

You must go to the court clerk
to be served the indictment.

3:30 p.m.

Oh, thank God!

None of the others.

None of the others.

They're only indicting Hans, me
and poor Chris.

Could you get in trouble
for reading the indictment with me?

Come over here.

"Chief Prosecutor
of the People's Court.

Indictment.

I hereby charge Hans Fritz Scholl,
Sophia Magdalena Scholl

and Christoph Hermann Probst,

all currently without defense counsel,

with having organized
acts of high treason

with intent to change the constitution
of the Reich by force

and with intent

to render the army unfit for fulfillment
of its duty

and to publicly cripple and destroy
the will of the German people

for militaristic self-determination.

Crimes in accordance with Paragraphs..."
Paragraph, paragraph, paragraph...

"...of the Special Wartime Penal Code.

In the summer of 1942
and in January and February 1943,

the accused Hans Scholl produced
and distributed leaflets."

4 p.m.

The lawyer to see Scholl, Sophia.

It is my duty...
Is there anything that you can say...

No.

Well...

Well, perhaps...

in view of the fact that you...

As a woman...

As a young...

If my brother is condemned to death,
I wish to be condemned to death.

It is my duty to...
- I'm sure you can confirm for me

that my brother has a right
to death by firing squad.

He fought at the front.

That...

The Chief Prosecutor has the authority
to decide that.

What about me?

What do you mean?

Am I to be hanged publicly
or must I be guillotined?

As a man,
you really should have stronger nerves.

5 p.m.

To lean against a tree.

To feel the strength of the tree.

To feel its bark.

Funny.

I've always thought
I'd like to be just a piece of bark.

That image came up again and again.

Again and again.

To simply be a piece of bark.

What a glorious day!

And I have to leave.

If people are shaken up
by what's happening to us...

The students will surely revolt.

It will cause an uproar.

6 p.m.

I've come back to give you some advice.

Unofficially. You understand...

Write to your relatives
today if possible.

Do you have pen and paper?

I'll give her what she needs.

Sophie and Hans Scholl wrote
short farewell letters to their parents

and to Inge Scholl.

Sophie Scholl wrote one
to her suitor or fiancé.

The letters contained words of gratitude
for the love they received,

in addition to stating that they had not
been able to act differently.

In one of the letters,
it was expressed that the future

would acquit and vindicate
what was now being condemned.

Moreover, the letters contained
words of consolation

and an apology for the pain

that they would be inflicting
on the bereaved.

Ultimately, the letters attested
to a profound religious faith.

As ordered, the contents
of the farewell letters had to be

reported to the Central Office
for Reich Security.

It was then ordered

that the letters be filed away
without exception

and in no instance allowed
to be delivered,

because otherwise
there would be reason to fear

that they might be exploited as propaganda.

7 p.m.

Christoph says hello.

And Hans just said one word: "all."

Thank you, Philip.

Please give them both
the same message from me.

That's my father's motto, Else.

"Prevail in the face of all pressures."

From Goethe.

"All."

That all you need to say to a Scholl.

"In the face of all pressures...

prevail!"

You're saying
that I should have saved myself.

I always took that to mean
that Goethe

is referring to the personal freedom
of a human being.

Which must be preserved
in the face of all pressures.

You can't betray your conscience

and, if need be,
you have to do whatever it takes.

A quarter after ten.

They're turning the lights off
so late tonight.

Once this is over...

Are you talking about life after death,
Sophie?

No.

About life after the Nazis.

Imagine

simply going into a bookstore

and buying a French book.

Why are the lights still on?

They have to stay on. Orders from upstairs.
- "Stay on"?

It will stay light all night.
- Well, that's the limit!

"If the people

are unaware of the government,
they are happy.

But when the government is intrusive,

the people are broken."

The Chinese philosopher Laozi said that.

It was in one of our leaflets.

How often do you want to look in here?

Every half hour.

You think we're enjoying this?

I think

that Germany will become
a very modest nation.

After this.

No more swaggering.

It will have work very hard
to be accepted by other nations again.

Maybe there's won't be
a Germany afterwards.

You mean,

Germany will be condemned to death
for what it has done to other nations?

It won't be an eye for an eye.

No.

I'd never want to leave Germany.

My parents
and my brothers and sisters.

You...

It was always so lovely,

in the evening after dinner,

to stroll along the Danube
with our father.

He would listen to our opinions

and then offer his opposing view.

I think the five of us were all better
at thinking and verbalizing

when we talked with our father
than we usually were.

When Hitler started his re-armament program,

Father said right away:
"There will be a war."

"Those who have weapons
will use them."

You know, Else...

wherever I was,

I always looked forward to home
more than words could say.

Downright childish!

And in every unpleasant situation

I always had the feeling
that it would pass.

And...

you dear people!

If you knew what I was going to do.

And now I have to hurt

my family's feelings...

so very much.

2 a.m.

Let her sleep!
Isn't that enough already?

5 a.m.

Day 5.

Monday, the 22nd of February, 1943.

Sophie?

Sophie!

Time to get up.

7 a.m.

Thank you.

Good morning, Else.
- Good morning, Sophie.

Did you sleep well?

I always do.

Goodbye.

Yes, Philip.

Goodbye.

They're coming to get you.

Let's say our goodbyes.

Please tell my parents...

If I'm not able to...
- Yes.

In a calmer time,
I'll tell your parents

how well we got along these past few days.

Thank you.

Thank heavens I met you here!

God be with you, dear Sophie.

I'll always think of you.

9 a.m.

2 p.m.

Yes?

Yes.

As expected.

All three are sentenced to death.

By beheading.

By...

Guillotine.

Good, clean young people!

Traitors.

Oh, well.

Mr. Mahr?

Mr. Mahr!

Is it...

Is it really true?

All three have to die?

Think of her in half an hour.

Then it will be over.

Unlock...

Unlock my cell!

Lord...

Christ, take pity on her.

Lord, have mercy on her.

FREEDOM

On April 20th, 1943,
at the Hartwimmer-Olschewski trial,

I was sentenced to a year and a quarter
in prison

with credit for time served
in pre-trial custody.

My brother was executed at Berlin-Plötzensee
on May 30th, 1944.

I subsequently visited the parents
of Sophie and Hans Scholl

and told them about my encounter with Sophie.