Holocaust (1978): Season 1, Episode 2 - Part 2 - full transcript
Inga is desperate to reunite with Karl, but her parents don't want to risk hiding her Jewish in-laws. Rudi runs away from their hiding place. Erik Dorf helps Heydrich plan and execute his Final Solution. Moses and Dr. Weiss are caught when the Nazis overrun Poland. Helena rescues Rudi from a patrol. Berta joins her husband in the Warsaw ghetto. Rudi and Helena escape to Russia.
My friends, a drink
first to the happy couple.
To Inga Helms Weiss, the
newest member of our family
and my son, Karl.
To the happy couple!
I propose a toast to my in-laws
Frau Helms and Herr Helms...
Frau and Herr Helms.
Their son Hans,
and all their friends
and relatives.
And to my wife's dear
parents, Frau and Herr Palitz.
Less introduction,
more champagne!
Listen... they're good Jews.
Physician, the old
man, a war hero...
It's a pity you couldn't
have postponed the wedding
for a few months.
What do you mean?
There's a rumor that the Party
may soon forbid mixed marriages.
Dorf, Erik, age
24, born in Berlin.
Graduate of the
university law school,
no party affiliation.
Well, not until this moment.
Why the sudden interest?
I need a job.
What do you feel about Jews?
Neutral.
We'll solve a
multitude of problems:
economic, military,
governmental,
simply by attacking Jews.
Do you know a woman
named Elka Gutmann?
Yes. She used to be
our maid. Dr. Weiss,
you know it's illegal
to treat Aryan patients.
I did it out of... out of habit.
I... I used to have a great
many Gentile patients,
you and your wife included.
Why haven't you left Germany?
But we should have
left three years ago,
after Karl was married.
This is my country
as much as theirs.
I do not fear those barbarians.
You amaze me, Dorf.
Put out the order.
I'm beginning to appreciate
what a fine legal mind can do.
Thank you, sir.
It's a marvelous notion.
Tell them to put
on business suits.
And mind you, Dorf, no
damage to German property.
And all resisters must be shot.
Yes, sir.
You are Dr. Josef
Weiss, Groningstrasse 22,
born in Warsaw, Poland.
You are here on a special visa.
Yes.
You are ordered
deported to Poland.
You are to be at the Anhalter
Station tomorrow at 6:00 a.m.
with food for one
day and one bag.
My wife and children...
The order applies only to you.
Give this to the officer
in charge tomorrow.
And what crime did you commit
to be assigned to Buchenwald?
I did nothing. Try again!
What crime did you commit?
I have done nothing.
Let us pray, in silence,
for the children of Abraham.
Outside, the
synagogue is burning.
And that, like this
church, is a house of God.
In many homes, an inflammatory
newspaper is being distributed
warning us that if we
show any sentimentality
toward the Jews,
we commit treason.
This church and this
priest will pray for the Jews.
They can never defeat us
as long as we love each other.
Remember your Latin, Berta:
Amor vincit omnia.
"Love conquers all."
Special deportation
train for the Polish border
will depart immediately.
All passes must be
stamped at the main gate.
Papers will be checked on train.
Those without deportation
orders will be removed
from the train.
Families of deportees must
remain behind the main gate.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
I'm only a sergeant.
I can't go poking my
nose into SS headquarters.
But just to find
out where Karl is.
That isn't too much to ask.
Inga, Muller can't
stick his neck out
for, for...
Say it.
For my Jewish husband.
I'm pretty sure he
went to Buchenwald.
Buchenwald?
A civilian prison near Weimar.
It isn't so bad.
At least, that's what I hear.
Can I get to see him?
Can I write?
Write, maybe.
Don't say I told you.
Inga, I like your parents.
I like you.
So far, there's nothing
in the regulations
against you for marrying a Jew,
but my advice is...
leave him alone.
Good advice.
Yes, Muller's right.
Ah, when I think of all
that fancy family of his:
a doctor, that wife...
all your marriage
did was bring trouble!
Stop it!
I won't let you talk that way.
We have a right to be mad!
Taking this family in!
Stop it!
It's a bad business hiding Jews.
Herr Muller, I beg of you,
can I get a letter to him?
Could he buy his way out?
Rich Jews, sometimes,
but a poor artist
like your man, no.
Please, help me.
Muller, don't get yourself
into trouble over one of them.
It's bad enough we've
got them living next door!
I'm disgusted with all of you!
I want that Jew
bitch and her kids out!
No! They are my family!
We warned her.
A beautiful Aryan girl like
that mixed up with... Jews.
Muller, you are an old friend.
You will say nothing about...
About your Hebrew in-laws?
Not a word.
Threats from
England and France...
That they will intervene
on Poland's behalf...
Are regarded by
the Führer as bluffs,
creations of the international
Jewish conspiracy.
The Poles, of course,
must come to their senses
and agree to the reasonable
request of the German people
for the restoration of
land stolen from them.
At the same time,
informed sources in Warsaw
said they see no
prospect of war,
and that the
negotiations over Danzig
and other boundary
disputes can be resumed.
There is strong
sentiment in Poland,
it is said, to accommodate...
Poland, you're next.
Mama, why doesn't anyone
believe him when he says
he's going to do those things?
People deceive themselves
when they're frightened.
Like us.
We're no different than
those dumb governments!
That pig Muller thinks
Karl is in Buchenwald.
I'm going there.
They won't let you near him.
Yeah, well, I'm going to try.
I must see him.
Any chance of us getting out?
Muller gave me no hope,
but I'm going anyway.
I'm leaving Berlin.
Where are you going?
I don't know.
I won't let them
grab me off the street.
But your mama and Anna.
I can't do them any good here.
Inga, you'll have
to look after them.
You think I'm a
coward to run away?
No, Rudi.
No, never a coward.
What were you two talking about?
Did I hear you mention Karl?
No, Mama.
I wish Karl was here.
It wouldn't be so bad
if we were all together.
And Papa.
Papa is fine.
He's working in the
hospital in Warsaw.
Rudi, test me on dates.
Sure, Anna.
New regulations have
been published today
concerning
activities of the Jews.
They apply to all Jews in all
areas of Germany and Austria.
Go to hell!
That won't help, Rudi.
It'll help me.
Are you gonna test
me on dates or not?
Okay, okay.
1521. Diet of Worms.
Jews who were
formally government
employees are canceled.
Synagogues are... 1618.
The start of the 30-Year War.
All Jewish documents and passes
must be sent and delivered... 1776.
American Revolution.
Failure to comply will
mean immediate arrest.
1814. Defeat of Napoleon.
By a Jew will deemed
a capital offense.
It's good that you keep
up your lessons, Anna.
In spite of everything, you
must prepare yourself for life.
Do you know where you're going?
Anyplace they can't find me.
Well, how will you live?
Here, take this.
It may help you.
Will you write to me and
tell me where you are?
Maybe.
Tell Mama not to worry about me.
Take care of her.
And be nice to Anna.
She's a fresh kid,
but she's okay.
Oh, Rudi.
If you see Karl... tell him
I'll see him, too, someday.
Bye, Inga.
Good-bye, Rudi.
Good-bye, little brother.
No!
Hey, what's going on?
Spies.
No! No!
No! No! No...!
No plan. No pattern.
The Poles gave up too quickly.
We overran that bloody country so
fast, we can't establish procedures.
If the goal were clearer,
perhaps we could.
Can you tell me
what the goal is?
The elimination of Jewish
influence from Europe.
The depopulization of large
areas now occupied by Slavs.
The use of Poles and Russians
and others Slavs as labor.
Yes, but what does
that really mean?
Impoverishment? Banishment?
Transportation?
Sterilization?
Extermination?
Come on, you've read The Führer.
Annihilation of
millions of people
is obviously out
of the question.
Obviously.
Some form of
containment, perhaps.
Quarantine.
Do the Jews serve a purpose?
Purpose?
Tell me, Dorf, how
much is conviction
and how much opportunism?
I'm no psychologist, sir.
Do I believe the Jews have
to be removed from society?
Of course.
But supposing this racial
stuff were nonsense.
Jews have intermarried
with Aryans for centuries.
Then why are we so
adamant on eliminating Jews?
The practical side.
Anti-Semitism is the
cement that binds us together.
Christians may disagree
on a number of things,
but as men of conscience, they
can unite in the hatred of Jews.
Yes, but haven't the
Jews earned that hatred?
Of course.
Christ killers.
Well poisoners.
Agents of Satan.
Murderers of Christian children.
Well, Himmler might
believe that garbage,
but you and I know
it's medieval crap.
Lies... but
politically useful lies.
In a way, the ground
has been prepared for us.
So... ideology or the old
traditions go hand-in-hand
with practical modern policies.
Precisely.
Why do you think
we've had no opposition?
Why do you think the French
and English barely protest?
Because, deep down, they
have a sneaking admiration
for the way we're
handling the Jews.
What was that word
you used before?
Quarantine.
Isolate the germ carriers.
Why don't we start, um...
eastward movement.
Create vast ghettos.
Let the Jews run them.
The word "ghettos"
may be misunderstood.
And what do you suggest?
Autonomous Jewish Territories.
Autonomous Jewish territories.
Marvelous.
Will these be
permanent communities?
Let's just say...
steps towards regulating
the Jewish problem.
Oh, my God, Dorf,
I'm getting like you.
Using language to
say what I don't mean.
Trust Heydrich to find
the most beautiful woman.
Who is she?
She happens to be my wife!
Why, for goodness
sake! Uncle Kurt!
Ah! What a marvelous surprise!
I didn't know you were
in Berlin. I'm in and out.
My brother Clarence's
little boy, the studious one.
Look at you now,
an SS Officer.
I'm impressed.
A very minor officer, Uncle.
Why are you here tonight?
I'm under contract to the army.
The generals consider
these affairs a sort of bonus
for my keeping up
with the timetables.
I wish Papa was
alive to see us now.
I'm sure he'd be proud.
But Marta is dazzling, Erik.
I love her more every day.
And it's more than love.
It's admiration. Respect.
She seems to have won the
respect of your chief, as well.
He hardly looks
the "Blonde Beast."
The "Blonde Beast"?
Oh, just a street expression.
That was a great
honor to me, General.
Not at all, Frau Dorf.
The honor was mine.
Dorf, your wife is charming.
We must arrange an
evening at the opera.
Uncle Kurt!
Erik...
Oh, yes, forgive me.
General, my uncle, Kurt Dorf.
It's a great honor
to meet you, sir.
Dorf, Kurt.
Let me see...
hired by General Van Brauhich.
Civil engineer.
In charge of road building
in the occupied territories.
I had no idea how
well-informed you are
concerning humble road builders.
Excuse me.
Erik, don't you
think you should ask
Major Eichmann's wife to dance?
Remember how nice
he was to us in Vienna?
Hmm?
Yes, dear.
Uncle Kurt, please
dance with Marta.
Forgive me, Marta,
but I'd rather not dance.
I'm so stiff after wandering
about those dusty roads.
But we'll have champagne.
To you and Erik
and the children.
Affection and
good wishes from...
the bachelor uncle.
Thank you, Uncle Kurt.
He's a charming
man, that Heydrich.
Not at all what I expected.
What did somebody call him...?
"The Young God of Death."
Oh, that's dreadful.
Who'd dare to say
anything like that?
Political enemies, I suppose.
Uncle Kurt, he's a
refined and sensitive man.
He could have been
a concert violinist,
if he hadn't chosen
to serve Germany.
I'm quite sure he's
a very fine man but...
policemen tend to make enemies.
He's no policeman.
And neither is Erik.
I'm sorry, Marta.
I really shouldn't
go into politics.
That's why I'm still
a civilian, I suppose.
But how lovely you are
and how lucky Erik is.
A wife, children, career...
We're simple.
We became part
of the new Germany.
And so you did.
Well, you could sound
a little more convincing.
But I'm part of it, too.
I know what a good
job the Führer has done.
Everybody working again.
No strikes.
Stable currency.
And as soon as France
and England offer peace,
we can get on with the job.
Then you and Erik
are in agreement.
The only difference is
he wears a uniform and...
you don't.
My dear Marta!
How marvelously
you simplify things.
But you know...
you could be right.
In spite of my age
and those dusty roads,
I'm going to ask you to dance.
That would be
lovely, Uncle Kurt.
Give your baggage to
Mr. Lowy over here, please.
He'll see about living quarters.
There'll be eight
and ten to a room.
Give your baggage to
Mr. Lowy over there, please.
He'll give you your assignment.
Go down to the
end of the platform.
I'm Rabbi Kosh.
Hi.
It's a miracle any
of us survived.
Mm. I'm Dr. Weiss.
My brother, Moses.
We're on the Jewish
Council of Warsaw.
How is it here?
Well, it's not exactly
the Garden of Eden
but, uh, it'll get better.
There's a dead
infant in that car.
The mother won't leave it.
Mrs. Lowy...
We need your help.
Mr. Lowy will
take you to the city.
Here, come...
Come on, you can trust me.
I'll take care of you
and the baby, hmm?
Okay... now, come on.
A blessing on
you for helping us.
I'm not sure I
like this business
of being on the Jewish Council,
deciding who gets
how much to eat,
who gets a place to sleep,
who will live, who will die.
Well, somebody has to do it.
And people respect you, Josef.
- And they trust you.
- Do they?
Ever since we were children
playing across these
very same tracks,
I've always trusted you.
You were the clever one.
Do you... do you
remember the day
you won the chemistry prize?
Mm... and the principal wouldn't
let me accept it in the auditorium.
That's right.
Because you were of
the Hebrew persuasion.
But you stole it
from his office...
The certificate...
You remember! Yeah.
Oh, yes, and Papa...
with that run-down drugstore.
He made me take it over
because I was the stupid son.
You had no choice, Moses.
No, no choice.
Then or now.
That really hurt you...
a long time ago.
No, I-I didn't mean that.
Pampered son, medical school.
I never called you, I
never wrote to you.
Well, you were a busy
man... Wife, family, career.
I'm sorry, Moses.
That kid was in
the first invasion.
He doesn't talk much
about it, but he saw plenty.
Those 88's really gave the
Polacks a good scare, eh, Hans?
They're good guns.
Me, I guess I'm too old...
A behind-the-lines soldier.
I've been transferred
to Buchenwald.
Buchenwald? Guard
duty... administration.
I'd rather be
up-front like Hans,
but they need guards
in these prisons.
Buchenwald... You
said Karl was there.
Did I?
Yes. Right after
he was arrested,
you said most of them
were sent to Buchenwald.
Maybe he was.
Muller... will you try
to find him for me?
Find out how he is?
Inga,
there are 10,000, maybe
20,000 prisoners there.
Well, surely you can find him.
Karl Weiss of Berlin, an artist.
I'm sure he's all right.
Better inside than
in Poland, eh?
Hans, you can tell her what
happens to Jews in Poland.
I heard it gets pretty rough.
The old ones with
the beards go first.
They string 'em up
in the town square.
I'm telling you,
it's going to get
worse for Jews.
Here in Germany, also.
Now that the damned English
and the French are fighting us.
And everybody knows it's
the Jews that got them into this.
He's right.
Inga, those two next-door,
they are a danger to us.
Inga, darling, Muller knows
what he's talking about.
Maybe your mother-in-law
and her daughter should leave.
No. They are my family
as much as you are.
But you can get
us all in trouble!
Yeah, harboring criminals,
protecting fugitives...
It's a... bad business.
And you should stop
trying to see Karl.
He brought this on you.
I can't believe
this is my family.
Look who's talking.
Look who brought Jews here
in the first place.
Damn you!
Damn you!
Mama...
do you think anyone
plays our piano anymore?
Papa? Mm.
There's no harm in trying.
Soon it will be a new year.
Let us hope it will
be a better one.
Mama, we must never
give up hope. Mm.
Ooh! You're very cold.
Oh, I'm always cold.
Josef says it's my blue blood.
What were they yelling about?
Nothing important.
Your parents want
to throw us out.
Anna.
Perhaps if Anna and I found...
a place with one
of Josef's patients.
Papa's patients are gone...
In prison or just gone.
Anna, please.
There is no hope.
Karl is in prison,
and Rudi ran away!
Never a word from him!
And Papa, in Poland, where
it's like they came after him!
Mama, you're acting
as if this is a play,
writing letters, talking
about Papa's patients.
It does no harm.
You always had that notion
that you were someone
special, so fine,
so educated,
the Nazis would never
hurt you or your children!
And look! Look
what's happened to us!
Anna, your mother
can't be blamed.
New Year's Eve, and
who knows if any one of us
will be alive for
the next New Year!
Anna.
No...!
Anna...
Please, please,
my baby, don't...
don't cry.
Rudi wouldn't like it, hmm?
Rudi...
Yes, we'll soon hear from Rudi.
No. Rudi will get
us out, I know...
No! No, I... No, I won't
listen to any more lies!
Anna!
No! I'm running away, too!
Inga, stop her!
No, wait a minute.
You don't have any money,
you don't have anyplace to go.
Rudi was strong and tough.
Oh, leave me alone! I
know I can't go anywhere!
Anna? Please!
She'll be all right.
Streets are full of police...
They'll send her right home.
Please...
Please?
Oh, please let me go.
Let me go to my house.
Oh, please...
Please?
Please... please...
Please...
Oh, please, don't...
No, no...
No, stop...
Anna!
Anna, Anna...
Anna...
Mama...
Oh... Mama!
Mama...
Oh, Mama...
Oh...
With the surrender of France,
the Führer has announced
he has no more
territorial claims in Europe.
France thus joins Holland,
Belgium, Norway, Denmark,
Austria, Czechoslovakia,
and the greater part of Poland
in forming the New
Order of Europe.
Regarding the
occupation of France,
French citizens
who do not resist
and are not part of the
Bolshevik-Jewish apparatus
will be decently treated.
And the Führer has reaffirmed
his friendly and
fraternal relations
with the people of
the Soviet Union.
Wait, wait, it'll come
the Russian's turn.
When will our turn
come, Weinberg?
Don't ask me, Weiss.
Maybe I'd be better
off in the quarry,
where they'd kill me in a hurry.
Don't say that.
I hear some rich guy
bought his way out.
50,000 Swiss francs.
His wife got it to the
SS Commandant.
His wife.
I haven't heard from
my wife in over a year.
Why should you be different?
We're talking about wives.
Like that, huh?
Don't tease me, Weinberg.
Business, Weiss, not sex.
One of the SS
sergeants pays me for it...
Presents for his mistress.
Good rye bread.
A bonus for lace
drawers I made for his girl.
Take half.
I shouldn't, Weinberg.
All I ever do is
complain. Take it.
Thank you.
Mmm...
Swallow fast, hide the bread.
Aw, the hell with him.
Hey, Weiss.
Eating in the
barracks is forbidden!
Lay off, Mellneck... you
kapos are worse than the SS.
You're a Jew, aren't you?
You're one of us... give us a break!
Shut up. I do what I do
because they tell me to.
Like bother us over
a lousy bit of bread?
Doctor's son from
Berlin, eh, Weiss?
Learning to be a tough guy.
Give me that bread! No!
Mellneck, lay off!
Weiss, give it to him!
It's mine! It's mine! I won't!
Give me that bread!
Cut it out! For God's sake,
Jews don't fight Jews!
Give me back that
bread! Give it to me!
Give me that bread!
Give me that bread!
Give me the bread, you... you...
Give me... give me the bread!
Give me...!
Fighting in barracks!
You're both on
report! Call the guard!
Weiss didn't mean anything!
I'm the one who
sneaked the bread in.
Shut up!
Inga... Inga...
Easy, Weiss, don't waste breath.
I want to tell him... "You win.
"You can do anything
you want to me.
Kill me."
Listen, Weiss...
I'm no religious man but...
I heard a rabbi say, the
day before we were arrested,
every one of us who lives...
is a sanctification.
I don't want to live.
Sure you do.
Groan if it'll help.
Don't be ashamed.
So you're Heydrich's new boy.
Sit down.
Heydrich's eyes and ears.
I guess they sent you to
Warsaw to check up on me.
I know what they think of me:
Hans Frank,
loudmouthed governor-
general of Poland.
By no means. You're
highly regarded.
Like hell.
I'm here because
I'm a smart lawyer.
Bailed Hitler and
Göring out of jail
a hundred of times
in the old days.
I'm aware of your legal
services to the Party.
It gives us something in common.
I'm a lawyer, too.
Are you?
Heydrich's hiring a
better class of clerk?
Oh, don't be insulted.
I've heard a lot about you...
A master of terminology.
I try to follow up on
Heydrich's requests.
Less modesty, Captain.
This stinking
Warsaw, for example:
"Autonomous Jewish Territory."
Your phrase for a
walled-in sewer full of Jews.
We asked you to build
a wall around a ghetto.
Our directives...
Our directives?!
You don't issue
directives! You carry them!
That damn wall!
So Heydrich can keep
shoving Jews at me!
Disease! Filth! Corruption!
The Jew dregs of Germany,
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria!
Autonomous Jewish Territory!
These Jews are going
to have to disappear.
Disappear?
I can see through
that baby face.
You know what I mean.
No such plan is contemplated.
You'll ask me to do
your bloody work for you.
Well, don't be surprised if I
start without your permission!
What the hell do you know?
I was head of the
Party's legal office
when you were in short pants.
Yes, Heydrich has a
file on your legal career.
Does he?
Interesting details.
Your passion for justice.
Objecting to the
murder of Ernst Röhm...
Not at all what the
Führer had in mind
for the government of Poland.
I heard you were just
another boot-licker.
Apparently you're not.
How many streets
are they going to close?
Seems they do
intend to wall us in.
11 miles of it.
Some wall.
Keep us in and the Poles out.
It's a damn prison.
It seems to me they're trying to
make Warsaw the supreme ghetto.
At the least a ghetto is
something we can understand!
We'll be allowed our
schools, our hospitals...
An administration.
They need us.
For how long?
I beg your pardon?
How long will they need us?
What do several million
poor Jews mean to them?
Dr. Weiss, we have no
option but to cooperate.
To provide the work
details, coordinate housing.
I've seen those work details.
People taken away, worked
to death, shot, beaten.
That's right.
I've been on them.
In the ghetto of Razuk,
the Jewish Council
failed to deliver
the work quota.
The council members were hanged.
We must cooperate with them.
Poland's been conquered.
We are what we have
always have been...
victims.
And why all this attention
if we're no threat to them?
We must obey orders.
We must crack down on smugglers
and resistors.
Resistance is foolish.
Foolish!
We can only pray
for things to get better.
At first, she was not so bad,
but in the last few months,
she doesn't speak, Doctor.
She recognizes no one.
Since the incident.
Yes.
What can I do to help?
Well, is there no, uh, special
therapy or, um, a sanatorium
that could help her?
Perhaps I can help.
Nurse, we have a
patient for Hadamar.
Inform them.
Yes, Doctor.
Hadamar?
A hospital for mental problems.
Will she be treated
very well there?
Within the limitations
of a wartime economy.
Your sister-in-law can stay here
for the rest of the day.
We'll arrange transportation.
You can bring her
things here tomorrow.
Anna...
you know me.
Listen, darling,
when you feel better,
your mama and I
will come visit you.
I promise you that.
Oh, no, wait.
Am I doing the right thing?
These problems are best
handled by professionals.
Yeah.
Give my regards to
your mother-in-law.
Oh...
Thank you.
Good-bye, Anna.
"It is with much regret
"that we must inform you
"of the death of your daughter,
Fraulein Anna Weiss."
Mama, you don't
have to read this again.
"Although we did all we could
to help, we gave her every care,
"she refused to
take nourishment,
"did not respond to medication,
"and on June the third, died
of pneumonia and malnutrition.
"In view...
"of the unsettled
conditions now prevailing,
"we have taken the liberty
of cremating her remains
"and providing burial...
near the sanatorium."
Mama, perhaps it's better.
We don't know if Anna would
ever have been well again.
She loved everyone.
Oh, Mama...
Oh, God...
"No more clothing vouchers
to be issued to Jews.
"All Jews failing to have
registered with the police
"must do so at once.
"All Jews must be in possession
"of their yellow
identification cards
"at all times.
"Jews may not use
public transportation.
"Jews may not use
"public libraries.
"it is forbidden
for Jewish children
"to attend public schools.
"It is forbidden to sell
luggage, knapsacks, valises
"or leather to Jews.
"Jews may not carry
knapsacks or valises
"without police permits.
"It is strictly
forbidden for Aryans
to trade or do any business
whatsoever with Jews."
Hey, you with the knapsack.
Let's see your papers.
Give us the sack.
He will not.
You...
Give me that knapsack!
Huh?
It's mine!
He never paid me for it.
I want it back!
You sold it to him?
Yes, I sold it to him,
before you put up
those... those new rules!
Look, don't try to get
away with anything.
You owe me for it.
And if they confiscate
it, who's out the money?
Quick, in the back room.
Why did you do that?
Because you were in trouble.
You're not a Czech.
I'm a German.
Mm-hmm.
A Jew.
What are you doing here?
I ran away.
Ah.
I'm Rudi Weiss.
My name is Helena Slomova.
It's been a long time
since I held a girl's hand.
Too busy running.
Where will you go now?
I don't know.
I'm sorry.
That's all right.
I didn't mind.
Is this shop yours?
No, it's my father's.
But my parents
were sent to Poland.
I don't know where.
I haven't heard from them.
Why were they arrested?
They said my father
was a Zionist agent.
Zionist.
People who want
to go to Palestine.
What's so funny?
It's just that there weren't
very many in Berlin.
Old men with beards,
kids with ear locks,
rattling cans for coins.
Better close up, Helena.
Gestapo is checking the shops.
Thank you.
I will.
Come.
Come with me.
I've been alone too long.
I'm glad I found you.
All because of your knapsack.
Don't you have a boyfriend,
relatives who will come
here, wonder who I am?
That doesn't matter anymore.
I used to be a
proper girl, but, uh...
I live from day to day now.
Helena Slomova,
who rescued me
in a luggage shop.
It's going to get
worse, you know.
You saw those regulations
the Germans put up.
More people will be sent away
like my mother and father.
What will you do?
I don't know.
I wish I could go somewhere.
Palestine.
There are ways of getting out.
Come with me.
With no money? No papers?
I got this far.
Yes, but I would be
a hindrance to you.
You'd be surprised what
a diet of turnips can do.
Helena, the worst
thing is to be alone.
My father's gone.
My brother's in prison.
My mother and my sister might
just as well be in
a prison in Berlin.
I need someone to hold;
to talk to.
I'll teach you to
sleep in haystacks
and steal from farmers.
It sounds awful.
Better than staying here,
waiting for them to
come and get you.
When I was a little
girl in Hebrew school,
we learned the story of Ruth.
Who was she?
You only have to know one part:
"Whither thou goest...
I will go."
Keep moving.
Doctor!
Without enough food, they
can't resist the diseases.
We got the rations today?
They're late again.
I'll speak to the council.
Feed only those that
have a chance to survive.
Doctor!
Doctor! Doctor. Dr. Weiss.
Dr. Weiss... your wife.
I just saw her.
My wife?
She just came in
on the transport.
I'd recognize her anywhere.
Berta?!
Frau Berta Weiss?
Berta Weiss... do you know her?
Frau Berta Weiss... do
you know, do you know her?
Berta Weiss?
Keep moving.
Berta!
Berta! Oh, Berta! Oh, Berta!
My love, my darling,
how I missed you!
But where...? No, don't talk.
Just hold me! Okay.
Come, I'll show
you where we live.
But shouldn't I register?
My law-abiding wife.
It can wait.
Even in this ghetto,
bureaucracy is inept.
Can you believe we have a café?
It's not quite the
Adlunge Hotel.
Where there are Jews,
there must be a place to talk.
We ran out of coffee
a long time ago.
We can sit and hold hands.
The way we did when
you were a student.
Please, something for my baby.
Now, we will pretend this
is the Kurfürstendamm.
Josef, you mustn't try
to hide anything from me.
I will hide nothing from you.
Oh, later, later.
We manage here.
As a physician, there's work.
There's a community...
You needn't deceive me.
I've seen the
beggars in the streets
and I've heard of the shootings.
But it will end.
I'm told Göring
himself will end it.
No need to humor
me any longer, Josef.
I've seen too much.
I suppose we all have.
Tell me about the children.
Anna...?
Josef...
Anna is dead.
Anna?
Anna?!
Well, how...?
Pneumonia.
It was quick and painless.
Must... How? Where?
In the apartment.
She fell ill one day.
We... we couldn't
get her medicine.
She died painlessly,
in her sleep.
Josef, cry. It will help.
But... but she's gone
and perhaps it's better.
Better?
Life is always
better than death.
Mm... No, I'm not sure anymore.
And the boys?
Rudi ran away.
I had a letter from
him from Prague.
He told us not to worry.
You know Rudi...
The indestructible one.
My street fighter.
I should have spent
more time with him.
And Karl?
Karl still is in Buchenwald.
Inga has learned that he is...
as well as can be expected.
Josef, it is wrong for us
to dwell on our misfortunes.
Agreed.
I'll, uh, I'll speak to them
about letting you teach school.
Me?
Of course.
Wait'll you see the
children of Warsaw.
Nothing in their
stomachs half the time,
but those kids give
concerts and plays...
Oh, Josef...
I have never loved you more.
Nor I you.
Oh, dear God...
I look at you and I see Anna.
We mustn't.
Come...
show me these
elegant quarters, hmm?
Halt.
Sergeant Muller.
This is Private
Richter, East Gate.
There's a woman
here to see you, sir.
Frau Weiss.
Yes. Yes, Sergeant.
Guard, open up.
Herr Muller.
I received your letter.
How are you, Inga?
You know why I came here.
Walk your post.
Go.
Please come inside.
We have a visitors' room.
I want to see my husband.
We can discuss it inside, Inga.
You said in the letter
you would arrange it.
Security is stricter now.
I was only transferred
here two months ago.
I thought, as a
favor, for old friends...
I want to see my husband.
Are you afraid of me?
No, I don't fear you.
This is not a visitors' room.
This is your room.
Please...
sit down.
Uh...
cigarette?
Cognac?
Coffee?
The real stuff, not ersatz.
Nothing but the best for
the boys in the service.
I want to see Karl.
Ah... the Helms
single-mindedness.
How is he?
Is he still in the tailor shop?
I'm afraid not.
He got into a
fight of some sort.
They had to string
him up for a while.
They put him to
work in the quarry...
Hard work; pick and shovel.
You lied to me.
I can't see him, can I?
He's being worked
to death, isn't he?
I've heard stories
of what goes on.
You heard nonsense.
They work and they are fed.
Don't cry.
Don't cry.
I'll help you.
Can you get a letter to him?
Why not?
And can you get one out for me?
And mail it to Berlin?
It can be managed.
We're not monsters, you know.
There's a job to be done.
It's more than a job, Muller.
For me, that's all it is.
You've known me a long time.
I was there at your wedding.
I've been through hard
times, no work for years.
I had no father to
send me to art school.
I'm a plain Berliner;
a mechanic.
Why'd you look
down on me for that?
That's not what I meant.
Oh, what's the difference?
Promise me you'll
get my letters to him
and send his out to me.
Done.
So...
I'll leave.
Karl doesn't look well.
That outdoor work
may finish him.
What?
What are you saying?
Well, I'm sticking my neck out,
but I have influence
with the commandant.
What can you do?
I could have him transferred
to the art studio.
Oh, please...
please, would you do that?
I would be very grateful to you.
Good.
Of course, you'll have to
bring the letters by hand.
Mail in and out of
here is, uh... uncertain.
One more week
of hacking at rocks
and he'll be another dead Jew.
Papers.
We haven't any.
Give us a chance.
We want to get to Yugoslavia.
We just want to cross Hungary.
Start moving.
Please. We can pay.
I said move!
Rudi!
Rudi, stop it! Stop it!
Run.
I ca... Helena, you'll die.
I can't.
Rudi, no more.
No more.
Helena, we have to.
There's no place
safe for us here.
Rudi, it is useless.
We're... we are finished.
No.
They're going to
have to kill us first.
You know, I...
I haven't the vaguest idea
where we are right now.
Does it really matter?
Yes.
I'm not ready to die yet.
"The brotherhood of love"?!
Bilberstein, what the devil
was "the brotherhood of love"?
I don't believe a word of it.
There's no such
organization. Oh, it's true.
When I left the Lutheran
ministry, I wanted to, um...
encourage human love
through Christian faith.
And how did your brotherhood
of love work out? Oh, badly,
I'm afraid, so I,
uh, joined the SS.
Spreading the gospel
amongst us, eh, Bilberstein?
No, no, we're all converts
to a new faith... eh, Dorf?
A new faith? Yes,
and we're the apostles.
Ah, listen to Dorf.
Which one of us is Peter?
Just call me Doubting Thomas.
So long as there is no Judas.
Dorf!
Watch out for that one.
Heydrich's classroom monitor.
Gentlemen,
you've all been chosen
for a very difficult job,
and you'll be watched.
Captain Dorf here
is to be assigned
to the Russian front as a
sort of traveling representative.
Selling what? Extermination?
You be careful with your
choice of words, Blobel.
All of you tell Dorf
what you've done
and put as little as
possible on paper.
Gentlemen, the Führer himself
hasn't put any
of this in writing,
so don't go blabbing about it.
"Blabbing."
Little squirt.
This will be no easy job.
You'll have a thousand miles
of the Russian front to manage,
from the Baltic
to the Black Sea.
With less than 3,000 men?
Yes, sir.
The plan includes
recruiting local militia...
Ukrainians, Lithuanians.
Permit me to say, Captain,
this new program,
these action commandos,
will be engaged in
something more...
comprehensive...
than resettlement.
Ohlendorf, we are aware of that.
Gentlemen, the key is mobility.
Once an area is secure,
find your Jews, move in,
and deal with them accordingly.
Don't worry about
the regular army.
The generals are as
afraid of us as the Jews are.
Dorf, read them that army order.
"General instructions for
dealing with political leaders
"following the Führer's orders
"of March 30, 1941:
"11 categories of
persons in the Soviet Union
are listed as subject
to our jurisdiction."
"Jurisdiction." I like that.
A ditch and a machine gun.
"These categories include
criminal elements, Gypsies,
"officials of the Soviet state
and party agitators,
Communists and all Jews."
The army issued this list?
That's right.
When the Führer issued
his commissar order,
making it clear what
he wanted, they obliged.
The army, gentlemen,
will be our willing servants.
The Führer went to great lengths
to insist that the war in
Russia will be unlike any other,
and these are his exact words:
"It will be conducted
with unprecedented,
merciless and
unrelenting harshness."
End quote.
The Russians are to be
regarded as subhuman,
born to slavery, a
notch above Jews.
Will there be exceptions?
Special cases?
Yes. We might exclude certain
trustworthy Russian elements...
Balts, Ukrainians who
wish to work with us.
What about Jews?
Any exceptions?
None.
Well, that's clear enough.
I thought that's what
this meeting was about.
About two years ago,
the Italian ambassador
raised objections
to the Führer's Jewish policies.
Mussolini was
offended, and so on.
The Führer told
him that in 500 years
the name of Adolf Hitler
will be honored for one thing:
Having wiped the Jews
from the face of the earth.
Mmm.
Ahh.
What's going on?
I told him that we are Czechs
and that I studied
at the Lenin School.
I know what that means.
Go on, tell him we're Jews.
He wants to send us back.
We're dead if we go back.
I know, but he says he has
no quarrel with the Germans.
Tell him the roads are
full of German tanks
and artillery, moving east.
I told him that my father
was a good Communist.
Kiss him if you have to.
Rudi, he's asking if you
are a good Communist.
Oh. Oh, yes, sure.
If it'll save my neck, yeah.
He's sending us to Kiev!
Ask him what kind
of place Kiev is.
He says it is
beautiful, a big city.
Where'd you get all that
stuff about Lenin School?
It was really the
Herzl Institute,
but I did not think it
hurt to change the name.
He says they are Russian guns.
Weinberg, I'm finished.
No, Weiss, keep moving.
I can't.
Hey, you two!
Shut up! Work!
Gypsy friends.
I admire their nerve.
I question their judgment.
Maybe it's better to
die for a last cigarette.
Hey, you put out the cigarette!
You, scum! You
filth! Put it out!
Put it out!
Kapo, gather them!
Out! Kapo, get
the hell out of there!
What happened?
Trying to escape.
A couple of Gypsies.
You two!
Go down and get the bodies!
Move!
Take them to the crematorium!
Hold it.
I want that one.
Move! You!
Help him!
Your wife's a faithful
correspondent.
Is she here?
Right on schedule.
Muller, can I see Inga?
She's gone.
Can you get one of
my letters out to her?
Don't I always?
Read yours. Now.
Later, when I'm alone.
You miss her, don't you?
Muller...
Muller, can't you get me out?
You're a friend
of Inga's family.
You know how
much she's suffering.
If you hate me
because I'm a Jew,
at least have pity on her.
Who hates you?
And how can you be so
certain she's suffering?
What do you mean?
Women manage.
Has she said something to you?
This is a business, Weiss.
Jews understand business.
You don't think I'd risk
my neck playing mailman
without getting paid.
Muller, you're lying.
Why do you think she
comes here in person?
She could mail the letters.
Money doesn't change hands.
I think you understand
what I mean.
The trouble with you people is
you always expect
something for nothing.
That's why you're so despised.
I don't want her letter.
And I won't send any out.
Oh, no, Weiss.
Things can get much
tougher for you, if you refuse.
I don't care.
Of course you care.
You won't be in here forever.
And you won't even notice
any difference in her
when you do get out.
Be smart, Weiss!
Write her tonight.
I'll read it and send it on.
I don't want to write
her or see her again.
Don't be a fool!
You saw what happened
to those gypsies.
I don't care.
Or perhaps you'd rather be
one of Engleman's little boys.
He has his own private
stock of young men.
But then, maybe
you're too old for him.
Muller...
enough.
I can have you transferred
to the artists' studio.
No.
Have the letter here tomorrow.
No.
I think you'll change your mind.
Go easy with my friend Weiss.
He's been requisitioned
to the artists' studio.
He's a sensitive fellow.
Move! Come on, move!
A handful arrested today, sir,
from some farming villages.
Yes, sir, we will hold
them till you get here.
Mannhiem! Go down to the pits
and tell them to wait until
Colonel Blobel gets here.
VIP guests.
And button your tunic!
Put a cap on! This
is a military outfit!
Yeah, yeah.
Five million Jews in Russia
and there's 3,000 of us
assigned to shoot them.
What do you want?!
Transferred.
C Company, isn't it?
And then to chaplain's office.
Damn it, I told
them to hold it up!
"Helms, Hans. Corporal.
72nd infantry
regiment. B Company."
Transferred in. Great.
How did you foul up, Helms?
I'm a combat soldier.
Two years in Poland
and the Ukraine.
Nobody asks to
get into this outfit.
How'd you screw up?
I fell asleep on sentry.
You get plenty of sleep here.
We keep regular hours.
They gave me a choice.
Either do time in
the guard house
or transfer to the
action commandos.
Welcome to the SS.
Keep your mouth shut,
you'll work out, Helms.
Go back to the quartermaster
and draw new patches.
Remember one thing, Helms.
What's that?
After the officers get
theirs, we split the loot.
What the hell are
you talking about?
Pens, watches, clothing, eh?
Dumb infantryman.
Hey, you guys, get into uniform!
Officers!
This damned army major says,
"These daytime killings
are a non-German concept."
Language, Blobel,
language. It's not killings.
I'm quoting him. I
know the rules, Dorf.
"Special handling."
"Special action."
"Resettlement executive
action against Jews."
I said to him, "I'm
German, you tin soldier.
Regular army's up to
its neck in Jew blood."
Field Marshal von
Reichenau himself
told me to shoot Jews with two
rounds of ammunition, not five.
Un-German.
I wish I could make
you understand
we sympathize with you.
Then stop making
impossible demands.
A million and a
half Jews run east.
We can't catch them all.
But you must, Blobel.
Sergeant.
Not much today, sir.
The villages have
been cleaned out.
Sergeant, are those civilians?
Who are they, Foltz?
Ukrainians, sir.
They like to watch.
And the photographer and
the man taking motion pictures?
Who are they?
For the battalion archives.
And the man taking notes?
I don't know. Who is he, Foltz?
War correspondent,
sir... an Italian.
He got clearance from
divisional headquarters.
I don't like this, any of it.
You don't like it?
What the hell do you
think this is, a ballet?
You're getting a Jew-free
Russia, aren't you?
It isn't tidy.
"It isn't tidy."
I'll show you what's tidy.
Line them up!
I don't want those
civilians watching.
Blobel, this is no way
to carry out my orders!
Fire!
No protest, no fight, nothing.
Himmler was right.
The bastards are subhuman.
Colonel Blobel,
I am submitting a
negative report on you.
You're what?
The orders were for secrecy
and orderliness
in these matters,
and you're running a carnival.
You damn little bureaucrat.
There will be no civilian
guests at these actions.
There will be no
journalists prowling around.
No smoking, no drinking.
And what are they doing?
Spoils of war.
That will stop.
All valuables left by Jews
are property of the state.
All right, paper-pusher.
Tell them they can't
have their cognac.
Chain of command, Blobel,
That would be your job.
Heydrich has assigned
me to the Eastern Front
to see that these actions
are carried out efficiently
and with secrecy.
You fail on all counts.
Well, let me tell you, boy...
Those of us in the field
have our eye on you.
Ohlendorf and Nebe
and the others...
They know a spy
when they see one.
Don't try to
undercut me, Blobel.
I talk to Heydrich every day.
Colonel, next group?
No.
Hold it; get the
civilians out of here.
Tell the photographer
and the cameraman to stop.
Sergeant, tell them
I want their film.
Hey, you, out, out!
All of you, out!
Come on, out, all of you!
You, hold it!
So you talk to Heydrich
every day, do you?
Blobel, give me my gun.
Desk soldier.
Paper captain.
Go on down there and
finish a few off yourself.
They all seem to be dead.
Can't be too sure.
Go on.
This is ridiculous.
Crap in your blood, Dorf?
Or in your pants, maybe?
You want to make a negative
report on that drunk Blobel,
who can't run a tidy operation?
Damn you.
Go down there
and you tidy it up!
It's like eating noodles, Dorf.
Once you start, you can't stop.
Ask the men what
it's like, Captain.
You shoot ten Jews, the
next hundred are easier.
Shoot a hundred, you'll
learn to shoot a thousand.
That one, sir.
Good, good.
Two shots are plenty,
von Reichenau says.
Captain Dorf.
The Zulu warriors say,
"A man is not a man until
he's washed his spear in blood."
first to the happy couple.
To Inga Helms Weiss, the
newest member of our family
and my son, Karl.
To the happy couple!
I propose a toast to my in-laws
Frau Helms and Herr Helms...
Frau and Herr Helms.
Their son Hans,
and all their friends
and relatives.
And to my wife's dear
parents, Frau and Herr Palitz.
Less introduction,
more champagne!
Listen... they're good Jews.
Physician, the old
man, a war hero...
It's a pity you couldn't
have postponed the wedding
for a few months.
What do you mean?
There's a rumor that the Party
may soon forbid mixed marriages.
Dorf, Erik, age
24, born in Berlin.
Graduate of the
university law school,
no party affiliation.
Well, not until this moment.
Why the sudden interest?
I need a job.
What do you feel about Jews?
Neutral.
We'll solve a
multitude of problems:
economic, military,
governmental,
simply by attacking Jews.
Do you know a woman
named Elka Gutmann?
Yes. She used to be
our maid. Dr. Weiss,
you know it's illegal
to treat Aryan patients.
I did it out of... out of habit.
I... I used to have a great
many Gentile patients,
you and your wife included.
Why haven't you left Germany?
But we should have
left three years ago,
after Karl was married.
This is my country
as much as theirs.
I do not fear those barbarians.
You amaze me, Dorf.
Put out the order.
I'm beginning to appreciate
what a fine legal mind can do.
Thank you, sir.
It's a marvelous notion.
Tell them to put
on business suits.
And mind you, Dorf, no
damage to German property.
And all resisters must be shot.
Yes, sir.
You are Dr. Josef
Weiss, Groningstrasse 22,
born in Warsaw, Poland.
You are here on a special visa.
Yes.
You are ordered
deported to Poland.
You are to be at the Anhalter
Station tomorrow at 6:00 a.m.
with food for one
day and one bag.
My wife and children...
The order applies only to you.
Give this to the officer
in charge tomorrow.
And what crime did you commit
to be assigned to Buchenwald?
I did nothing. Try again!
What crime did you commit?
I have done nothing.
Let us pray, in silence,
for the children of Abraham.
Outside, the
synagogue is burning.
And that, like this
church, is a house of God.
In many homes, an inflammatory
newspaper is being distributed
warning us that if we
show any sentimentality
toward the Jews,
we commit treason.
This church and this
priest will pray for the Jews.
They can never defeat us
as long as we love each other.
Remember your Latin, Berta:
Amor vincit omnia.
"Love conquers all."
Special deportation
train for the Polish border
will depart immediately.
All passes must be
stamped at the main gate.
Papers will be checked on train.
Those without deportation
orders will be removed
from the train.
Families of deportees must
remain behind the main gate.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
I'm only a sergeant.
I can't go poking my
nose into SS headquarters.
But just to find
out where Karl is.
That isn't too much to ask.
Inga, Muller can't
stick his neck out
for, for...
Say it.
For my Jewish husband.
I'm pretty sure he
went to Buchenwald.
Buchenwald?
A civilian prison near Weimar.
It isn't so bad.
At least, that's what I hear.
Can I get to see him?
Can I write?
Write, maybe.
Don't say I told you.
Inga, I like your parents.
I like you.
So far, there's nothing
in the regulations
against you for marrying a Jew,
but my advice is...
leave him alone.
Good advice.
Yes, Muller's right.
Ah, when I think of all
that fancy family of his:
a doctor, that wife...
all your marriage
did was bring trouble!
Stop it!
I won't let you talk that way.
We have a right to be mad!
Taking this family in!
Stop it!
It's a bad business hiding Jews.
Herr Muller, I beg of you,
can I get a letter to him?
Could he buy his way out?
Rich Jews, sometimes,
but a poor artist
like your man, no.
Please, help me.
Muller, don't get yourself
into trouble over one of them.
It's bad enough we've
got them living next door!
I'm disgusted with all of you!
I want that Jew
bitch and her kids out!
No! They are my family!
We warned her.
A beautiful Aryan girl like
that mixed up with... Jews.
Muller, you are an old friend.
You will say nothing about...
About your Hebrew in-laws?
Not a word.
Threats from
England and France...
That they will intervene
on Poland's behalf...
Are regarded by
the Führer as bluffs,
creations of the international
Jewish conspiracy.
The Poles, of course,
must come to their senses
and agree to the reasonable
request of the German people
for the restoration of
land stolen from them.
At the same time,
informed sources in Warsaw
said they see no
prospect of war,
and that the
negotiations over Danzig
and other boundary
disputes can be resumed.
There is strong
sentiment in Poland,
it is said, to accommodate...
Poland, you're next.
Mama, why doesn't anyone
believe him when he says
he's going to do those things?
People deceive themselves
when they're frightened.
Like us.
We're no different than
those dumb governments!
That pig Muller thinks
Karl is in Buchenwald.
I'm going there.
They won't let you near him.
Yeah, well, I'm going to try.
I must see him.
Any chance of us getting out?
Muller gave me no hope,
but I'm going anyway.
I'm leaving Berlin.
Where are you going?
I don't know.
I won't let them
grab me off the street.
But your mama and Anna.
I can't do them any good here.
Inga, you'll have
to look after them.
You think I'm a
coward to run away?
No, Rudi.
No, never a coward.
What were you two talking about?
Did I hear you mention Karl?
No, Mama.
I wish Karl was here.
It wouldn't be so bad
if we were all together.
And Papa.
Papa is fine.
He's working in the
hospital in Warsaw.
Rudi, test me on dates.
Sure, Anna.
New regulations have
been published today
concerning
activities of the Jews.
They apply to all Jews in all
areas of Germany and Austria.
Go to hell!
That won't help, Rudi.
It'll help me.
Are you gonna test
me on dates or not?
Okay, okay.
1521. Diet of Worms.
Jews who were
formally government
employees are canceled.
Synagogues are... 1618.
The start of the 30-Year War.
All Jewish documents and passes
must be sent and delivered... 1776.
American Revolution.
Failure to comply will
mean immediate arrest.
1814. Defeat of Napoleon.
By a Jew will deemed
a capital offense.
It's good that you keep
up your lessons, Anna.
In spite of everything, you
must prepare yourself for life.
Do you know where you're going?
Anyplace they can't find me.
Well, how will you live?
Here, take this.
It may help you.
Will you write to me and
tell me where you are?
Maybe.
Tell Mama not to worry about me.
Take care of her.
And be nice to Anna.
She's a fresh kid,
but she's okay.
Oh, Rudi.
If you see Karl... tell him
I'll see him, too, someday.
Bye, Inga.
Good-bye, Rudi.
Good-bye, little brother.
No!
Hey, what's going on?
Spies.
No! No!
No! No! No...!
No plan. No pattern.
The Poles gave up too quickly.
We overran that bloody country so
fast, we can't establish procedures.
If the goal were clearer,
perhaps we could.
Can you tell me
what the goal is?
The elimination of Jewish
influence from Europe.
The depopulization of large
areas now occupied by Slavs.
The use of Poles and Russians
and others Slavs as labor.
Yes, but what does
that really mean?
Impoverishment? Banishment?
Transportation?
Sterilization?
Extermination?
Come on, you've read The Führer.
Annihilation of
millions of people
is obviously out
of the question.
Obviously.
Some form of
containment, perhaps.
Quarantine.
Do the Jews serve a purpose?
Purpose?
Tell me, Dorf, how
much is conviction
and how much opportunism?
I'm no psychologist, sir.
Do I believe the Jews have
to be removed from society?
Of course.
But supposing this racial
stuff were nonsense.
Jews have intermarried
with Aryans for centuries.
Then why are we so
adamant on eliminating Jews?
The practical side.
Anti-Semitism is the
cement that binds us together.
Christians may disagree
on a number of things,
but as men of conscience, they
can unite in the hatred of Jews.
Yes, but haven't the
Jews earned that hatred?
Of course.
Christ killers.
Well poisoners.
Agents of Satan.
Murderers of Christian children.
Well, Himmler might
believe that garbage,
but you and I know
it's medieval crap.
Lies... but
politically useful lies.
In a way, the ground
has been prepared for us.
So... ideology or the old
traditions go hand-in-hand
with practical modern policies.
Precisely.
Why do you think
we've had no opposition?
Why do you think the French
and English barely protest?
Because, deep down, they
have a sneaking admiration
for the way we're
handling the Jews.
What was that word
you used before?
Quarantine.
Isolate the germ carriers.
Why don't we start, um...
eastward movement.
Create vast ghettos.
Let the Jews run them.
The word "ghettos"
may be misunderstood.
And what do you suggest?
Autonomous Jewish Territories.
Autonomous Jewish territories.
Marvelous.
Will these be
permanent communities?
Let's just say...
steps towards regulating
the Jewish problem.
Oh, my God, Dorf,
I'm getting like you.
Using language to
say what I don't mean.
Trust Heydrich to find
the most beautiful woman.
Who is she?
She happens to be my wife!
Why, for goodness
sake! Uncle Kurt!
Ah! What a marvelous surprise!
I didn't know you were
in Berlin. I'm in and out.
My brother Clarence's
little boy, the studious one.
Look at you now,
an SS Officer.
I'm impressed.
A very minor officer, Uncle.
Why are you here tonight?
I'm under contract to the army.
The generals consider
these affairs a sort of bonus
for my keeping up
with the timetables.
I wish Papa was
alive to see us now.
I'm sure he'd be proud.
But Marta is dazzling, Erik.
I love her more every day.
And it's more than love.
It's admiration. Respect.
She seems to have won the
respect of your chief, as well.
He hardly looks
the "Blonde Beast."
The "Blonde Beast"?
Oh, just a street expression.
That was a great
honor to me, General.
Not at all, Frau Dorf.
The honor was mine.
Dorf, your wife is charming.
We must arrange an
evening at the opera.
Uncle Kurt!
Erik...
Oh, yes, forgive me.
General, my uncle, Kurt Dorf.
It's a great honor
to meet you, sir.
Dorf, Kurt.
Let me see...
hired by General Van Brauhich.
Civil engineer.
In charge of road building
in the occupied territories.
I had no idea how
well-informed you are
concerning humble road builders.
Excuse me.
Erik, don't you
think you should ask
Major Eichmann's wife to dance?
Remember how nice
he was to us in Vienna?
Hmm?
Yes, dear.
Uncle Kurt, please
dance with Marta.
Forgive me, Marta,
but I'd rather not dance.
I'm so stiff after wandering
about those dusty roads.
But we'll have champagne.
To you and Erik
and the children.
Affection and
good wishes from...
the bachelor uncle.
Thank you, Uncle Kurt.
He's a charming
man, that Heydrich.
Not at all what I expected.
What did somebody call him...?
"The Young God of Death."
Oh, that's dreadful.
Who'd dare to say
anything like that?
Political enemies, I suppose.
Uncle Kurt, he's a
refined and sensitive man.
He could have been
a concert violinist,
if he hadn't chosen
to serve Germany.
I'm quite sure he's
a very fine man but...
policemen tend to make enemies.
He's no policeman.
And neither is Erik.
I'm sorry, Marta.
I really shouldn't
go into politics.
That's why I'm still
a civilian, I suppose.
But how lovely you are
and how lucky Erik is.
A wife, children, career...
We're simple.
We became part
of the new Germany.
And so you did.
Well, you could sound
a little more convincing.
But I'm part of it, too.
I know what a good
job the Führer has done.
Everybody working again.
No strikes.
Stable currency.
And as soon as France
and England offer peace,
we can get on with the job.
Then you and Erik
are in agreement.
The only difference is
he wears a uniform and...
you don't.
My dear Marta!
How marvelously
you simplify things.
But you know...
you could be right.
In spite of my age
and those dusty roads,
I'm going to ask you to dance.
That would be
lovely, Uncle Kurt.
Give your baggage to
Mr. Lowy over here, please.
He'll see about living quarters.
There'll be eight
and ten to a room.
Give your baggage to
Mr. Lowy over there, please.
He'll give you your assignment.
Go down to the
end of the platform.
I'm Rabbi Kosh.
Hi.
It's a miracle any
of us survived.
Mm. I'm Dr. Weiss.
My brother, Moses.
We're on the Jewish
Council of Warsaw.
How is it here?
Well, it's not exactly
the Garden of Eden
but, uh, it'll get better.
There's a dead
infant in that car.
The mother won't leave it.
Mrs. Lowy...
We need your help.
Mr. Lowy will
take you to the city.
Here, come...
Come on, you can trust me.
I'll take care of you
and the baby, hmm?
Okay... now, come on.
A blessing on
you for helping us.
I'm not sure I
like this business
of being on the Jewish Council,
deciding who gets
how much to eat,
who gets a place to sleep,
who will live, who will die.
Well, somebody has to do it.
And people respect you, Josef.
- And they trust you.
- Do they?
Ever since we were children
playing across these
very same tracks,
I've always trusted you.
You were the clever one.
Do you... do you
remember the day
you won the chemistry prize?
Mm... and the principal wouldn't
let me accept it in the auditorium.
That's right.
Because you were of
the Hebrew persuasion.
But you stole it
from his office...
The certificate...
You remember! Yeah.
Oh, yes, and Papa...
with that run-down drugstore.
He made me take it over
because I was the stupid son.
You had no choice, Moses.
No, no choice.
Then or now.
That really hurt you...
a long time ago.
No, I-I didn't mean that.
Pampered son, medical school.
I never called you, I
never wrote to you.
Well, you were a busy
man... Wife, family, career.
I'm sorry, Moses.
That kid was in
the first invasion.
He doesn't talk much
about it, but he saw plenty.
Those 88's really gave the
Polacks a good scare, eh, Hans?
They're good guns.
Me, I guess I'm too old...
A behind-the-lines soldier.
I've been transferred
to Buchenwald.
Buchenwald? Guard
duty... administration.
I'd rather be
up-front like Hans,
but they need guards
in these prisons.
Buchenwald... You
said Karl was there.
Did I?
Yes. Right after
he was arrested,
you said most of them
were sent to Buchenwald.
Maybe he was.
Muller... will you try
to find him for me?
Find out how he is?
Inga,
there are 10,000, maybe
20,000 prisoners there.
Well, surely you can find him.
Karl Weiss of Berlin, an artist.
I'm sure he's all right.
Better inside than
in Poland, eh?
Hans, you can tell her what
happens to Jews in Poland.
I heard it gets pretty rough.
The old ones with
the beards go first.
They string 'em up
in the town square.
I'm telling you,
it's going to get
worse for Jews.
Here in Germany, also.
Now that the damned English
and the French are fighting us.
And everybody knows it's
the Jews that got them into this.
He's right.
Inga, those two next-door,
they are a danger to us.
Inga, darling, Muller knows
what he's talking about.
Maybe your mother-in-law
and her daughter should leave.
No. They are my family
as much as you are.
But you can get
us all in trouble!
Yeah, harboring criminals,
protecting fugitives...
It's a... bad business.
And you should stop
trying to see Karl.
He brought this on you.
I can't believe
this is my family.
Look who's talking.
Look who brought Jews here
in the first place.
Damn you!
Damn you!
Mama...
do you think anyone
plays our piano anymore?
Papa? Mm.
There's no harm in trying.
Soon it will be a new year.
Let us hope it will
be a better one.
Mama, we must never
give up hope. Mm.
Ooh! You're very cold.
Oh, I'm always cold.
Josef says it's my blue blood.
What were they yelling about?
Nothing important.
Your parents want
to throw us out.
Anna.
Perhaps if Anna and I found...
a place with one
of Josef's patients.
Papa's patients are gone...
In prison or just gone.
Anna, please.
There is no hope.
Karl is in prison,
and Rudi ran away!
Never a word from him!
And Papa, in Poland, where
it's like they came after him!
Mama, you're acting
as if this is a play,
writing letters, talking
about Papa's patients.
It does no harm.
You always had that notion
that you were someone
special, so fine,
so educated,
the Nazis would never
hurt you or your children!
And look! Look
what's happened to us!
Anna, your mother
can't be blamed.
New Year's Eve, and
who knows if any one of us
will be alive for
the next New Year!
Anna.
No...!
Anna...
Please, please,
my baby, don't...
don't cry.
Rudi wouldn't like it, hmm?
Rudi...
Yes, we'll soon hear from Rudi.
No. Rudi will get
us out, I know...
No! No, I... No, I won't
listen to any more lies!
Anna!
No! I'm running away, too!
Inga, stop her!
No, wait a minute.
You don't have any money,
you don't have anyplace to go.
Rudi was strong and tough.
Oh, leave me alone! I
know I can't go anywhere!
Anna? Please!
She'll be all right.
Streets are full of police...
They'll send her right home.
Please...
Please?
Oh, please let me go.
Let me go to my house.
Oh, please...
Please?
Please... please...
Please...
Oh, please, don't...
No, no...
No, stop...
Anna!
Anna, Anna...
Anna...
Mama...
Oh... Mama!
Mama...
Oh, Mama...
Oh...
With the surrender of France,
the Führer has announced
he has no more
territorial claims in Europe.
France thus joins Holland,
Belgium, Norway, Denmark,
Austria, Czechoslovakia,
and the greater part of Poland
in forming the New
Order of Europe.
Regarding the
occupation of France,
French citizens
who do not resist
and are not part of the
Bolshevik-Jewish apparatus
will be decently treated.
And the Führer has reaffirmed
his friendly and
fraternal relations
with the people of
the Soviet Union.
Wait, wait, it'll come
the Russian's turn.
When will our turn
come, Weinberg?
Don't ask me, Weiss.
Maybe I'd be better
off in the quarry,
where they'd kill me in a hurry.
Don't say that.
I hear some rich guy
bought his way out.
50,000 Swiss francs.
His wife got it to the
SS Commandant.
His wife.
I haven't heard from
my wife in over a year.
Why should you be different?
We're talking about wives.
Like that, huh?
Don't tease me, Weinberg.
Business, Weiss, not sex.
One of the SS
sergeants pays me for it...
Presents for his mistress.
Good rye bread.
A bonus for lace
drawers I made for his girl.
Take half.
I shouldn't, Weinberg.
All I ever do is
complain. Take it.
Thank you.
Mmm...
Swallow fast, hide the bread.
Aw, the hell with him.
Hey, Weiss.
Eating in the
barracks is forbidden!
Lay off, Mellneck... you
kapos are worse than the SS.
You're a Jew, aren't you?
You're one of us... give us a break!
Shut up. I do what I do
because they tell me to.
Like bother us over
a lousy bit of bread?
Doctor's son from
Berlin, eh, Weiss?
Learning to be a tough guy.
Give me that bread! No!
Mellneck, lay off!
Weiss, give it to him!
It's mine! It's mine! I won't!
Give me that bread!
Cut it out! For God's sake,
Jews don't fight Jews!
Give me back that
bread! Give it to me!
Give me that bread!
Give me that bread!
Give me the bread, you... you...
Give me... give me the bread!
Give me...!
Fighting in barracks!
You're both on
report! Call the guard!
Weiss didn't mean anything!
I'm the one who
sneaked the bread in.
Shut up!
Inga... Inga...
Easy, Weiss, don't waste breath.
I want to tell him... "You win.
"You can do anything
you want to me.
Kill me."
Listen, Weiss...
I'm no religious man but...
I heard a rabbi say, the
day before we were arrested,
every one of us who lives...
is a sanctification.
I don't want to live.
Sure you do.
Groan if it'll help.
Don't be ashamed.
So you're Heydrich's new boy.
Sit down.
Heydrich's eyes and ears.
I guess they sent you to
Warsaw to check up on me.
I know what they think of me:
Hans Frank,
loudmouthed governor-
general of Poland.
By no means. You're
highly regarded.
Like hell.
I'm here because
I'm a smart lawyer.
Bailed Hitler and
Göring out of jail
a hundred of times
in the old days.
I'm aware of your legal
services to the Party.
It gives us something in common.
I'm a lawyer, too.
Are you?
Heydrich's hiring a
better class of clerk?
Oh, don't be insulted.
I've heard a lot about you...
A master of terminology.
I try to follow up on
Heydrich's requests.
Less modesty, Captain.
This stinking
Warsaw, for example:
"Autonomous Jewish Territory."
Your phrase for a
walled-in sewer full of Jews.
We asked you to build
a wall around a ghetto.
Our directives...
Our directives?!
You don't issue
directives! You carry them!
That damn wall!
So Heydrich can keep
shoving Jews at me!
Disease! Filth! Corruption!
The Jew dregs of Germany,
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria!
Autonomous Jewish Territory!
These Jews are going
to have to disappear.
Disappear?
I can see through
that baby face.
You know what I mean.
No such plan is contemplated.
You'll ask me to do
your bloody work for you.
Well, don't be surprised if I
start without your permission!
What the hell do you know?
I was head of the
Party's legal office
when you were in short pants.
Yes, Heydrich has a
file on your legal career.
Does he?
Interesting details.
Your passion for justice.
Objecting to the
murder of Ernst Röhm...
Not at all what the
Führer had in mind
for the government of Poland.
I heard you were just
another boot-licker.
Apparently you're not.
How many streets
are they going to close?
Seems they do
intend to wall us in.
11 miles of it.
Some wall.
Keep us in and the Poles out.
It's a damn prison.
It seems to me they're trying to
make Warsaw the supreme ghetto.
At the least a ghetto is
something we can understand!
We'll be allowed our
schools, our hospitals...
An administration.
They need us.
For how long?
I beg your pardon?
How long will they need us?
What do several million
poor Jews mean to them?
Dr. Weiss, we have no
option but to cooperate.
To provide the work
details, coordinate housing.
I've seen those work details.
People taken away, worked
to death, shot, beaten.
That's right.
I've been on them.
In the ghetto of Razuk,
the Jewish Council
failed to deliver
the work quota.
The council members were hanged.
We must cooperate with them.
Poland's been conquered.
We are what we have
always have been...
victims.
And why all this attention
if we're no threat to them?
We must obey orders.
We must crack down on smugglers
and resistors.
Resistance is foolish.
Foolish!
We can only pray
for things to get better.
At first, she was not so bad,
but in the last few months,
she doesn't speak, Doctor.
She recognizes no one.
Since the incident.
Yes.
What can I do to help?
Well, is there no, uh, special
therapy or, um, a sanatorium
that could help her?
Perhaps I can help.
Nurse, we have a
patient for Hadamar.
Inform them.
Yes, Doctor.
Hadamar?
A hospital for mental problems.
Will she be treated
very well there?
Within the limitations
of a wartime economy.
Your sister-in-law can stay here
for the rest of the day.
We'll arrange transportation.
You can bring her
things here tomorrow.
Anna...
you know me.
Listen, darling,
when you feel better,
your mama and I
will come visit you.
I promise you that.
Oh, no, wait.
Am I doing the right thing?
These problems are best
handled by professionals.
Yeah.
Give my regards to
your mother-in-law.
Oh...
Thank you.
Good-bye, Anna.
"It is with much regret
"that we must inform you
"of the death of your daughter,
Fraulein Anna Weiss."
Mama, you don't
have to read this again.
"Although we did all we could
to help, we gave her every care,
"she refused to
take nourishment,
"did not respond to medication,
"and on June the third, died
of pneumonia and malnutrition.
"In view...
"of the unsettled
conditions now prevailing,
"we have taken the liberty
of cremating her remains
"and providing burial...
near the sanatorium."
Mama, perhaps it's better.
We don't know if Anna would
ever have been well again.
She loved everyone.
Oh, Mama...
Oh, God...
"No more clothing vouchers
to be issued to Jews.
"All Jews failing to have
registered with the police
"must do so at once.
"All Jews must be in possession
"of their yellow
identification cards
"at all times.
"Jews may not use
public transportation.
"Jews may not use
"public libraries.
"it is forbidden
for Jewish children
"to attend public schools.
"It is forbidden to sell
luggage, knapsacks, valises
"or leather to Jews.
"Jews may not carry
knapsacks or valises
"without police permits.
"It is strictly
forbidden for Aryans
to trade or do any business
whatsoever with Jews."
Hey, you with the knapsack.
Let's see your papers.
Give us the sack.
He will not.
You...
Give me that knapsack!
Huh?
It's mine!
He never paid me for it.
I want it back!
You sold it to him?
Yes, I sold it to him,
before you put up
those... those new rules!
Look, don't try to get
away with anything.
You owe me for it.
And if they confiscate
it, who's out the money?
Quick, in the back room.
Why did you do that?
Because you were in trouble.
You're not a Czech.
I'm a German.
Mm-hmm.
A Jew.
What are you doing here?
I ran away.
Ah.
I'm Rudi Weiss.
My name is Helena Slomova.
It's been a long time
since I held a girl's hand.
Too busy running.
Where will you go now?
I don't know.
I'm sorry.
That's all right.
I didn't mind.
Is this shop yours?
No, it's my father's.
But my parents
were sent to Poland.
I don't know where.
I haven't heard from them.
Why were they arrested?
They said my father
was a Zionist agent.
Zionist.
People who want
to go to Palestine.
What's so funny?
It's just that there weren't
very many in Berlin.
Old men with beards,
kids with ear locks,
rattling cans for coins.
Better close up, Helena.
Gestapo is checking the shops.
Thank you.
I will.
Come.
Come with me.
I've been alone too long.
I'm glad I found you.
All because of your knapsack.
Don't you have a boyfriend,
relatives who will come
here, wonder who I am?
That doesn't matter anymore.
I used to be a
proper girl, but, uh...
I live from day to day now.
Helena Slomova,
who rescued me
in a luggage shop.
It's going to get
worse, you know.
You saw those regulations
the Germans put up.
More people will be sent away
like my mother and father.
What will you do?
I don't know.
I wish I could go somewhere.
Palestine.
There are ways of getting out.
Come with me.
With no money? No papers?
I got this far.
Yes, but I would be
a hindrance to you.
You'd be surprised what
a diet of turnips can do.
Helena, the worst
thing is to be alone.
My father's gone.
My brother's in prison.
My mother and my sister might
just as well be in
a prison in Berlin.
I need someone to hold;
to talk to.
I'll teach you to
sleep in haystacks
and steal from farmers.
It sounds awful.
Better than staying here,
waiting for them to
come and get you.
When I was a little
girl in Hebrew school,
we learned the story of Ruth.
Who was she?
You only have to know one part:
"Whither thou goest...
I will go."
Keep moving.
Doctor!
Without enough food, they
can't resist the diseases.
We got the rations today?
They're late again.
I'll speak to the council.
Feed only those that
have a chance to survive.
Doctor!
Doctor! Doctor. Dr. Weiss.
Dr. Weiss... your wife.
I just saw her.
My wife?
She just came in
on the transport.
I'd recognize her anywhere.
Berta?!
Frau Berta Weiss?
Berta Weiss... do you know her?
Frau Berta Weiss... do
you know, do you know her?
Berta Weiss?
Keep moving.
Berta!
Berta! Oh, Berta! Oh, Berta!
My love, my darling,
how I missed you!
But where...? No, don't talk.
Just hold me! Okay.
Come, I'll show
you where we live.
But shouldn't I register?
My law-abiding wife.
It can wait.
Even in this ghetto,
bureaucracy is inept.
Can you believe we have a café?
It's not quite the
Adlunge Hotel.
Where there are Jews,
there must be a place to talk.
We ran out of coffee
a long time ago.
We can sit and hold hands.
The way we did when
you were a student.
Please, something for my baby.
Now, we will pretend this
is the Kurfürstendamm.
Josef, you mustn't try
to hide anything from me.
I will hide nothing from you.
Oh, later, later.
We manage here.
As a physician, there's work.
There's a community...
You needn't deceive me.
I've seen the
beggars in the streets
and I've heard of the shootings.
But it will end.
I'm told Göring
himself will end it.
No need to humor
me any longer, Josef.
I've seen too much.
I suppose we all have.
Tell me about the children.
Anna...?
Josef...
Anna is dead.
Anna?
Anna?!
Well, how...?
Pneumonia.
It was quick and painless.
Must... How? Where?
In the apartment.
She fell ill one day.
We... we couldn't
get her medicine.
She died painlessly,
in her sleep.
Josef, cry. It will help.
But... but she's gone
and perhaps it's better.
Better?
Life is always
better than death.
Mm... No, I'm not sure anymore.
And the boys?
Rudi ran away.
I had a letter from
him from Prague.
He told us not to worry.
You know Rudi...
The indestructible one.
My street fighter.
I should have spent
more time with him.
And Karl?
Karl still is in Buchenwald.
Inga has learned that he is...
as well as can be expected.
Josef, it is wrong for us
to dwell on our misfortunes.
Agreed.
I'll, uh, I'll speak to them
about letting you teach school.
Me?
Of course.
Wait'll you see the
children of Warsaw.
Nothing in their
stomachs half the time,
but those kids give
concerts and plays...
Oh, Josef...
I have never loved you more.
Nor I you.
Oh, dear God...
I look at you and I see Anna.
We mustn't.
Come...
show me these
elegant quarters, hmm?
Halt.
Sergeant Muller.
This is Private
Richter, East Gate.
There's a woman
here to see you, sir.
Frau Weiss.
Yes. Yes, Sergeant.
Guard, open up.
Herr Muller.
I received your letter.
How are you, Inga?
You know why I came here.
Walk your post.
Go.
Please come inside.
We have a visitors' room.
I want to see my husband.
We can discuss it inside, Inga.
You said in the letter
you would arrange it.
Security is stricter now.
I was only transferred
here two months ago.
I thought, as a
favor, for old friends...
I want to see my husband.
Are you afraid of me?
No, I don't fear you.
This is not a visitors' room.
This is your room.
Please...
sit down.
Uh...
cigarette?
Cognac?
Coffee?
The real stuff, not ersatz.
Nothing but the best for
the boys in the service.
I want to see Karl.
Ah... the Helms
single-mindedness.
How is he?
Is he still in the tailor shop?
I'm afraid not.
He got into a
fight of some sort.
They had to string
him up for a while.
They put him to
work in the quarry...
Hard work; pick and shovel.
You lied to me.
I can't see him, can I?
He's being worked
to death, isn't he?
I've heard stories
of what goes on.
You heard nonsense.
They work and they are fed.
Don't cry.
Don't cry.
I'll help you.
Can you get a letter to him?
Why not?
And can you get one out for me?
And mail it to Berlin?
It can be managed.
We're not monsters, you know.
There's a job to be done.
It's more than a job, Muller.
For me, that's all it is.
You've known me a long time.
I was there at your wedding.
I've been through hard
times, no work for years.
I had no father to
send me to art school.
I'm a plain Berliner;
a mechanic.
Why'd you look
down on me for that?
That's not what I meant.
Oh, what's the difference?
Promise me you'll
get my letters to him
and send his out to me.
Done.
So...
I'll leave.
Karl doesn't look well.
That outdoor work
may finish him.
What?
What are you saying?
Well, I'm sticking my neck out,
but I have influence
with the commandant.
What can you do?
I could have him transferred
to the art studio.
Oh, please...
please, would you do that?
I would be very grateful to you.
Good.
Of course, you'll have to
bring the letters by hand.
Mail in and out of
here is, uh... uncertain.
One more week
of hacking at rocks
and he'll be another dead Jew.
Papers.
We haven't any.
Give us a chance.
We want to get to Yugoslavia.
We just want to cross Hungary.
Start moving.
Please. We can pay.
I said move!
Rudi!
Rudi, stop it! Stop it!
Run.
I ca... Helena, you'll die.
I can't.
Rudi, no more.
No more.
Helena, we have to.
There's no place
safe for us here.
Rudi, it is useless.
We're... we are finished.
No.
They're going to
have to kill us first.
You know, I...
I haven't the vaguest idea
where we are right now.
Does it really matter?
Yes.
I'm not ready to die yet.
"The brotherhood of love"?!
Bilberstein, what the devil
was "the brotherhood of love"?
I don't believe a word of it.
There's no such
organization. Oh, it's true.
When I left the Lutheran
ministry, I wanted to, um...
encourage human love
through Christian faith.
And how did your brotherhood
of love work out? Oh, badly,
I'm afraid, so I,
uh, joined the SS.
Spreading the gospel
amongst us, eh, Bilberstein?
No, no, we're all converts
to a new faith... eh, Dorf?
A new faith? Yes,
and we're the apostles.
Ah, listen to Dorf.
Which one of us is Peter?
Just call me Doubting Thomas.
So long as there is no Judas.
Dorf!
Watch out for that one.
Heydrich's classroom monitor.
Gentlemen,
you've all been chosen
for a very difficult job,
and you'll be watched.
Captain Dorf here
is to be assigned
to the Russian front as a
sort of traveling representative.
Selling what? Extermination?
You be careful with your
choice of words, Blobel.
All of you tell Dorf
what you've done
and put as little as
possible on paper.
Gentlemen, the Führer himself
hasn't put any
of this in writing,
so don't go blabbing about it.
"Blabbing."
Little squirt.
This will be no easy job.
You'll have a thousand miles
of the Russian front to manage,
from the Baltic
to the Black Sea.
With less than 3,000 men?
Yes, sir.
The plan includes
recruiting local militia...
Ukrainians, Lithuanians.
Permit me to say, Captain,
this new program,
these action commandos,
will be engaged in
something more...
comprehensive...
than resettlement.
Ohlendorf, we are aware of that.
Gentlemen, the key is mobility.
Once an area is secure,
find your Jews, move in,
and deal with them accordingly.
Don't worry about
the regular army.
The generals are as
afraid of us as the Jews are.
Dorf, read them that army order.
"General instructions for
dealing with political leaders
"following the Führer's orders
"of March 30, 1941:
"11 categories of
persons in the Soviet Union
are listed as subject
to our jurisdiction."
"Jurisdiction." I like that.
A ditch and a machine gun.
"These categories include
criminal elements, Gypsies,
"officials of the Soviet state
and party agitators,
Communists and all Jews."
The army issued this list?
That's right.
When the Führer issued
his commissar order,
making it clear what
he wanted, they obliged.
The army, gentlemen,
will be our willing servants.
The Führer went to great lengths
to insist that the war in
Russia will be unlike any other,
and these are his exact words:
"It will be conducted
with unprecedented,
merciless and
unrelenting harshness."
End quote.
The Russians are to be
regarded as subhuman,
born to slavery, a
notch above Jews.
Will there be exceptions?
Special cases?
Yes. We might exclude certain
trustworthy Russian elements...
Balts, Ukrainians who
wish to work with us.
What about Jews?
Any exceptions?
None.
Well, that's clear enough.
I thought that's what
this meeting was about.
About two years ago,
the Italian ambassador
raised objections
to the Führer's Jewish policies.
Mussolini was
offended, and so on.
The Führer told
him that in 500 years
the name of Adolf Hitler
will be honored for one thing:
Having wiped the Jews
from the face of the earth.
Mmm.
Ahh.
What's going on?
I told him that we are Czechs
and that I studied
at the Lenin School.
I know what that means.
Go on, tell him we're Jews.
He wants to send us back.
We're dead if we go back.
I know, but he says he has
no quarrel with the Germans.
Tell him the roads are
full of German tanks
and artillery, moving east.
I told him that my father
was a good Communist.
Kiss him if you have to.
Rudi, he's asking if you
are a good Communist.
Oh. Oh, yes, sure.
If it'll save my neck, yeah.
He's sending us to Kiev!
Ask him what kind
of place Kiev is.
He says it is
beautiful, a big city.
Where'd you get all that
stuff about Lenin School?
It was really the
Herzl Institute,
but I did not think it
hurt to change the name.
He says they are Russian guns.
Weinberg, I'm finished.
No, Weiss, keep moving.
I can't.
Hey, you two!
Shut up! Work!
Gypsy friends.
I admire their nerve.
I question their judgment.
Maybe it's better to
die for a last cigarette.
Hey, you put out the cigarette!
You, scum! You
filth! Put it out!
Put it out!
Kapo, gather them!
Out! Kapo, get
the hell out of there!
What happened?
Trying to escape.
A couple of Gypsies.
You two!
Go down and get the bodies!
Move!
Take them to the crematorium!
Hold it.
I want that one.
Move! You!
Help him!
Your wife's a faithful
correspondent.
Is she here?
Right on schedule.
Muller, can I see Inga?
She's gone.
Can you get one of
my letters out to her?
Don't I always?
Read yours. Now.
Later, when I'm alone.
You miss her, don't you?
Muller...
Muller, can't you get me out?
You're a friend
of Inga's family.
You know how
much she's suffering.
If you hate me
because I'm a Jew,
at least have pity on her.
Who hates you?
And how can you be so
certain she's suffering?
What do you mean?
Women manage.
Has she said something to you?
This is a business, Weiss.
Jews understand business.
You don't think I'd risk
my neck playing mailman
without getting paid.
Muller, you're lying.
Why do you think she
comes here in person?
She could mail the letters.
Money doesn't change hands.
I think you understand
what I mean.
The trouble with you people is
you always expect
something for nothing.
That's why you're so despised.
I don't want her letter.
And I won't send any out.
Oh, no, Weiss.
Things can get much
tougher for you, if you refuse.
I don't care.
Of course you care.
You won't be in here forever.
And you won't even notice
any difference in her
when you do get out.
Be smart, Weiss!
Write her tonight.
I'll read it and send it on.
I don't want to write
her or see her again.
Don't be a fool!
You saw what happened
to those gypsies.
I don't care.
Or perhaps you'd rather be
one of Engleman's little boys.
He has his own private
stock of young men.
But then, maybe
you're too old for him.
Muller...
enough.
I can have you transferred
to the artists' studio.
No.
Have the letter here tomorrow.
No.
I think you'll change your mind.
Go easy with my friend Weiss.
He's been requisitioned
to the artists' studio.
He's a sensitive fellow.
Move! Come on, move!
A handful arrested today, sir,
from some farming villages.
Yes, sir, we will hold
them till you get here.
Mannhiem! Go down to the pits
and tell them to wait until
Colonel Blobel gets here.
VIP guests.
And button your tunic!
Put a cap on! This
is a military outfit!
Yeah, yeah.
Five million Jews in Russia
and there's 3,000 of us
assigned to shoot them.
What do you want?!
Transferred.
C Company, isn't it?
And then to chaplain's office.
Damn it, I told
them to hold it up!
"Helms, Hans. Corporal.
72nd infantry
regiment. B Company."
Transferred in. Great.
How did you foul up, Helms?
I'm a combat soldier.
Two years in Poland
and the Ukraine.
Nobody asks to
get into this outfit.
How'd you screw up?
I fell asleep on sentry.
You get plenty of sleep here.
We keep regular hours.
They gave me a choice.
Either do time in
the guard house
or transfer to the
action commandos.
Welcome to the SS.
Keep your mouth shut,
you'll work out, Helms.
Go back to the quartermaster
and draw new patches.
Remember one thing, Helms.
What's that?
After the officers get
theirs, we split the loot.
What the hell are
you talking about?
Pens, watches, clothing, eh?
Dumb infantryman.
Hey, you guys, get into uniform!
Officers!
This damned army major says,
"These daytime killings
are a non-German concept."
Language, Blobel,
language. It's not killings.
I'm quoting him. I
know the rules, Dorf.
"Special handling."
"Special action."
"Resettlement executive
action against Jews."
I said to him, "I'm
German, you tin soldier.
Regular army's up to
its neck in Jew blood."
Field Marshal von
Reichenau himself
told me to shoot Jews with two
rounds of ammunition, not five.
Un-German.
I wish I could make
you understand
we sympathize with you.
Then stop making
impossible demands.
A million and a
half Jews run east.
We can't catch them all.
But you must, Blobel.
Sergeant.
Not much today, sir.
The villages have
been cleaned out.
Sergeant, are those civilians?
Who are they, Foltz?
Ukrainians, sir.
They like to watch.
And the photographer and
the man taking motion pictures?
Who are they?
For the battalion archives.
And the man taking notes?
I don't know. Who is he, Foltz?
War correspondent,
sir... an Italian.
He got clearance from
divisional headquarters.
I don't like this, any of it.
You don't like it?
What the hell do you
think this is, a ballet?
You're getting a Jew-free
Russia, aren't you?
It isn't tidy.
"It isn't tidy."
I'll show you what's tidy.
Line them up!
I don't want those
civilians watching.
Blobel, this is no way
to carry out my orders!
Fire!
No protest, no fight, nothing.
Himmler was right.
The bastards are subhuman.
Colonel Blobel,
I am submitting a
negative report on you.
You're what?
The orders were for secrecy
and orderliness
in these matters,
and you're running a carnival.
You damn little bureaucrat.
There will be no civilian
guests at these actions.
There will be no
journalists prowling around.
No smoking, no drinking.
And what are they doing?
Spoils of war.
That will stop.
All valuables left by Jews
are property of the state.
All right, paper-pusher.
Tell them they can't
have their cognac.
Chain of command, Blobel,
That would be your job.
Heydrich has assigned
me to the Eastern Front
to see that these actions
are carried out efficiently
and with secrecy.
You fail on all counts.
Well, let me tell you, boy...
Those of us in the field
have our eye on you.
Ohlendorf and Nebe
and the others...
They know a spy
when they see one.
Don't try to
undercut me, Blobel.
I talk to Heydrich every day.
Colonel, next group?
No.
Hold it; get the
civilians out of here.
Tell the photographer
and the cameraman to stop.
Sergeant, tell them
I want their film.
Hey, you, out, out!
All of you, out!
Come on, out, all of you!
You, hold it!
So you talk to Heydrich
every day, do you?
Blobel, give me my gun.
Desk soldier.
Paper captain.
Go on down there and
finish a few off yourself.
They all seem to be dead.
Can't be too sure.
Go on.
This is ridiculous.
Crap in your blood, Dorf?
Or in your pants, maybe?
You want to make a negative
report on that drunk Blobel,
who can't run a tidy operation?
Damn you.
Go down there
and you tidy it up!
It's like eating noodles, Dorf.
Once you start, you can't stop.
Ask the men what
it's like, Captain.
You shoot ten Jews, the
next hundred are easier.
Shoot a hundred, you'll
learn to shoot a thousand.
That one, sir.
Good, good.
Two shots are plenty,
von Reichenau says.
Captain Dorf.
The Zulu warriors say,
"A man is not a man until
he's washed his spear in blood."