The Plot Against America (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Part 3 - full transcript

WOMAN: These young people
were murdered,

and their cases
were never solved.

MAN: People say,

"This has to be the clan
or some crooked cops."

There was no case like it
in history.

Do what should've been done.
Solve the cases.

CHARLES LINDBERGH:
Your choice is simple.

It is not between
Charles A. Lindbergh

and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
It is between Lindbergh and war.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

I think I might've
found someone.



Who then?

EVELYN FINKEL:
Rabbi Bengelsdorf.

(WHISPERS) Bengelsdorf. Evelyn.

Lindbergh is not an anti‐Semite.

- BESS LEVIN: Like hell he's not.
- (CROWD CHEERING)

LIONEL BENGELSDORF:
I have an offer

that I'd like
for you to consider.

Come work with me.

(CROWD CHEERING)

What if Lindbergh does win?
To most people in this country,

there's never been a bigger hero
in their lifetime.

RECRUITER: Levin, you here
to fight for King and country?

I'm here to kill Nazis.

ANNOUNCER: The 33rd president
of the United States...



Charles Augustus Lindbergh.

♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪

MAN: (SINGING)
♪ There's a new day in view ♪

♪ There is gold in the blue ♪

♪ There is hope
In the hearts of men ♪

♪ All the world's on the way ♪

♪ To a sunnier day ♪

♪ 'Cause the road
Is open again ♪

♪ There's a note repair ♪

♪ There's a song in the air ♪

♪ It's the music of busy men ♪

♪ Every plow in the land ♪

♪ Meets a happier hand ♪

♪ 'Cause the road
Is open again ♪

♪ There's an eagle blue
In the White House too ♪

♪ On the shoulder
Of the president there ♪

♪ With a lusty call
Telling one and all ♪

♪ Brother, do your share! ♪

♪ There's a new day in view ♪

♪ There is gold in the blue ♪

♪ There is hope
In the hearts of men ♪

♪ From the plains to the hill ♪

♪ From the farm to the mill ♪

♪ For the road is open again ♪

♪ There's a new day in view ♪

♪ There is gold in the blue ♪

♪ There is hope
In the hearts of men ♪

♪ From the plains to the hill ♪

♪ From the farm to the mill ♪

♪ All the road is open again ♪

- (WIND BLOWS)
- (BOOK PAGES RUSTLE)

(AIRPLANE ENGINE DRONES)

(WIND INTENSIFIES)

- (OVERLAPPING DIALOGUE)
- (RUMBLING)

- (SIREN WAILS)
- (AIRPLANE ENGINE DRONES)

♪ (SINGING IN HEBREW) ♪

MAYOR: The city of Newark
is maintaining its commitment

to the safety and the security
of all of its citizens.

I wouldn't be standing here
if that wasn't true.

REPORTER: What steps
are you taking?

MAYOR: Well, there‐‐
Now, listen. There are‐‐

There's been no danger,
no threats.

Nothing has actually
been identified.

- REPORTER 2: None at all.
- MAYOR: Thank you.

However, the city is providing police
resources anyway, in an effort to...

HERMAN LEVIN: At least
they showed up this time.

Yeah, that they did...
For what it's worth.

HERMAN: You'd think with all
the vandalism

in the last few months,
police might put a man on.

How many Jews on the Newark
Police Force, you figure?

That shouldn't be the point.

POLICE OFFICER:
Look, look, look.

Yeah, well, I'll work with anybody
who knows who's responsible for this.

In my opinion, it's probably
a rowdy group of kids.

You know, hooligans.
Boys cutting class.

- There is no indication...
- Thinking about leaving.

Leaving?

Canada.

POLICE OFFICER:
Boys will be boys.

I got boys, 'kay?
This is what they're like.

This is really nothing
out of the ordinary.

I'm not lettin' them run me off.

Nah, this is my country.

Jew haters want a country,
they got plenty to choose from.

This one, they're not getting.

RABBI LIONEL BENGELSDORF:
Fellow congregants,

I'd like to take a moment
and thank you all for your...

unwavering support
as I embark on a new journey

on behalf of our community,

our people, and our country.

As you are all aware,
I was of some...

modest service
to President Lindbergh

during the recent
political campaign,

and that I expressed
real support

for his heroic commitment

to keeping our country
out of any European war.

The president has now offered me
a new and unique opportunity,

and one that I know
will reflect well on all of us,

here at Temple B'nai Moshe.

I have been asked to initiate
a new program,

which will further and better
assimilate our people

into the fabric of America.

The program, which is one
of my own conception and design

is called Just Folks.

(CONGREGATION MURMURS)

- ♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
- GLORIA: Here's to number four.

- WOMAN: Truce!
- Another, Billy Boy?

Ah, Jesus wept, Gloria.
I give up.

What is this swill?

- (CHUCKLES) It's Appleton's.
- It tastes like your tea

- after we tossed it in the Boston Harbor.
- Yeah! (CHUCKLES)

Oh, go on. Blame the taste
when it's clear she can drink

both of you colonials
under this table.

June, we're Americans.

Dear boy, you swore to protect
king and country,

so at worst, you're both
technically Canadians.

Come on, let's exercise
that hollow leg of yours.

(GLORIA LAUGHS) Whee!

MAN: Wait, we're going again?

WOMAN: Woo‐hoo!

- (MAN LAUGHING)
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)

MAN 2: Come on.
Let's get another round.

How 'bout some fresh air?

- How 'bout a canoodle?
- Canoodle?

- Mm‐hm.
- (CROWD CHEERING)

- You people don't talk right.
- (CHUCKLES)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(CHEERING)

- WOMAN: Rabbi.
- BENGELSDORF: Yes.

- WOMAN: Such a kawved for you and the shul.
- Oh, thank you.

WOMAN: To think of the president
calling on you.

Well, he's a wonderful man
and very gracious to me, so...

I thank him.
This is my friend...

MAN: I don't care how long
he's been here,

- this is an embarrassment.
- WOMAN 2: Lower your voice.

Pompous ass thinks he's gonna
use Charles Lindbergh

to be a big man,
but we're the ones getting used.

- (BOY GIGGLING)
- MAN: Come on, Henry, keep up.

DR. CHOMSKY: Do you have trouble
going to sleep?

PHILLIP LEVIN: No.

CHOMSKY: So, staying asleep
is the problem?

- Uh‐huh.
- Mm‐hm.

Is it usually
the same nightmare,

always with the Nazis?

Okay, kiddo.
(CLICKS TONGUE) Get dressed.

Fit as a fiddle, physically.

‐But these dreams‐‐
‐Since the election,

all my Jewish kids are having
fight or flight dreams.

They're anxious.

It's because of us, isn't it?

CHOMSKY: What do you mean?

We're upset, and they feel it.

CHOMSKY:
They're kids. They miss nothing,

but are we wrong
to feel this way?

And are they?

(SIREN WAILS)

FIRE WARDEN: You don't want to be going
down there. Farrier Street's safe. Go. Go.

Any word yet about a mission?

No, I think soon.

- I hope not.
- Hey... Come on.

- It's what I signed up for.
- I know, but still.

You started your hand‐to‐hand
combat training?

- Last week.
- Splendid.

(MOANING)

(SIREN WAILS)

Come on, love. Down the tube.

Sometimes, you can be alone
in a crowd.

Hey. Ma.

Hey, Ma.

You want I should fix us
some tea?

Where did you go?

I was at work with the rabbi.

The rabbi?

Yeah, Rabbi Bengelsdorf.

There's a rabbi?

Yeah, you met him.
I'm his assistant.

We're seeing each other.
Remember?

What does Herman say?

‐Herman‐‐
‐Bess, does your husband know

you're with another man?

No, Ma‐‐ Ma, Bess isn't here.
I'm Evelyn.

(CHUCKLING) Evelyn. Ev.

Yeah.

Bess?

Ma.

I'm Evelyn. I'm Evelyn.

Evelyn?

Evelyn is out with a boy.

He's a rabbi.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)

Your sister here yet?

She's outside with Sandy.

Phillip's in his room
with his stamps.

HERMAN: Mm.

Ev says Mom's getting worse.

I'm sorry.

How was the doctor with Phillip?

Not surprised.

He's seeing it
with all the Jewish kids.

It's that bastard Lindbergh.

‐(HERMAN SIGHS) ‐Herman.

We have to be careful
not to show the boys too much.

Phillip, especially, is aware
of everything we say and do,

and he carries it around.

This is the world now.

He's gonna hear about it

from his friends,
from everywhere.

We have to try.

(MOANING)

(BOTH SIGH)

(PANTING)

I like what you've done
with the place.

JUNE: I've been busy living.

Before the war, every day
was the same, wasn't it?

Now, it's like we're living
on the edge of a knife.

It's crazy.

It's wonderful.

(SIREN WAILING OUTSIDE)

You think it's wrong to be
caught up in the thrill of the war?

Helluva thing.

Spittin' at death.

That's it, isn't it?

You spit at death,
and you make life worth living.

Yeah, maybe.

(CHUCKLING)

So, uh, what exactly do you do
at the Admiralty?

You never said.

Oh, really?

So, you're one of these
hush‐hush types

running this whole war?

You're looking at a signatory
of the Official Secrets Act.

Though I suppose I could tell
a Yank a bit.

Why? You heard Lindbergh
was strictly neutral.

Well, you aren't.
You're over here.

It's different for me.
I'm a Jew.

You didn't know?

From your name, sure.

I guess I just didn't think
about it very much.

You don't seem so different.

(CHUCKLING)

I mean, to say,
you believe in more or less

the same stuff as anybody else,
God and all that.

- I don't believe in God.
- Then why be Jewish?

You make it sound like a choice.

Isn't it in a way?

I believe in my father...

who was a Jew.

And then his father, a Jew.

And his father and his father
and all the way back

to whatever the hell tribe
was wandering around the desert

when someone had the bright idea

to trim off the end
of his prick.

(JUNE CHUCKLES)

- So, it's about family?
- No, it's more than that.

I'm a Jew
because I was born a Jew,

and this whole fucking world
wishes I wasn't.

They want us gone. All of us.

And they drive themselves crazy
because after all this time,

they still can't get rid of us.

- That's it?
- Yeah, that's it.

(CHUCKLING)

I'm not over here
because I'm an American.

(GRUNTS)

Shit, my country's gone to hell.

I'm here to settle an old score.

Must be hard to be something
out of spite.

- It's not the best reason.
- Oh, yeah?

It'll do.

WORKER: Yeah, but, uh,
what's dropping it off?

No, you can't do that.

You can't put one on top
of the other.

It's not how much you can carry,
it's about the bruising.

WORKER 2:
But then we can get more done.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- Saul. My brother around?
- He's in the office.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

WORKER 3:
Don't leave the dolly there.

(KNOCKING)

I stopped by to tell you...

they didn't mess
with Jack's stone.

Oh, you didn't hear?

Hear what?

The goons came back
to Orange Avenue last night,

ran through the cemetery.

They left swastikas and curses

on whatever
they couldn't knock over.

Again, fucking Lindbergh...

and his goddamn
America Firsters.

These assholes...

you know,
they've always been here,

but now, it's like they have
permission to crawl out

from under the rocks.

I'm glad we're on the same page
with that.

'Cause there is something
I'd like you to do.

Oh, what, are you shakin' a can?

No. I want you
and your merchants' group

to go and lean on
our deadbeat police commissioner

to do something.

Ah. What does that dumb mick
care what the‐‐

the Jewish Merchants Association
thinks?

Go talk to the mayor, then.

- MONTY LEVIN: Oh, please.
- You guys kicked in your share

when he ran for reelection.

So now, money has its uses?

Huh, boychik? Mm‐hm.
Whatever happened

to my hothead,
Debs‐loving kid brother?

I never said money
didn't matter.

I just object to it mattering
above all else.

Ir'rah mishpucha. For you,
my little socialist,

the bourgeois Jew peddlers
will do what needs to be done.

I'm as capitalist as you are.

Yeah.
I didn't vote for Eugene Debs.

You voted for Roosevelt twice.

That's enough
so I don't disown you.

(CHUCKLES)

(TYPEWRITERS CLACKING)

SANDY: So, what's it all about?

Well, the whole purpose
of the program is to encourage

America's minorities to further
integrate into larger society.

And because it was
Rabbi Bengelsdorf's idea,

they made him director
of the New Jersey office,

and they put the pilot program
right here in Newark.

The president thinks so highly
of Lionel

that he's gonna send his name
to Congress,

and he's gonna run
the whole thing nationally.

- How does it work?
- Oh, it‐‐ Come here. Come here.

It's wonderful.

It's designed
for city boys 12 to 18

to go spend a summer
with a farm family.

Would I be able to draw
the animals and barns and stuff?

Of course. If you sign up.

To be honest, Sandy...

I have been saving this one
especially for you.

A wonderful family in Kentucky,
the Mawhinneys,

with a boy, Orin, your age,

and they have
all kinds of animals.

You really wanna do this,
don't you?

You think Dad'll let me?

We'll see.

BENGELSDORF:
Evelyn, I need you to‐‐ Oh.

You must be Evelyn's nephew.

- You ride horses.
- Excuse me?

Why, yes, I do.

I saw you by the old orphanage.

I‐‐ I drew a picture of you
and your horse.

Ah. Yes.

Your aunt tells me you are quite
the budding young artist.

So, you saw me riding Soos?

- Zeus?
- Soos.

S‐O‐O‐S. Hebrew for "horse."

I'm a rabbi who rides a horse.
Imagine that.

My family is from South Carolina
and in the South,

many young boys
learn how to ride.

Speaking of which, Lionel,

Sandy here wants to sign up
for Just Folks.

I don't doubt it.
You're gonna have a great,

and I might add,
unique experience.

The world is more
than New Jersey.

Yes, sir.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

NARRATOR: German tank columns
roll across the Russian steppes

toward Kiev and Moscow,

with Leningrad
already preparing defenses.

Citizens are being mobilized
to line the city's perimeter

with open trenches,
timber barricades,

wire entanglements...

From everything on the radio,

it seems like they're falling
apart just like the French.

Yeah. It's not good.

With this action, Adolf Hitler
has established himself

as the world's
greatest safeguard

against the spread of communism
and its evil.

If the German army is successful

in its struggle
against Soviet Bolshevism,

and there's every reason
to believe it will be,

America will never have
to face the threat

of a voracious communist state
imposing its pernicious system

- on our world.
- As opposed to the Nazi system.

Lying son of a bitch bastard.

Well, they played the same card
with Spain.

You don't stand with the fascists,
and you're a red.

NARRATOR:
Meanwhile, to the west,

England fights alone

with its forced allied
with the Greek army

battling the Nazis
on the island of Crete.

And here, we see victorious
Tommy commandos

returning
from Operation Claymore,

where they captured
or killed 200 Germans

and burned military stores
and installations.

INSTRUCTOR: Meet Fritz, lads.

You've spent hours perfecting
this maneuver,

but how many of you have had
the occasion to cut a throat?

It's not as easy
as one might expect,

especially when one is tasked with
doing the deed in absolute silence.

And there's the no small matter

of all that blood
to contend with.

So, today, gentlemen,
another method.

One that I favor.

Notice it has three knots,
one on either end

and one in the middle.
Why are the knots on either end?

DRILL LEADER: Stay with it!

- Levin.
- So the rope won't slip through your hands.

INSTRUCTOR: Precisely.

The knee in the lower back
is very important.

Provides the necessary fulcrum
for the snapping motion

that crushes the windpipe,
silences the vocal cords.

- Shall we give it a try?
- Line up!

How'd you know about the knots?

Motherfucker, I'm from Jersey.

That was a good meal, Mom.

(SIGHS) Why, thank you.

Dad, could you sign this?

It's for a summer program.

HERMAN: Where did you get this?

SANDY LEVIN: Aunt Evelyn.

She's picked out a farm
in Kentucky for me to go to.

There's a boy my age. Orin.

Sandy.

Your sister is really working
on this crap with Bengelsdorf?

I thought you were gonna
talk sense into her.

She shouldn't be anywhere
near that man.

Office of American Absorption.

So, we need to be absorbed,
do we?

We're not American enough yet?

Living on Summit Avenue
in the city of Newark

in the state of New Jersey.
I'm not American enough?

Or your mother or you?
Or your brother?

This is just a great opportunity
and that's all.

It is nothing to do
with anti‐Semitism,

- if that's what you think.
- It doesn't?

This is just
a great opportunity.

I wanna go to Kentucky
and I wanna live on a farm

and I want to draw those things
in those places.

They're not sending you to draw.

Don't you understand, Sandy?

This is what Nazis do
with their Hitler Youth ideas.

They turn children
against their parents.

You're not going.

You're scared of anything
you don't know.

And you're scared of anywhere
you haven't been

or anyone who isn't Jewish!

Is that what you think?

Hey!

Herman, stop! Herman!

Stop.

This is not helping him,
and it's not helping you.

Just stop.

I got it. I got it.

(MOANING)

It's been a long time since...

(SOFTLY) Yes.

Only my... wife and...

after her...

I understand.

I hope that, uh...

It's like riding a bicycle.

I don't know
how to ride a bicycle.

(CHUCKLING)

She's his mistress, isn't she?

Mistress? He's a widower.

Bess.

(HERMAN SIGHS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(CLEARS THROAT)

MAJOR: At ease.

ALVIN LEVIN:
Okay, uh... I know what this is.

It's the form that gives you
the right to kill me

if I open my mouth
about what he's gonna tell me.

Be assured, Private Levin,

the Secrets Act
is not taken lightly.

If there are
no more formalities...

So, what are you sellin'?

You are aware of radar?

It's what we use on the coast

to track the German bombers,
right?

We're also working on
an offshoot of radar technology:

pulsed navigation.

Can either of you make heads
or tails of that schematic?

Speak freely.

ALVIN: Uh... I'm just...

spitballin' from the diagram,
but you...

you put an electric beam
or, uh... a beacon

on a plane and it sends pulses.

Triangulate the pulses
with ground units,

and you can locate planes.
Is that correct?

Quick studies, both of you.
Can I ask where you acquired

a healthy understanding
of electronics?

- University of Warwick, sir.
- Irv Simkowitz's garage, sir.

Well, in any event,
your unit may soon be targeting

a facility where the Germans
are employing some version

of pulsed navigation
of their own.

If so, we'd like to acquire it,
and of course,

that requires someone
in your unit to know

what the components look like
and how they operate.

Uh, Hastings, sir,
has been to college

and he knows a lot more
about this than me already.

We've nominated you both
on the good chance

that one of you gets killed
on the way in or out.

I signed on to kill Krauts,

not to rummage around
machine parts.

Levin, if it's any solace,

I imagine you'll
get some modest chance

to kill Germans
just getting there and back.

Now, may we proceed?

(SIGHS)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

Sandy, wait.

I'll be on the steps.

Do you wanna look at this house
on Chancellor today?

I have an errand after work.

Maybe tomorrow then.

Herman.

He'll get over it, Bess.

Just be gentle with him.

I'm gentle with everyone.

Watch me tonight at dinner
with your sister.

I'll be the goddamn picture
of calm.

RADIO ANNOUNCER:
in Washington.

President Lindbergh
has left the country.

White House officials confirm
he's flying abroad

on a diplomatic mission
to an unnamed destination.

Of course, we can't be sure
what the German components

will look like,
but the basic principles

are likely to be the same.

For you to know
what you're looking for,

it's best if you know
how it works.

Show them, sergeant.

(MACHINE WHIRS, BEEPS)

RADAR OPERATOR:
All right, see the echo there

on the scope. You see it?

That's what you call in.

CLERK: Admissible immigrants
can be American or British subjects,

however, you need to demonstrate
enough capital to maintain

a family or be an agriculturist
of sufficient means.

Your husband is not a farmer,
and you haven't amassed

sufficient capital to qualify.

Absent those economic
preconditions or...

any other familial connection
to the Dominion of Canada,

I'm not sure what I can say.

Familial connection?

(INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER RADIO)

MURPHY: That to June?

What'd you write?

Fuck you, Murphy.

(LAUGHS)

It's just... I wanna write
a letter to Gloria, you know.

In case.

And Jews are good with words.

(CHUCKLING)

Damn, brother.

You send this to me,
and I'll marry you.

(CHUCKLING)

SERGEANT: Wrap it up.
Complete the check of all gear

and leave last letters
in your foot lockers.

RADIO ANNOUNCER:
The BBC has verified reports

that the American president
traveled to Iceland,

for a secret meeting
with Adolf Hitler and his‐‐

- (REEL CLICKS RAPIDLY)
- That son of a bitch.

Now, it's all out in the open.

What a‐‐ What a betrayal.

Isn't that something?

To see the American president
shaking hands with Hitler

like he's any other fella?

Yes. It's something.

The Iceland Understanding
promises strict neutrality.

We just cut the British dead,
just like we did in Spain.

They're all alone. Just waiting
for the Germans to invade.

- Congress won't stand for it.
- Oh, won't they?

We don't have enough Democrats
left after the landslide.

Canada.

Before it's too late, Herman.

(HERMAN SIGHS)

Oh, no, Phillip.
Um... It's Shabbas.

We're eating
in the dining room tonight.

In fact, can you go downstairs
and look on the inside line

to see if the good tablecloth
is dry?

(MARTIN WISHNOW COUGHING)

SELMA WISHNOW:
Use the towel, Martin.

You don't want to bleed
on the bed sheet.

(COUGHING CONTINUES)

(MACHINE CLANGS)

(COUGHING CONTINUES)

Is it okay if I go outside
and play if I'm finished eating?

If you finished your homework,
you can, but stay on Summit.

Don't go wandering off
with bedtime coming.

And say goodbye to your aunt,
please.

- Bye, Aunt Evelyn.
- Bye, sweetie.

PHILLIP: What are you doing?

- I thought Sandy would be here.
- SELDON: I gotta go to bed soon.

- PHILLIP: How soon?
- He's having dinner at a friend's house.

They had a school project.

PHILLIP:
Let's play over there until

- your mom says it's bedtime.
- SELDON: Okay.

- PHILLIP: Let's go, come on!
- SELDON: Okay, coming!

Well... in any event,

you know I spoke to him
about Kentucky.

Why would I send my son...

to another family
for the summer?

Herman...

What are you worried
could possibly happen on a farm?

‐We know you meant to‐‐
‐After seeing our president

shake hands with Adolf Hitler,

it's only natural
for every Jewish father

to be concerned that
this Just Folks program

is the first step in his plan

to come between Jewish children
and their families.

That's ridiculous!

Do you think Rabbi Bengelsdorf
would be part of any such thing?

HERMAN: I think that man...

would sell every last Israelite
back to Pharaoh.

(SCOFFS)

You're just afraid that Sandy
might escape winding up

as narrow minded
and frightened as you.

BESS LEVIN:
That's a terrible thing to say.

‐We have good reason‐‐
‐HERMAN: It's okay, Bess.

Your sister is entitled
to her opinion.

So, this isn't about making Jews
less Jewish?

It's just about introducing
city kids

to the wonders
of real American life.

I'll tell you what, Evelyn,
let's make a deal.

When the Just Folks program
sends the first Negro child

from Newark to summer
with a white farm family,

I'll let Sandy go to Kentucky.

Bess.

See? That one's a leaner.

That's good?

You want to be closest
to the wall,

and a leaner's as close
as you can get, right?

Throw a card.

Kinda. But make it spin.

Seldon,
is your dad doing any better?

I spin it like this?

Yeah.

Is your dad okay?

He coughs a lot.

(DOOR OPENS AND SLAMS)

SELDON: Isn't that better?
That's a good one.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

MAN: Hurry up, David.
You'll miss the bus.

That house on Bayview sold
in only three weeks.

There's three single‐dwelling
listings in the neighborhood

with four bedrooms
and two baths.

Why don't we take a look?

(SIGHS) The Bayview house
was newly conditioned,

but sold for 500 less than
the asking price.

This house on Field Place,
that's the Kalmanowsky house.

I worked on the PTA
with Rebecca.

I spoke with her Thursday.

They're selling to build up
capital to move to Canada.

So are the Silvermans.

This is not the time to buy,
Herman.

I went into New York...

to the Canadian consulate there.

- Bess.
- We are now on the preferred immigration list,

thanks to Alvin
being in the Canadian army.

I'm not leaving, Bess.

Maybe it's too early to leave,

but it's not too early
to have a backup plan.

When school finishes,

instead of taking the boys
to Washington,

why don't we drive up
along the lake and see Toronto?

We can get a sense of things.
See how it feels.

We've been planning and saving

for a Washington trip
since last year.

The hotel is reserved.

We showed the boys
the brochures, the monuments.

Herman...

Just think about it, please.

(ENGINE RUMBLES)

There's a Statue of Freedom
on top of the dome.

I have a stamp of it.

Sandy,
what do you want to see first?

(GROANS)
I think I missed our turn.

I don't know.

(CAR HORNS HONK)

- (TIRES SCREECH)
- BESS: Oh!

(SIREN WAILS)

What's going on, Jersey?

We're looking for our hotel.
What's it called again, Bess?

- Um...
- Speak up, miss.

‐I‐‐
‐HERMAN: Uh...

The Douglas Hotel. K Street.

Thattaboy. Follow me, Jersey.

HERMAN: Thank you.

Hey. Hey! Stop.

We're getting
the royal treatment.

But how do you know
where he's taking us, Herman?

- Where are we going?
- Bess.

We're going to our hotel.

Bess, he's taking us
to our hotel. What's wrong?

Nothing. (SNIFFS)

Nothing, forgive me.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

Our car has arrived.

Was that painted in Charleston?

Yes, it was a wedding gift...

from my parents.

BESS: Uh, that one
over here, please.

BELLHOP: Yes, ma'am.

BESS: Thank you.

HERMAN: Thank you.
This is for you.

BELLHOP: Thank you, sir.
Please enjoy your stay.

BESS: Herman,
where'd you put the brochure?

HERMAN:
Uh, should be in your bag.

Phillip. Pajamas, right now.

Mom.

There are four of
these little soaps.

- One for each of us.
- That's swell,

but we have a big day tomorrow.
You need to be in bed.

EVELYN LEVIN:
Your wife was beautiful.

The portrait.

For a cleric, I seem to have
an eye for that sort of thing.

There's Ford.

- That's Henry Ford?
- Mm‐hm.

As Secretary of the Interior,
he will be introducing me.

He hates Jews.
Everyone knows it.

He does. And yet, he will be

entirely polite
when you meet him.

Do you know why?

Because you have
the president's ear.

And the president is not,
despite what others say,

a Jew hater.

So, Mr. Ford will behave.

A moment or two, please.

I know that in these sort
of things, it may say

the wrong thing
to not start anew,

to have this be a memory
or keepsake of another woman.

I told myself a few times
that it wasn't fair of me

to try to connect my past
to your present.

Oh, Lionel...

Please, Evelyn, I thought about
what I wanted to say to you.

See, the truth is,
I loved my wife,

and now, very quickly,

I find that I love you
in the same way.

So, I can think of nothing
that meant more to me than...

giving you this,

which was hers, and...

now, if you will take it...

- (EVELYN GASPS)
- entirely yours.

Put it on.

‐(GASPS) ‐Good.

(CHUCKLES)

WALTER WINCHELL:
Flash: Washington.

It seems our president's
embargo on all material

to warring nations
has a loophole

that allows
US Interior Secretary

and raving Jew‐baiter
Henry Ford,

along with other
rogue industrialists

to quietly sell petroleum,
vehicles,

and even munitions to the Nazis.

So, Mr. and Mrs. America,
those bombs falling in London

are stamped
"Made in the US of A."

- (TELEGRAPH PULSES) - WALTER
WINCHELL: Flash: Montana. By next week,

this reporter will have the
list of sites under

consideration for what my
sources call relocation camps

in the event of any so‐called
national emergency,

sites mainly located in Montana,

home state of Lindbergh's
Vice President,

suck‐up Democrat,
Burton K. Wheeler.

That's right,
Mr. and Mrs. America,

there are plans
for concentration camps

in the Land of the Free.
But that's it for now

from the editorial room
of the Jergens Journal

and yours truly,
Walter Winchell.

Son of a bitch isn't just in bed
with Hitler.

Charlie Lindbergh wants to be
another little Hitler himself.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

SERGEANT: All out.

Think of it as
another training mission.

With live fire.

Re‐check the gear.

What are you
most looking forward to seeing?

The Washington Monument.

The name's Taylor, folks.

I'm a professional guide
to the capital.

I'll drive for ya,
take you to the sites,

tell you all there is to know.
And I'll make sure you eat

where the price is right
and the food is good.

All it'll cost you,
using your own automobile,

is just nine dollars a day.

Here's my license.

Uh...

Looks good to me, sir, but...

I don't think nine bucks a day
is in the cards.

Not for this family.

I appreciate that,
but on your own, sir,

you doing the driving
and not knowing your way and...

well, trying to find parking
and a good meal?

Sir, you and your family

won't see half
of what you will with me.

Let me take this up
with the wife.

I don't know. Who sent him?

How did he spot our car?

Jersey tags,
parked outside of a hotel.

It's his job to find tourists.

- Taylor, you said it was?
- TAYLOR: Yes, sir.

HERMAN: Name's Levin.

Nine dollars for today
will be fine, but...

- BESS: In you go.
- we'll see how you do

before deciding on tomorrow.

TAYLOR: That's perfectly
acceptable to me.

Should we begin with
a short drive...

- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- (BELL RINGING)

I thought it might be France.

Fuck it. Nazis wherever we go.

(BELL RINGS)

TAYLOR: You want to save
the Lincoln Memorial

for tomorrow?

It's not like you all
haven't seen your fill today.

Jefferson Memorial,
Capitol dome,

Archives, Washington Monument.

We're here now.

And it will be beautiful
at night.

I'm just glad we took
the elevator and not the stairs

at the Washington Monument.

I can only agree with you,
ma'am.

(BESS CHUCKLES)

And the monument was cleaned
a few years back.

Took five months
and 100,000 dollars.

- Under FDR?
- Yes, it was.

And do people care? No.

They want an airmail pilot
for their president.

WOMAN: Hannah, come on!
We're going for ice cream!

- MAN: Marjorie.
- Boys.

- MARJORIE: Yeah?
- SANDY: Yes, Mr. Taylor?

TAYLOR: This is
the eastern facade...

You've got to stop
talking like that.

It's just expressing my opinion.

We do not know who this man is.

He's an authorized guide
with the documents to prove it.

We're not in Berlin.

TAYLOR: Now, up at the top
of the Memorial,

you boys will see the 36 states
preserved in the Union.

HERMAN: When you think of what
this country does

‐to its greatest presidents‐‐
‐Herman, please don't start.

I'm not starting anything.

This was a great tragedy.
Isn't that right, boys?

I was just saying, Mr. Taylor,
it is the damnedest thing

what this country does
to its great men.

Well, thank goodness
for Lindbergh.

Compare Lincoln to Lindbergh?

Something bothering you
about what the lady just said?

Loudmouth Jew.

TAYLOR: Now, boys.
The original plans

indicated this entrance
was to be covered by a...

Let's go over here and see
his most famous speech

chiseled in marble.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

To hear those words, here,
in a shrine to a man like this.

Only 272 words in the address
Lincoln made at Gettysburg.

Think you'd hear that
if Roosevelt was president?

People wouldn't dare.

Read that, Phillip.

"All men are created equal."
It's plain as day.

Herman, I can't go on like this.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- (PRIEST SPEAKING LATIN)
- ALVIN: (SIGHS) Last rites?

No, communion. A mass.

Last rites is when you think
you bought it.

(PRIEST CONTINUES
IN LATIN)

Don't, uh, Jews have a prayer
they say

if they think they're gonna die?

Uh, the Sh'ma, yeah.

What's it say?

It says, uh...

"God, you kidding me? Come on,
stop busting balls already."

(PRIEST SPEAKING LATIN)

SOLDIER: Amen.

What's our luggage doing here?

Folks, I should apologize.

I packed these for you
as our clerk made a mistake.

The room that he gave you
was reserved for another family.

What?

My‐‐ My wife wrote you people.
You‐‐ You wrote us back,

we‐‐ we had a reservation
months ago.

Sir, the room is taken
and there are no vacancies.

Here is your deposit.

Uh, wait a minute.

We will not charge you
for your night in the room

or for a bar of soap
that is missing.

Missing? A soap bar?

- Are you saying we stole it?
- MANAGER: No, sir.

I wouldn't haggle
about something so small.

What the hell
are you talking about?

Mr. Levin, if you are going
to make a scene‐‐

Yes, I'm going to make a scene
till I find out what's going on.

MANAGER: Then I have no choice
but to phone the police.

Shall I call the police, sir?
Or will you take your bags

and your family
and leave immediately?

Call the police.

Mr. Levin, you are perfectly
in the right,

but the police
are not the solution here.

Yes, they are.

Herman.

Herman, it's over.

Mr. Taylor is taking our bags
to the car.

MANAGER: Yes, operator,
I need the police, please.

Yes, we're having trouble
with a man here.

No, he is not a guest.

Officer, you had no right
to remove me from that hotel

where we had a reservation
and a room.

Look, the manager already
returned your deposit.

He even packed up
your belongings for you.

Because we're Jewish.

That's what this is about.

Herman, let's just go.

Mr. Taylor has found us a room
nearby.

No. This officer knows
why we were evicted.

He knows, the manger knows.

I think you ought to listen
to your wife...

Levin.

Leave the premises...

before you wear out my patience.

(CAR ENGINE IGNITES)

"Loudmouth Jew."

I gotta tell ya, Mr. Taylor,
yesterday was a shock.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

You listen to Winchell,
Mr. Taylor?

On the radio the other night,
he was asking

what else Hitler and Lindbergh
agreed to in Iceland.

Did they reach an understanding
on America's Jews?

And if so, what was it?

Hey, what's doin'?

Back up, will ya?

‐(SNIFFS) ‐Do we have a problem?

Winchell's a Jew paid for
by the British,

so if there ever was
a loudmouth Jew‐‐

- That is enough.
- SERVER: Hey! Hey!

This ain't a corner saloon,
mister, and don't forget it.

I want you folks to fill
your coffee cups

as much as you like, and, um...
And let the boys come

to the counter
for some more ice cream. Okay?

HERMAN: That's very kind of you.
Thank you.

- Herman, let's just go.
- Absolutely not.

We are finishing our food.

And you, Mr. Taylor,
more coffee?

No, I'm fine.

So, Mr. Taylor,

what kind of job did you do
before this one?

Don't you worry. The Jews
will find out soon enough.

I was asking Mr. Taylor
what kind of work he did

before becoming a guide.

Keep eating your ice cream,
boys.

Is it good?

You've apparently
got more of it coming.

I was a college teacher.

I should have known.
What college?

Uh, Wabash.
I'm from Indiana originally.

HERMAN: Ah, Wabash.
Everybody has heard of that.

I'm not so sure they have,
Mr. Levin.

Isn't there a song
about the Wabash River?

Oh, sure. I know that one. Uh...

(SINGING) ♪ Oh, the moonlight's
Fair tonight along the Wabash ♪

♪ From the fields, there comes
The breath of new mown hay ♪

♪ Through the sycamores
The candlelight is gleaming ♪

♪ On the banks of the Wabash
Far away ♪

Good. That's very good.

My husband
has a lovely singing voice.

♪ Many years have passed
Since I strolled by the river ♪

♪ Arm in arm
With my sweetheart by my side ♪

♪ It was there I tried
To tell her that I loved her ♪

♪ It was there I begged of her
To be my bride ♪

♪ Oh, the moonlight's
Fair tonight along the Wabash ♪

(GIGGLING)

♪ From the fields, there comes
The breath of new mown hay ♪

♪ Through the sycamores
The candlelight is gleaming ♪

♪ On the banks of the Wabash ♪

♪ Far away ♪

(APPLAUSE)

There will be no encore.

Boychik...

I'm thinking of letting you
go do Just Folks in Kentucky.

What? Why?

Well, if Kentucky is anything
like Washington, DC,

you'll probably meet
some lousy people.

But if it's anything
like Indiana,

you'll probably meet some
good ones like Mr. Taylor here.

But either way,

it will be for you to find out.

Now, you and your brother
go get that extra ice cream,

and uh... pick out a sandwich
for the road,

have them bag it up.
It's a long trip home.

Thank you for an excellent tour,
Mr. Taylor.

Honored, Mr. Levin.

TRAIN ANNOUNCER: (OVER PA)
Now boarding on track two.

Now boarding on track two.
Train 64, The Jeffersonian.

It's gonna be an eye‐opening
experience, you'll see.

Hope so, Evelyn.

- I hope so.
- Sandy.

EVELYN: Goodbye, Sandy!

- SANDY: Bye, Mom.
- Have fun!

SANDY: I will.

(TRAIN HORN BLARES)

How's that? Now, let me know
if it's too tight.

PATIENT: That's fine.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

NURSE 2: You might prefer
to look away.

(NURSE CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)

♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

RABBI LIONEL BENGELSDORF:
So, now we find ourselves

at the second phase
of this great undertaking.

We open the country
to a permanent migration

of Jewish families.

To be clear,
the Homestead Act involves

voluntary participation
in the program, correct?

How could it be otherwise?

WOMAN: We are planning
for the upcoming visit

of the German minister,
so I wanted to see your face

when I gave you this.

- You had no right.
- The man is a Nazi.

Charles Lindbergh is a hero!

Do you understand what you are
going to do to your reputation?

You're ghetto Jews.
Narrow‐minded ghetto Jews.

Don't ever talk back like that
ever again.

You're a dictator.
You're worse than Hitler!

WOMAN 2: Sandy!

HERMAN LEVIN:
Everywhere he goes,

Hitler beats down
and shoots the Jews.

It may be a time
when he comes here...

to America
to beat down and shoot us.

And what will
our president do then?

This is not an evil man.

♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪