The Twilight Zone (1959–1964): Season 3, Episode 9 - Deaths-Head Revisited - full transcript
A former German SS captain returns to Dachau concentration camp and begins reminiscing on the power he enjoyed there, until he finds himself on trial by those who died at his hands.
( theme music playing)
YOU'RE TRAVELING THROUGH
ANOTHER DIMENSION...
A DIMENSION NOT ONLY OF
SIGHT AND SOUND, BUT OF MIND,
A JOURNEY INTO A WONDROUS LAND
WHOSE BOUNDARIES
ARE THAT OF IMAGINATION.
YOUR NEXT STOP,
THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
( rings bell)
YES, SIR.
I'VE JUST ARRIVED IN TOWN.
DO YOU HAVE ACCOMMODATIONS HERE?
I CAN GIVE YOU A
LOVELY FRONT ROOM
OVERLOOKING THE SQUARE.
WOULD YOU CARE TO SEE IT?
I AM SURE IT WILL
BE SATISFACTORY.
YES? ANYTHING WRONG?
NO, SIR.
MR. SCHMIDT?
THAT'S WHAT I'VE WRITTEN.
OF COURSE, SIR.
OF COURSE, WHAT?
I... I JUST MEANT, SIR...
I JUST WONDERED...
IT'S JUST THAT...
WHAT? YOU JUST WONDERED WHAT?
IT'S JUST THAT... YOU REMIND ME
OF SOMEONE. OH?
DURING THE WAR.
GO ON.
THERE WERE... THERE
WERE S.S. STATIONED HERE.
THEY USED TO COME
TO THE INN VERY OFTEN.
I SPENT THE WAR YEARS
ON THE RUSSIAN FRONT...
THE PANZER DIVISION.
OF COURSE.
WAS IT A PRISON OR
SOMETHING YOU HAD HERE?
SOMETHING OF THE SORT, SIR.
WAS IT A PRISON?
A CAMP, SIR.
HOW'S THAT?
A CAMP, MR. SCHMIDT.
A CONCENTRATION CAMP.
A CONCENTRATION CAMP.
REALLY?
NOW, THAT'S ODD.
FOR THE LIFE OF ME, I
CAN'T SEEM TO RECALL
THE NAME OF THIS TOWN.
SIR?
THE NAME OF THIS TOWN!
WHAT IS THE NAME OF THIS TOWN?
DACHAU, SIR.
DACHAU.
DACHAU.
OF COURSE, DACHAU.
THE CAMP, IT'S THAT
GROUP OF BUILDINGS
UP ON THE HILL, ISN'T IT?
IT IS, INDEED.
BUT MOST OF US WOULD LIKE
IT BURNED TO THE GROUND.
MR. SCHMIDT, RECENTLY ARRIVED
IN A SMALL BAVARIAN VILLAGE
WHICH LIES EIGHT MILES
NORTHWEST OF MUNICH...
A PICTURESQUE,
DELIGHTFUL LITTLE SPOT
ONE TIME KNOWN FOR ITS SCENERY,
BUT MORE RECENTLY
RELATED TO OTHER EVENTS
HAVING TO DO WITH SOME OF THE
LESS POSITIVE PURSUITS OF MAN:
HUMAN SLAUGHTER,
TORTURE, MISERY AND ANGUISH.
MR. SCHMIDT, AS WE
WILL SOON PERCEIVE,
HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN THE
RUINS OF A CONCENTRATION CAMP,
FOR ONCE, SOME 17 YEARS AGO,
HIS NAME WAS GUNTHER LUTZE.
HE HELD THE RANK
OF A CAPTAIN IN THE SS.
HE WAS A BLACK-UNIFORMED,
STRUTTING ANIMAL
WHOSE FUNCTION IN
LIFE WAS TO GIVE PAIN,
AND LIKE HIS
COLLEAGUES OF THE TIME
HE SHARED THE ONE AFFLICTION
MOST COMMON AMONGST
THAT BREED KNOWN AS NAZIS:
HE WALKED THE EARTH
WITHOUT A HEART.
AND NOW FORMER
S.S. CAPTAIN LUTZE
WILL REVISIT HIS OLD
HAUNTS, SATISFIED PERHAPS
THAT ALL THAT IS AWAITING
HIM IN THE RUINS ON THE HILL
IS AN ELEMENT OF NOSTALGIA.
WHAT HE DOES NOT
KNOW, OF COURSE,
IS THAT A PLACE LIKE DACHAU
CANNOT EXIST ONLY IN BAVARIA.
BY ITS NATURE, BY
ITS VERY NATURE,
IT MUST BE ONE OF THE POPULATED
AREAS OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
ALL RIGHT, PIGS, UP!
TIME TO GREET THE MORNING.
ON YOUR FEET, FILTH!
WE HAVE A NICE DAY AHEAD OF US.
IT'S SNOWING.
TEMPERATURE'S ARE
SLIGHTLY BELOW ZERO.
YOU WILL ALL ASSEMBLE
IN THE SQUARE.
AND DRESS.
WE'LL DO SOME EXERCISES.
I AND YOU!
I AND YOU!
I AND YOU!
( soft thud)
DETENTION... YES,
I REMEMBER YOU.
WE HAD SOME GOOD
TIMES IN THIS BUILDING.
( chuckles)
SUCH GOOD TIMES.
YOU'D LIKE WATER,
NUMBER... 23575?
IS THAT WHAT YOU'D
LIKE? YOU'D LIKE WATER?
BUT WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
IT'S ONLY BEEN FIVE DAYS
SINCE YOU'VE BEEN FED.
FIVE LITTLE DAYS!
( door closes)
GOOD AFTERNOON,
CAPTAIN, AND WELCOME BACK.
WE'VE BEEN WAITING.
( hinge creaks)
THAT'S RIGHT, CAPTAIN.
WE'VE BEEN WAITING
FOR A LONG TIME.
YOU'RE... YOU'RE
BECKER... ALFRED BECKER.
I REMEMBER YOU.
AND WELL YOU SHOULD.
HOW WELL YOU
SHOULD, CAPTAIN LUTZE.
YOU DON'T LOOK SO BAD, BECKER.
NO, AS A MATTER OF FACT,
YOU LOOK QUITE WELL.
YOU DON'T SEEM TO
HAVE CHANGED AT ALL.
THAT'S IT... YOU
HAVEN'T CHANGED.
WHY, IT'S BEEN... IT'S
BEEN 15 OR 16 YEARS.
IT'S BEEN 17 YEARS, CAPTAIN,
SINCE YOU AND I
LAST SAW EACH OTHER.
REALLY?
YOU'RE THE CARETAKER
AROUND HERE?
IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING.
IT'S ODD HOW PATHS CROSS, AND...
WE MEET AGAIN
UNDER SOMEWHAT
HAPPIER CIRCUMSTANCES.
( wind howls)
WHAT WAS THAT?
IT SOUNDED LIKE...
THE WIND, CAPTAIN?
WIND?
PERHAPS.
PERHAPS IT WAS THE WIND, EH?
OF COURSE.
OF COURSE IT WAS THE WIND.
IT WAS NOT THE WIND.
IT WAS... IT WAS... IT
WAS WHAT, CAPTAIN?
STOP CALLING ME CAPTAIN!
I'M NOT A SOLDIER ANYMORE.
( howling)
YOU NEVER WERE A SOLDIER.
THE UNIFORM YOU WORE
CANNOT BE STRIPPED OFF.
IT WAS PART OF YOU, PART OF
YOUR FLESH, PART OF YOUR BODY.
IT WAS A PIECE OF YOUR MIND.
A TATTOO, CAPTAIN.
A SKULL AND CROSSBONES
BURNED INTO YOUR SOUL.
I WAS A SOLDIER, BECKER.
NO, CAPTAIN, YOU WERE A SADIST.
YOU WERE A MONSTER
WHO DERIVED PLEASURE
FROM GIVING PAIN.
LISTEN TO ME, BECKER.
THERE'S NO MORE WAR.
THAT'S ALL IN THE PAST.
THERE ARE NO MORE CAMPS.
IT'S RIDICULOUS.
IT'S UTTERLY RIDICULOUS
TO DWELL ON THESE THINGS.
YOU DID AS YOU
THOUGHT BEST, AND I...
I FUNCTIONED AS I WAS TOLD.
( howling)
Lutze: WHAT IS THIS NOISE?
STRANGE THAT IT
SHOULD DISTURB YOU
SO IT NEVER USED TO, CAPTAIN.
WHEN YOUR VICTIMS SCREAMED
YOU WEREN'T SO SENSITIVE.
BUT NOW, THEY ARE NOT SCREAMING.
NO, THEY ARE REACTING.
THEY JUST HEARD YOU
OFFER THE APOLOGY
FOR ALL THE MONSTERS
OF OUR TIMES.
"WE DID AS WE WERE TOLD."
"WE FUNCTIONED AS ORDERED."
"WE MERELY CARRIED OUT
DIRECTIVES FROM OUR SUPERIORS."
FAMILIAR, IS IT, CAPTAIN?
IT WAS THE NAZI THEME
MUSIC AT NUREMBERG,
THE NEW LYRICS TO
THE GOTTERDAMMERUNG,
THE PLAINTIVE LITANY OF THE
MASTER RACE AS IT LAY DYING.
"WE DID NOT DO, OTHERS DID."
OR "SOMEONE ELSE DID IT.
"WE NEVER EVEN KNEW
THAT IT WAS BEING DONE."
OR "WE DID IT, BUT
OTHERS TOLD US TO."
CAPTAIN LUTZE... TEN
MILLION HUMAN BEINGS
WERE TORTURED TO
DEATH IN CAMPS LIKE THIS.
MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN,
INFANTS, TIRED OLD MEN...
YOU BURNED THEM IN FURNACES.
YOU SHOVELED
THEM INTO THE EARTH.
YOU TORE UP THEIR
BODIES IN RAGE,
AND NOW YOU COME BACK
TO YOUR SCENES OF HORROR
AND YOU WONDER THAT THE
MISERY THAT YOU PLANTED
HAS LIVED AFTER YOU?
( howling grows louder)
THERE'S NO POINT IN TALKING
ABOUT THIS ANY LONGER.
I MUST LEAVE YOU NOW, BECKER.
I TOLD YOU I HAD
TO LEAVE, BECKER!
WHY DID YOU COME
BACK, CAPTAIN LUTZE?
YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME.
YOU WERE QUITE SAFE DOWN
THERE IN SOUTH AMERICA.
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAVE
BROUGHT YOU BACK HERE?
ONE MISSES THE
FATHERLAND, BECKER.
ONE GROWS NOSTALGIC
FOR THE GOOD OLD DAYS.
I HAD THOUGHT...
I HAD HOPED THAT WITH
THE PASSAGE OF TIME
SANITY WOULD HAVE RETURNED,
PEOPLE WOULD BE
WILLING TO FORGET THE...
LITTLE MISTAKES OF THE PAST.
LITTLE MISTAKES?
LITTLE MIS...?
YOU ASK TOO MUCH,
CAPTAIN LUTZE... FAR TOO MUCH.
WHY NOT ASK FOR THE EARTH
TO STOP REVOLVING IN ITS AXIS?
DON'T ASK THE
IMPOSSIBLE, CAPTAIN LUTZE.
DO NOT ASK FORGIVENESS
FROM THOSE WHOM YOU
HAVE DESTROYED TO A POINT
PAST FORGIVENESS.
BUT TIME IS SHORT, CAPTAIN.
WE HAVE SOMETHING TO
ACCOMPLISH HERE TODAY.
ACCOMPLISH?
WHAT?
YOUR TRIAL.
IT IS TIME FOR
YOUR TRIAL, CAPTAIN.
THE COURT IS CONVENING
IN COMPOUND SIX.
THE COURT?
WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?
IS THIS A JOKE?
NO... NO JOKE, CAPTAIN.
YOUR TRIAL.
YOU WILL BE TRIED FOR
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.
BY WHOM? WHO WILL TRY ME?
YOU'RE INSANE, BECKER.
YOU WERE INSANE WHEN I
USED TO STRING YOU UP AND...
WHEN YOU USED TO
STRING ME UP, CAPTAIN?
SUSPENDED OVER A HOT PIPE?
FEED ME SALT WATER
UNTIL MY TONGUE SWELLED?
BURNED ME WITH
CIGARETTE BUTTS ALL OVER
AND LAUGHED WHEN I SCREAMED
TO PLEASE PUT AN END TO IT,
TO PLEASE HAVE
MERCY AND KILL ME?
YOUR MEMORY'S
QUITE GOOD, CAPTAIN.
QUITE GOOD, INDEED.
COME.
SHALL WE GO?
THE COURT IS WAITING.
NO!
SHALL WE PROCEED, CAPTAIN LUTZE?
PLEASE.
PLEASE LET ME OUT OF HERE.
THIS... THIS IS...
THIS IS INHUMAN!
I MUST GET OUT OF HERE.
I MUST GET OUT OF HERE!
WE INMATES OF COMPOUND SIX,
DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP
VERSUS GUNTHER
LUTZE, CAPTAIN, S.S.
INDICTMENT ONE: THAT
HE CONDEMNED TO DEATH
WITHOUT A TRIAL
1,700 HUMAN BEINGS.
INDICTMENT TWO:
THAT HE DID MAIM AND
TORTURE WITHOUT PROVOCATION
THOUSANDS AND
THOUSANDS OF HUMAN BEINGS.
INDICTMENT THREE: NO... NO...
THAT HE DID DELIBERATELY CONDONE
THE USE OF CRIMINAL
MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS
ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
NO!
NO! NO!
INDICTMENT FOUR: THAT HE DID
PERSONALLY MURDER AT LEAST...
OH... OH, NO! NO!
NO! NO!
NO! NO!
NO!
INDICTMENT FIVE:
THAT HE DID SIGN
AND PUT INTO EFFECT
SPECIFIC ORDERS
CALLING FOR THE
GASSING AND CREMATING
OF ONE MILLION HUMAN BEINGS.
( screams)
( scream grows distorted)
I...
I FELL ASLEEP.
NO, YOU WERE
UNCONSCIOUS FOR AWHILE.
I HAD SUCH A DREAM.
YOU HAD NO DREAM, CAPTAIN.
OF COURSE I HAD A DREAM.
I DREAMT... THERE WERE
PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM.
THERE WAS A TRIAL.
GHOSTLY FIGURES.
THEY ARE STILL HERE.
THEY HAVE NEVER LEFT.
THEY WALK THE BUILDINGS
IN THE SQUARE OUTSIDE.
YOU DIDN'T BURY THEM
DEEP ENOUGH, CAPTAIN.
YOU DIDN'T COVER THEM
UP WITH ENOUGH EARTH,
OR PERHAPS THE BULLETS
WERE TOO SMALL A CALIBER,
OR THE FLAMES NOT
SUFFICIENTLY HOT,
OR PERHAPS THERE
WASN'T ENOUGH GAS.
BECKER... BECKER, WHO ARE YOU?
DID YOU FORGET?
THE CARETAKER.
THIS... THIS TRIAL...
THE TRIAL IS OVER,
CAPTAIN LUTZE.
YOU HAVE BEEN FOUND GUILTY.
IT'S TIME TO PRONOUNCE SENTENCE.
YOU ARE GOING TO
PRONOUNCE SENTENCE?
IS THAT WHAT YOU
HAVE IN MIND NOW?
YOU WILL PRONOUNCE SENTENCE,
AND THEN YOU SHALL
EXECUTE THAT SENTENCE?
IS THAT CORRECT?
PIGS! FILTH!
YOU WILL ALL ASSEMBLE
IN THE SQUARE!
YOU WILL PASS SENTENCE
ON CAPTAIN LUTZE!
YOU WILL CRAWL
OUT OF YOUR GRAVES
TO SEE THAT JUSTICE IS DONE!
WHERE ARE THEY?
WHERE'S THE JUDGE?
WHERE'S THE JURY?
WHERE'S THE EXECUTIONER?
SHALL I TELL YOU WHERE THEY ARE?
IN YOUR MIND.
YOU'VE HATCHED THEM
OUT OF YOUR HATRED.
YOU'VE PLANNED YOUR VENGEANCE
OUT OF THE CRAZY QUILT
OF YOUR IMAGINATION
SEWED TOGETHER WITH
THIN LITTLE THREADS
OF WISHFUL THINKING.
WHY DIDN'T I KILL YOU
WHEN I HAD A CHANCE?
WHY DIDN'T I...?
BECKER?
BECKER, I DID KILL YOU.
I KILLED YOU THE
NIGHT... YOU KILLED ME
THE NIGHT THE AMERICANS
CAME CLOSE TO THE CAMP.
YOU TRIED TO BURN
IT DOWN, REMEMBER?
YOU TRIED TO KILL
EVERYONE WHO WAS LEFT.
IN MY CASE, YOU SUCCEEDED.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE A WASTE
OF TIME, CAPTAIN, WOULDN'T IT...
A WASTE OF YOUR PRECIOUS TIME...
OF THAT LITTLE TIME YOU HAVE
LEFT TO MURDER ME AGAIN?
( yells)
Becker: CAPTAIN LUTZE.
CAPTAIN LUTZE, YOU HAVE
BEEN TRIED AND FOUND GUILTY
OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.
IT IS THE UNANIMOUS
JUDGMENT OF THIS COURT
THAT FROM THIS DAY ON, YOU
SHALL BE RENDERED INSANE.
WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?
WHAT IS THIS GIBBERISH?
WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!
AT THIS GATE, YOU SHOT DOWN
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
WITH MACHINE GUNS.
DO YOU FEEL IT NOW, CAPTAIN?
( machine gun firing) DO
YOU FEEL THE BULLETS
SMASHING INTO YOUR BODY?
DO YOU FEEL THE AGONY
OF TORTURED LEAD?
ON THESE POSTS, BY
THE ANGUISHED HOUR
YOU HUNG UP HUMAN
BEINGS TO DIE A SLOW DEATH.
DO YOU FEEL THEIR TORTURE NOW?
IN THIS ROOM, CAPTAIN,
THE THINGS YOU
DID TO HUMAN BEINGS
ARE UNMENTIONABLE.
( agonized wailing)
HOW DOES THEIR TORMENT FEEL?
( agonized screaming)
( screaming continues)
CAPTAIN LUTZE, IF
YOU CAN STILL REASON,
IF THERE'S STILL ANY
PORTION OF YOUR MIND
THAT CAN STILL FUNCTION,
TAKE THIS THOUGHT WITH YOU.
THIS IS NOT HATRED,
THIS IS RETRIBUTION.
THIS IS NOT REVENGE,
THIS IS JUSTICE.
BUT THIS IS ONLY THE
BEGINNING, CAPTAIN.
ONLY THE BEGINNING.
YOUR FINAL JUDGMENT
WILL COME FROM GOD.
WELL, HE'S SO FULL
OF SEDATIVES NOW
HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW
HE'S ON THE EARTH,
BUT I WANT HIM IN THE HOSPITAL,
AND I WANT HIM
STRAPPED TO THE BED.
DOCTOR?
WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?
I DROVE HIM UP HERE
MYSELF NOT TWO HOURS AGO.
HE WAS ALL RIGHT THEN.
I HAVE NO IDEA.
I ONLY KNOW THAT HE IS
SCREAMING THROUGH PAIN.
NO, IT'S MORE THAN
PAIN, IT'S AGONY.
AND THERE ISN'T A MARK ON HIM.
HE'S INSANE, A RAVING MANIAC.
BUT WHAT COULD
HAPPEN IN TWO HOURS
TO TURN A MAN INTO
A RAVING MANIAC?
THAT, SOMEBODY WILL
HAVE TO TELL ME THAT.
DACHAU.
WHY DOES IT STILL STAND?
WHY DO WE KEEP IT STANDING?
THERE IS AN ANSWER TO
THE DOCTOR'S QUESTION.
ALL THE DACHAUS
MUST REMAIN STANDING...
THE DACHAUS, THE
BELSENS, THE BUCHENWALDS,
THE AUSCHWITZES, ALL OF THEM.
THEY MUST REMAIN STANDING
BECAUSE THEY ARE A
MONUMENT TO A MOMENT IN TIME
WHEN SOME MEN DECIDED TO
TURN THE EARTH INTO A GRAVEYARD.
INTO IT, THEY SHOVELED
ALL OF THEIR REASON,
THEIR LOGIC, THEIR KNOWLEDGE,
BUT WORST OF ALL,
THEIR CONSCIENCE.
AND THE MOMENT WE FORGET THIS...
THE MOMENT WE CEASE TO BE
HAUNTED BY ITS REMEMBRANCE...
THEN WE BECOME THE GRAVEDIGGERS.
SOMETHING TO DWELL
ON AND TO REMEMBER,
NOT ONLY IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE,
BUT WHEREVER MEN
WALK GOD'S EARTH.
Announcer: ROD SERLING,
CREATOR OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE,
WILL TELL YOU ABOUT
NEXT WEEK'S STORY
AFTER THIS MESSAGE.
AND NOW, MR. SERLING.
NEXT WEEK, WE SEE WHAT
WILL HAPPEN TO A WORLD THAT,
WITH EACH PASSING HOUR, DRAWS
CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE SUN.
THIS IS A NIGHTMARE IN
DEPTH, IN WHICH WE WATCH
TWO DOOMED WOMEN
SPEND THEIR LAST HOURS
STRUGGLING FOR SURVIVAL
AGAINST A FIERY ORB
THAT MOVES OVER THE TOP
OF A HOT, STILL, DESERTED CITY.
WE CALL IT "THE MIDNIGHT SUN,"
AND WE ALSO RECOMMEND
IT MOST HIGHLY.
THIS IS JAMES ARNESS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY A SHORT HOP
FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE TO
DODGE CITY AND GUNSMOKE,
SATURDAY NIGHTS, OVER
MOST OF THESE STATIONS.
YOU'RE TRAVELING THROUGH
ANOTHER DIMENSION...
A DIMENSION NOT ONLY OF
SIGHT AND SOUND, BUT OF MIND,
A JOURNEY INTO A WONDROUS LAND
WHOSE BOUNDARIES
ARE THAT OF IMAGINATION.
YOUR NEXT STOP,
THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
( rings bell)
YES, SIR.
I'VE JUST ARRIVED IN TOWN.
DO YOU HAVE ACCOMMODATIONS HERE?
I CAN GIVE YOU A
LOVELY FRONT ROOM
OVERLOOKING THE SQUARE.
WOULD YOU CARE TO SEE IT?
I AM SURE IT WILL
BE SATISFACTORY.
YES? ANYTHING WRONG?
NO, SIR.
MR. SCHMIDT?
THAT'S WHAT I'VE WRITTEN.
OF COURSE, SIR.
OF COURSE, WHAT?
I... I JUST MEANT, SIR...
I JUST WONDERED...
IT'S JUST THAT...
WHAT? YOU JUST WONDERED WHAT?
IT'S JUST THAT... YOU REMIND ME
OF SOMEONE. OH?
DURING THE WAR.
GO ON.
THERE WERE... THERE
WERE S.S. STATIONED HERE.
THEY USED TO COME
TO THE INN VERY OFTEN.
I SPENT THE WAR YEARS
ON THE RUSSIAN FRONT...
THE PANZER DIVISION.
OF COURSE.
WAS IT A PRISON OR
SOMETHING YOU HAD HERE?
SOMETHING OF THE SORT, SIR.
WAS IT A PRISON?
A CAMP, SIR.
HOW'S THAT?
A CAMP, MR. SCHMIDT.
A CONCENTRATION CAMP.
A CONCENTRATION CAMP.
REALLY?
NOW, THAT'S ODD.
FOR THE LIFE OF ME, I
CAN'T SEEM TO RECALL
THE NAME OF THIS TOWN.
SIR?
THE NAME OF THIS TOWN!
WHAT IS THE NAME OF THIS TOWN?
DACHAU, SIR.
DACHAU.
DACHAU.
OF COURSE, DACHAU.
THE CAMP, IT'S THAT
GROUP OF BUILDINGS
UP ON THE HILL, ISN'T IT?
IT IS, INDEED.
BUT MOST OF US WOULD LIKE
IT BURNED TO THE GROUND.
MR. SCHMIDT, RECENTLY ARRIVED
IN A SMALL BAVARIAN VILLAGE
WHICH LIES EIGHT MILES
NORTHWEST OF MUNICH...
A PICTURESQUE,
DELIGHTFUL LITTLE SPOT
ONE TIME KNOWN FOR ITS SCENERY,
BUT MORE RECENTLY
RELATED TO OTHER EVENTS
HAVING TO DO WITH SOME OF THE
LESS POSITIVE PURSUITS OF MAN:
HUMAN SLAUGHTER,
TORTURE, MISERY AND ANGUISH.
MR. SCHMIDT, AS WE
WILL SOON PERCEIVE,
HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN THE
RUINS OF A CONCENTRATION CAMP,
FOR ONCE, SOME 17 YEARS AGO,
HIS NAME WAS GUNTHER LUTZE.
HE HELD THE RANK
OF A CAPTAIN IN THE SS.
HE WAS A BLACK-UNIFORMED,
STRUTTING ANIMAL
WHOSE FUNCTION IN
LIFE WAS TO GIVE PAIN,
AND LIKE HIS
COLLEAGUES OF THE TIME
HE SHARED THE ONE AFFLICTION
MOST COMMON AMONGST
THAT BREED KNOWN AS NAZIS:
HE WALKED THE EARTH
WITHOUT A HEART.
AND NOW FORMER
S.S. CAPTAIN LUTZE
WILL REVISIT HIS OLD
HAUNTS, SATISFIED PERHAPS
THAT ALL THAT IS AWAITING
HIM IN THE RUINS ON THE HILL
IS AN ELEMENT OF NOSTALGIA.
WHAT HE DOES NOT
KNOW, OF COURSE,
IS THAT A PLACE LIKE DACHAU
CANNOT EXIST ONLY IN BAVARIA.
BY ITS NATURE, BY
ITS VERY NATURE,
IT MUST BE ONE OF THE POPULATED
AREAS OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
ALL RIGHT, PIGS, UP!
TIME TO GREET THE MORNING.
ON YOUR FEET, FILTH!
WE HAVE A NICE DAY AHEAD OF US.
IT'S SNOWING.
TEMPERATURE'S ARE
SLIGHTLY BELOW ZERO.
YOU WILL ALL ASSEMBLE
IN THE SQUARE.
AND DRESS.
WE'LL DO SOME EXERCISES.
I AND YOU!
I AND YOU!
I AND YOU!
( soft thud)
DETENTION... YES,
I REMEMBER YOU.
WE HAD SOME GOOD
TIMES IN THIS BUILDING.
( chuckles)
SUCH GOOD TIMES.
YOU'D LIKE WATER,
NUMBER... 23575?
IS THAT WHAT YOU'D
LIKE? YOU'D LIKE WATER?
BUT WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
IT'S ONLY BEEN FIVE DAYS
SINCE YOU'VE BEEN FED.
FIVE LITTLE DAYS!
( door closes)
GOOD AFTERNOON,
CAPTAIN, AND WELCOME BACK.
WE'VE BEEN WAITING.
( hinge creaks)
THAT'S RIGHT, CAPTAIN.
WE'VE BEEN WAITING
FOR A LONG TIME.
YOU'RE... YOU'RE
BECKER... ALFRED BECKER.
I REMEMBER YOU.
AND WELL YOU SHOULD.
HOW WELL YOU
SHOULD, CAPTAIN LUTZE.
YOU DON'T LOOK SO BAD, BECKER.
NO, AS A MATTER OF FACT,
YOU LOOK QUITE WELL.
YOU DON'T SEEM TO
HAVE CHANGED AT ALL.
THAT'S IT... YOU
HAVEN'T CHANGED.
WHY, IT'S BEEN... IT'S
BEEN 15 OR 16 YEARS.
IT'S BEEN 17 YEARS, CAPTAIN,
SINCE YOU AND I
LAST SAW EACH OTHER.
REALLY?
YOU'RE THE CARETAKER
AROUND HERE?
IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING.
IT'S ODD HOW PATHS CROSS, AND...
WE MEET AGAIN
UNDER SOMEWHAT
HAPPIER CIRCUMSTANCES.
( wind howls)
WHAT WAS THAT?
IT SOUNDED LIKE...
THE WIND, CAPTAIN?
WIND?
PERHAPS.
PERHAPS IT WAS THE WIND, EH?
OF COURSE.
OF COURSE IT WAS THE WIND.
IT WAS NOT THE WIND.
IT WAS... IT WAS... IT
WAS WHAT, CAPTAIN?
STOP CALLING ME CAPTAIN!
I'M NOT A SOLDIER ANYMORE.
( howling)
YOU NEVER WERE A SOLDIER.
THE UNIFORM YOU WORE
CANNOT BE STRIPPED OFF.
IT WAS PART OF YOU, PART OF
YOUR FLESH, PART OF YOUR BODY.
IT WAS A PIECE OF YOUR MIND.
A TATTOO, CAPTAIN.
A SKULL AND CROSSBONES
BURNED INTO YOUR SOUL.
I WAS A SOLDIER, BECKER.
NO, CAPTAIN, YOU WERE A SADIST.
YOU WERE A MONSTER
WHO DERIVED PLEASURE
FROM GIVING PAIN.
LISTEN TO ME, BECKER.
THERE'S NO MORE WAR.
THAT'S ALL IN THE PAST.
THERE ARE NO MORE CAMPS.
IT'S RIDICULOUS.
IT'S UTTERLY RIDICULOUS
TO DWELL ON THESE THINGS.
YOU DID AS YOU
THOUGHT BEST, AND I...
I FUNCTIONED AS I WAS TOLD.
( howling)
Lutze: WHAT IS THIS NOISE?
STRANGE THAT IT
SHOULD DISTURB YOU
SO IT NEVER USED TO, CAPTAIN.
WHEN YOUR VICTIMS SCREAMED
YOU WEREN'T SO SENSITIVE.
BUT NOW, THEY ARE NOT SCREAMING.
NO, THEY ARE REACTING.
THEY JUST HEARD YOU
OFFER THE APOLOGY
FOR ALL THE MONSTERS
OF OUR TIMES.
"WE DID AS WE WERE TOLD."
"WE FUNCTIONED AS ORDERED."
"WE MERELY CARRIED OUT
DIRECTIVES FROM OUR SUPERIORS."
FAMILIAR, IS IT, CAPTAIN?
IT WAS THE NAZI THEME
MUSIC AT NUREMBERG,
THE NEW LYRICS TO
THE GOTTERDAMMERUNG,
THE PLAINTIVE LITANY OF THE
MASTER RACE AS IT LAY DYING.
"WE DID NOT DO, OTHERS DID."
OR "SOMEONE ELSE DID IT.
"WE NEVER EVEN KNEW
THAT IT WAS BEING DONE."
OR "WE DID IT, BUT
OTHERS TOLD US TO."
CAPTAIN LUTZE... TEN
MILLION HUMAN BEINGS
WERE TORTURED TO
DEATH IN CAMPS LIKE THIS.
MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN,
INFANTS, TIRED OLD MEN...
YOU BURNED THEM IN FURNACES.
YOU SHOVELED
THEM INTO THE EARTH.
YOU TORE UP THEIR
BODIES IN RAGE,
AND NOW YOU COME BACK
TO YOUR SCENES OF HORROR
AND YOU WONDER THAT THE
MISERY THAT YOU PLANTED
HAS LIVED AFTER YOU?
( howling grows louder)
THERE'S NO POINT IN TALKING
ABOUT THIS ANY LONGER.
I MUST LEAVE YOU NOW, BECKER.
I TOLD YOU I HAD
TO LEAVE, BECKER!
WHY DID YOU COME
BACK, CAPTAIN LUTZE?
YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME.
YOU WERE QUITE SAFE DOWN
THERE IN SOUTH AMERICA.
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAVE
BROUGHT YOU BACK HERE?
ONE MISSES THE
FATHERLAND, BECKER.
ONE GROWS NOSTALGIC
FOR THE GOOD OLD DAYS.
I HAD THOUGHT...
I HAD HOPED THAT WITH
THE PASSAGE OF TIME
SANITY WOULD HAVE RETURNED,
PEOPLE WOULD BE
WILLING TO FORGET THE...
LITTLE MISTAKES OF THE PAST.
LITTLE MISTAKES?
LITTLE MIS...?
YOU ASK TOO MUCH,
CAPTAIN LUTZE... FAR TOO MUCH.
WHY NOT ASK FOR THE EARTH
TO STOP REVOLVING IN ITS AXIS?
DON'T ASK THE
IMPOSSIBLE, CAPTAIN LUTZE.
DO NOT ASK FORGIVENESS
FROM THOSE WHOM YOU
HAVE DESTROYED TO A POINT
PAST FORGIVENESS.
BUT TIME IS SHORT, CAPTAIN.
WE HAVE SOMETHING TO
ACCOMPLISH HERE TODAY.
ACCOMPLISH?
WHAT?
YOUR TRIAL.
IT IS TIME FOR
YOUR TRIAL, CAPTAIN.
THE COURT IS CONVENING
IN COMPOUND SIX.
THE COURT?
WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?
IS THIS A JOKE?
NO... NO JOKE, CAPTAIN.
YOUR TRIAL.
YOU WILL BE TRIED FOR
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.
BY WHOM? WHO WILL TRY ME?
YOU'RE INSANE, BECKER.
YOU WERE INSANE WHEN I
USED TO STRING YOU UP AND...
WHEN YOU USED TO
STRING ME UP, CAPTAIN?
SUSPENDED OVER A HOT PIPE?
FEED ME SALT WATER
UNTIL MY TONGUE SWELLED?
BURNED ME WITH
CIGARETTE BUTTS ALL OVER
AND LAUGHED WHEN I SCREAMED
TO PLEASE PUT AN END TO IT,
TO PLEASE HAVE
MERCY AND KILL ME?
YOUR MEMORY'S
QUITE GOOD, CAPTAIN.
QUITE GOOD, INDEED.
COME.
SHALL WE GO?
THE COURT IS WAITING.
NO!
SHALL WE PROCEED, CAPTAIN LUTZE?
PLEASE.
PLEASE LET ME OUT OF HERE.
THIS... THIS IS...
THIS IS INHUMAN!
I MUST GET OUT OF HERE.
I MUST GET OUT OF HERE!
WE INMATES OF COMPOUND SIX,
DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP
VERSUS GUNTHER
LUTZE, CAPTAIN, S.S.
INDICTMENT ONE: THAT
HE CONDEMNED TO DEATH
WITHOUT A TRIAL
1,700 HUMAN BEINGS.
INDICTMENT TWO:
THAT HE DID MAIM AND
TORTURE WITHOUT PROVOCATION
THOUSANDS AND
THOUSANDS OF HUMAN BEINGS.
INDICTMENT THREE: NO... NO...
THAT HE DID DELIBERATELY CONDONE
THE USE OF CRIMINAL
MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS
ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
NO!
NO! NO!
INDICTMENT FOUR: THAT HE DID
PERSONALLY MURDER AT LEAST...
OH... OH, NO! NO!
NO! NO!
NO! NO!
NO!
INDICTMENT FIVE:
THAT HE DID SIGN
AND PUT INTO EFFECT
SPECIFIC ORDERS
CALLING FOR THE
GASSING AND CREMATING
OF ONE MILLION HUMAN BEINGS.
( screams)
( scream grows distorted)
I...
I FELL ASLEEP.
NO, YOU WERE
UNCONSCIOUS FOR AWHILE.
I HAD SUCH A DREAM.
YOU HAD NO DREAM, CAPTAIN.
OF COURSE I HAD A DREAM.
I DREAMT... THERE WERE
PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM.
THERE WAS A TRIAL.
GHOSTLY FIGURES.
THEY ARE STILL HERE.
THEY HAVE NEVER LEFT.
THEY WALK THE BUILDINGS
IN THE SQUARE OUTSIDE.
YOU DIDN'T BURY THEM
DEEP ENOUGH, CAPTAIN.
YOU DIDN'T COVER THEM
UP WITH ENOUGH EARTH,
OR PERHAPS THE BULLETS
WERE TOO SMALL A CALIBER,
OR THE FLAMES NOT
SUFFICIENTLY HOT,
OR PERHAPS THERE
WASN'T ENOUGH GAS.
BECKER... BECKER, WHO ARE YOU?
DID YOU FORGET?
THE CARETAKER.
THIS... THIS TRIAL...
THE TRIAL IS OVER,
CAPTAIN LUTZE.
YOU HAVE BEEN FOUND GUILTY.
IT'S TIME TO PRONOUNCE SENTENCE.
YOU ARE GOING TO
PRONOUNCE SENTENCE?
IS THAT WHAT YOU
HAVE IN MIND NOW?
YOU WILL PRONOUNCE SENTENCE,
AND THEN YOU SHALL
EXECUTE THAT SENTENCE?
IS THAT CORRECT?
PIGS! FILTH!
YOU WILL ALL ASSEMBLE
IN THE SQUARE!
YOU WILL PASS SENTENCE
ON CAPTAIN LUTZE!
YOU WILL CRAWL
OUT OF YOUR GRAVES
TO SEE THAT JUSTICE IS DONE!
WHERE ARE THEY?
WHERE'S THE JUDGE?
WHERE'S THE JURY?
WHERE'S THE EXECUTIONER?
SHALL I TELL YOU WHERE THEY ARE?
IN YOUR MIND.
YOU'VE HATCHED THEM
OUT OF YOUR HATRED.
YOU'VE PLANNED YOUR VENGEANCE
OUT OF THE CRAZY QUILT
OF YOUR IMAGINATION
SEWED TOGETHER WITH
THIN LITTLE THREADS
OF WISHFUL THINKING.
WHY DIDN'T I KILL YOU
WHEN I HAD A CHANCE?
WHY DIDN'T I...?
BECKER?
BECKER, I DID KILL YOU.
I KILLED YOU THE
NIGHT... YOU KILLED ME
THE NIGHT THE AMERICANS
CAME CLOSE TO THE CAMP.
YOU TRIED TO BURN
IT DOWN, REMEMBER?
YOU TRIED TO KILL
EVERYONE WHO WAS LEFT.
IN MY CASE, YOU SUCCEEDED.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE A WASTE
OF TIME, CAPTAIN, WOULDN'T IT...
A WASTE OF YOUR PRECIOUS TIME...
OF THAT LITTLE TIME YOU HAVE
LEFT TO MURDER ME AGAIN?
( yells)
Becker: CAPTAIN LUTZE.
CAPTAIN LUTZE, YOU HAVE
BEEN TRIED AND FOUND GUILTY
OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.
IT IS THE UNANIMOUS
JUDGMENT OF THIS COURT
THAT FROM THIS DAY ON, YOU
SHALL BE RENDERED INSANE.
WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?
WHAT IS THIS GIBBERISH?
WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!
AT THIS GATE, YOU SHOT DOWN
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
WITH MACHINE GUNS.
DO YOU FEEL IT NOW, CAPTAIN?
( machine gun firing) DO
YOU FEEL THE BULLETS
SMASHING INTO YOUR BODY?
DO YOU FEEL THE AGONY
OF TORTURED LEAD?
ON THESE POSTS, BY
THE ANGUISHED HOUR
YOU HUNG UP HUMAN
BEINGS TO DIE A SLOW DEATH.
DO YOU FEEL THEIR TORTURE NOW?
IN THIS ROOM, CAPTAIN,
THE THINGS YOU
DID TO HUMAN BEINGS
ARE UNMENTIONABLE.
( agonized wailing)
HOW DOES THEIR TORMENT FEEL?
( agonized screaming)
( screaming continues)
CAPTAIN LUTZE, IF
YOU CAN STILL REASON,
IF THERE'S STILL ANY
PORTION OF YOUR MIND
THAT CAN STILL FUNCTION,
TAKE THIS THOUGHT WITH YOU.
THIS IS NOT HATRED,
THIS IS RETRIBUTION.
THIS IS NOT REVENGE,
THIS IS JUSTICE.
BUT THIS IS ONLY THE
BEGINNING, CAPTAIN.
ONLY THE BEGINNING.
YOUR FINAL JUDGMENT
WILL COME FROM GOD.
WELL, HE'S SO FULL
OF SEDATIVES NOW
HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW
HE'S ON THE EARTH,
BUT I WANT HIM IN THE HOSPITAL,
AND I WANT HIM
STRAPPED TO THE BED.
DOCTOR?
WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?
I DROVE HIM UP HERE
MYSELF NOT TWO HOURS AGO.
HE WAS ALL RIGHT THEN.
I HAVE NO IDEA.
I ONLY KNOW THAT HE IS
SCREAMING THROUGH PAIN.
NO, IT'S MORE THAN
PAIN, IT'S AGONY.
AND THERE ISN'T A MARK ON HIM.
HE'S INSANE, A RAVING MANIAC.
BUT WHAT COULD
HAPPEN IN TWO HOURS
TO TURN A MAN INTO
A RAVING MANIAC?
THAT, SOMEBODY WILL
HAVE TO TELL ME THAT.
DACHAU.
WHY DOES IT STILL STAND?
WHY DO WE KEEP IT STANDING?
THERE IS AN ANSWER TO
THE DOCTOR'S QUESTION.
ALL THE DACHAUS
MUST REMAIN STANDING...
THE DACHAUS, THE
BELSENS, THE BUCHENWALDS,
THE AUSCHWITZES, ALL OF THEM.
THEY MUST REMAIN STANDING
BECAUSE THEY ARE A
MONUMENT TO A MOMENT IN TIME
WHEN SOME MEN DECIDED TO
TURN THE EARTH INTO A GRAVEYARD.
INTO IT, THEY SHOVELED
ALL OF THEIR REASON,
THEIR LOGIC, THEIR KNOWLEDGE,
BUT WORST OF ALL,
THEIR CONSCIENCE.
AND THE MOMENT WE FORGET THIS...
THE MOMENT WE CEASE TO BE
HAUNTED BY ITS REMEMBRANCE...
THEN WE BECOME THE GRAVEDIGGERS.
SOMETHING TO DWELL
ON AND TO REMEMBER,
NOT ONLY IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE,
BUT WHEREVER MEN
WALK GOD'S EARTH.
Announcer: ROD SERLING,
CREATOR OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE,
WILL TELL YOU ABOUT
NEXT WEEK'S STORY
AFTER THIS MESSAGE.
AND NOW, MR. SERLING.
NEXT WEEK, WE SEE WHAT
WILL HAPPEN TO A WORLD THAT,
WITH EACH PASSING HOUR, DRAWS
CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE SUN.
THIS IS A NIGHTMARE IN
DEPTH, IN WHICH WE WATCH
TWO DOOMED WOMEN
SPEND THEIR LAST HOURS
STRUGGLING FOR SURVIVAL
AGAINST A FIERY ORB
THAT MOVES OVER THE TOP
OF A HOT, STILL, DESERTED CITY.
WE CALL IT "THE MIDNIGHT SUN,"
AND WE ALSO RECOMMEND
IT MOST HIGHLY.
THIS IS JAMES ARNESS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY A SHORT HOP
FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE TO
DODGE CITY AND GUNSMOKE,
SATURDAY NIGHTS, OVER
MOST OF THESE STATIONS.