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It was in a country far away.

I don't know which one,

but it was a distant land.

The prince lost his mind,

and imagined himself to be a rooster.

A rooster? Like this one?

Yes. He took refuge under the dining-room table,

stripped naked, and refused to take anything but grain.

And then?

The King called in magicians and doctors,

to cure his son, but to no avail.

One day, an unknown sage arrived,

took off his clothes,

and joined the prince under the table,

saying that he, too, was a rooster.

Eventually, the sage convinced the prince to get dressed,

and, finally, to sit down and eat with the others.

"Don't ever think," said the sage,

"that by eating like a man, with other men at a table,

"a rooster ceases to be what he is."

"You can do anything with men in their world,"

"or even for them,"

"and yet remain the rooster that you are."

I'm so proud of you, Benjamin.

Such a young little fellow, and brighter than all the adults.

Guess what?

I have some money.

How would you like to eat in a restaurant?

A restaurant? Really?

What do you think about her and me, huh?

- You'd be fine. - It's true!

Miss? Miss!

Miss!

"Miss! Miss!"

Hey, miss!

Where the hell are all the girls in this stinking place, huh?

Oh!

Could I have another one, please?

Hey, Fatty! You should watch your weight,

or soon you'll be wider than you're tall.

Like a potato.

Like a stuffed pig!

Hey, Fatty! What's your name?

He's not fat!

He's my brother, and he's strong.

I'm a blacksmith.

My name is Zishe. Zishe Breitbart.

Hey, Fatty! I'm talking to you.

Our Fatty is a Jew.

A big fat Jew.

A fat one, and a thin one.

The fat Jew eats too much, and the thin Jew not enough.

Hey, Fatty!

Why doesn't the little one eat anything, huh?

You should eat more, like your fat brother.

Ah, good idea.

You're too thin.

The thick and the thin...

together through thick and thin.

Open your mouth.

And eat!

Hey!

You will pay me for this!

Have you any idea how much beer that was?

One hectolitre.

And do you know how much a barrel costs?

And how much that table costs?

It wasn't his fault. The others started it.

As to the money, I'd like to pay.

Yes, we would really like to pay for this,

but we don't have any money.

What I should do is call the police,

but I think there is a way for you to pay for the damage.

The circus is in town.

Outside, by the gate.

There's a famous strongman.

And there's prize money to be won,

for the man who can beat him.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear children!

I would like to announce that our Hercules has a challenger!

A strong young man, without doubt.

But, in more than twenty years,

our Hercules, our Colossus of Rhodes,

has never been defeated.

For years, we have been raising the price,

to the amount of five thousand zloty

for any man who proves himself stronger.

Not without reason,

the ancients had proclaimed the Colossus of Rhodes

one of the seven wonders of the world!

And now, highly esteemed audience,

his challenger this evening!

Zishe Breitbart! Blacksmith from this town.

Ha!

Zishe! Zishe! Zishe!

I can do more!

I can do more!

Yitzak, come!

There's a visitor. A real gentleman.

What does he want?

I don't know. He arrived in a motorcar.

And, Oh my God, I have nothing to offer him.

Landwehr.

Alfred Landwehr.

Pleased to meet you, Herr Breitbart.

Ah! And this is your strong son.

- Please, sit down. - Thank you.

I'm an agent for variety artists.

Dancers, jugglers, magicians.

Everything that is in demand,

and the demand in Berlin is enormous.

I possess an instinct for great talents,

for people who will go straight to the top.

I was at the circus yesterday to see the local strongman,

when your son...

You need not go on. We are respectable people.

For a Jew, this is not the right thing.

But the most gifted people in cinema, in theatre, in art are...

I never even thought about leaving.

I belong in this smithy,

in our little shtetl.

You see, our Jewish shtetls

are like holy books, open for the eyes of God.

On the Day of Atonement,

even the fish tremble in the brook.

In spring, during Passover, the trees rejoice.

Sir, you are like a shopkeeper with empty shelves,

who has nothing to sell.

Son...

you'll have to attend university.

You said that beautifully. Really.

Do you know how old the boy is?

Nine.

This little fellow is just nine years old.

And to think that this is my brother, Benjamin.

Look at what an incredible boy my brother is.

- Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. - Good morning.

Are you all right?

- Yes, thank you. - Fine! Me, too.

Morning, Herr Landwehr. We've just been talking about you.

Did you sleep in the motorcar?

There isn't even a hotel around hereto spend the night.

- Good morning. - Morning. Morning. Morning.

You are an exceptional man.

I am, when I'm after an exceptional talent.

Zishe, listen.

I want you to come with me, just for the day.

I have something to show you.

But I can't leave. I must work.

Your father would excuse you for one afternoon, hmm?

My son is able to make up his own mind about such things.

He will be most interested to see what I'm going to show you.

Look, Zishe!

Look at all the motorcars!

There must be every motorcar in the whole world,

right in Berlin!

More than motorcars, young man. Watch what's coming.

That's a flying machine! I've read about it.

Look at how many people it can carry.

Aeroplanes will never compete against that.

Benjamin!

Benjamin, wake up.

I am awake.

- I've been thinking. - So have I.

Do you believe God gives to each of us a gift?

Of course.

God made me strong, Benjamin.

Don't you think he made me strong for a reason?

A blacksmith needs to be strong.

But I am stronger than a blacksmith needs to be.

Sometimes, we don't understand why God does what he does.

This is what I must find out.

Zishe?

What? Tell me.

The Book of Prophets says, "Spare me,"

"that I may recover strength, before I go hence"

"and be no more."

"And be no more."

- And? - And what?

- What do you think about it? - About what?

Berlin.

Let me talk to the Rabbi first.

But before anything, we have to celebrate Passover.

But...

Children...

When we fled Egypt, we didn't have time

for the bread to rise.

Chana? What happened when we came to the sea?

- He... Hashem opened it up. - Yes, he did!

And Raphael? How many years did we stay in the desert?

Forty-

Yes. All right.

- Search for it! - Yes!

Where is it?

It must be somewhere.

Maybe under the pillow.

Chanele found it!

- Wonderful! - Chanele found it!

She has found it.

Wonderful!

How much do you want for this?

Six zfoty.

No, three zloty!

- Yes. - Six!

- Fine. - Six. Yes?

I want to thank the Almighty for my good wife, and my children.

You are the salt of the earth, and you fill my heart with joy.

Today, I want to thank God in particular

for my strong firstborn. Zishe, my son.

You will go out into the world,

but don't ever forget who you are.

Hold on.

Hold on.

Pull!

Pull!

I've travelled very far.

I've been as far as Vilna. But a thing like this,

a thing like this I've never seen before.

Can you give me a ride?

Where can we take you?

You're not going to Berlin, by any chance?

Are you hungry?

All the time.

My mother has never been able to feed me enough.

And you want to walk all the way to Berlin?

Yes. I have a ticket for the train, first class.

But I'm going to return the ticket,

and my mother will get a new dress instead.

I've heard there are many pretty girls in Berlin.

Girls like you won't find in the country.

Maybe you'll meet one.

I have already, sort of. In a dream.

But I couldn't see her face, because...

I know it sounds strange,

but there was so much light.

I think she was a princess.

You didn't come especially for me?

How did you know?

Your reputation is faster than your feet.

My name is Delilah.

Better take care, Samson.

It's me, Zishe.

Zishe Breitbart.

Ah, you want to talk to Herr Landwehr?

Are you still there?

Hello?

Hello? Speak, please.

What?

- Please speak. - Yes.

- Where are you? - In Berlin.

Come and see us at once.

Herr Landwehr's expecting you.

We thought you were lost.

Ah.

A girl, you say?

And she wanted to marry you at once?

Well, actually, no.

She just wanted to keep me.

Don't just stand there, have a seat.

Thank you.

You realise that the possibilities to employ you are...

somewhat limited?

Yes? What do you mean by that?

No, no, don't be afraid!

I'm good at the work I do.

The best, if I may say so.

I'm going to employ you in an establishment called.

Hanussen's Palace of the Occult.

I don't quite understand.

What am I supposed to do there?

I've talked to Hanussen, and he was immediately pleased with my idea.

Hanussen has understood something about the insecurity of our times.

Inflation, unemployment, mass strikes,

attempted coups, bank crashes.

People long for a strong man, a leader.

And Hanussen is the clairvoyant, the prophet of this longing.

And what does that have to do with me?

I can tell you.

You will be a kind of contrasting programme.

The strength of the body

against the dark powers of the spirit of the occult.

And I have to point out to you, right now,

that you must play a certain game.

I can't do that. I'm strong, that is all.

I don't demand anything else from you.

And, furthermore, you will keep your mouth shut.

I'll meet you tomorrow at Hanussen's.

Dismissed.

No.

Impossible!

Well, what if he carries a weapon? Perhaps a spear?

No, he shouldn't look like some primitive man.

Someone from primordial times. That's my domain.

Take it off!

Take it off.

I appeal to darker instincts.

How about a Greek or a Roman?

You know, a gladiator?

Turn. Turn around.

Hmm.

Perhaps for the first act.

After the break, he can be dressed as some kind of...

heroic figure.

How's "Zishe the Strong"?

By no means. The Jewish name must go at once.

You see, my boy, my public consists of film stars.

Above all, followers of the National Socialists.

Big shots of the party.

We will Aryanise you.

A Jew should never be as strong as you.

♪ You're the cream in my coffee

♪ You're the salt in my stew

♪ You will always be my necessity

♪ I'd be lost without you

♪ You're the starch in my collar

♪ You're the lace in my shoe

♪ You will always be my necessity

♪ I'd be lost without you

♪ Most men tell love tales

♪ And each phrase dovetails

♪ You've heard each known way

♪ This way is my own way

♪ You're the sail of my love boat

♪ You're the captain and crew

♪ You will always be my necessity

♪ I'd be lost without you ♪

Ah, the new act!

Yes, I'm the strongman.

I'm the magician here.

You don't look like a magician.

Oh, indeed? Well, then. Watch!

Don't be deceived.

The ace may seem like the ace,

and the queen may seem like the queen.

But the truth here is always

what is not seen.

If you want to see the place, I can show you around.

Follow me, but quietly.

This is Hanussen's "Circle of the Occult".

No, performers really shouldn't be here.

Hanussen doesn't like it.

Place your hands in the light.

Make contact with one another.

Feel the energy surge through you.

I am...

your clairvoyant.

I see your future.

♪ Sweet and lovely

♪ Sweeter than the roses in May

♪ Sweet and lovely

♪ Heaven must have sent her my way

♪ Skies above me

♪ Never were as blue as her eyes

♪ And she loves me

♪ Who would want a sweeter surprise?

♪ When she nestles in my arms so tenderly

♪ There's a thrill that words cannot express

♪ In my heart a song of love is taunting me

♪ Melody haunting me

♪ Sweet and lovely

♪ Sweeter than the roses in May

♪ And she loves me

♪ There is nothing more I can say ♪

Excuse me.

My name is...

Actually, I wanted to tell you...

You are the most...

Ladies and gentlemen,

I'd like to welcome you with all my heart to a

new spring and summer programme

at Hanussen's Palace of the Occult.

Now, we shall begin with someone all of you are certainly familiar with.

Herr Rothschild, the banker!

Trying to run off with the profits of the Great War.

Your laughter backstage is not permitted!

If anyone laughs, it'd better be the audience.

- Do you understand me? - Yes, I understand.

Wig! Put your wig on.

Put it on! Quickly!

And now, ladies and gentlemen...

- Helmet! - A novelty in our programme.

A man of monstrous physical strength.

The victor over all Roman gladiators.

I give you Siegfried!

Out!

After the great battle against the Cimbers and Teutons,

Siegfried was taken to the Roman arena as a prisoner.

They put him in chains.

But chains could not hold him.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Siegfried, the Iron King!

Siegfried won every fight.

He took the cuirass from the strongest of all defeated gladiators.

And, from Varus, he took not only his head,

but his helmet.

And now, ladies and gentlemen,

the man who is in league with the powers of the occult.

The master of the abysses of the soul,

whose power over the soul alone

is able to achieve unbelievable things.

The man who is endowed with more power

than the strongest body could ever possess.

Erik Jan Hanussen!

Venerable audience,

You are familiar with the phenomenon

which I myself cannot fully explain.

I have been endowed with the mysterious gift

of attracting the aura of the cosmos

and transmitting its rays back to people who are gifted mediums.

And are we not all, in reality, endowed with a medial gift?

These rays of cosmic energy are known as "hypnosis".

And they manifest all the power of the occult.

The unknown side of the human psyche.

And to prove to you that all our German people

are full of unknown power,

a die will be cast.

- Four! - Four.

Table four. Who's there?

Ah, Count Helldorf!

- Good evening, sir. - Good evening.

The Police Chief of Berlin.

May I ask your enchanting companion

to come up on stage, please?

Please.

- What is your name? - Hedda Christianson.

And I think I've seen you on the screen.

Yes, I've done two talkies,

but I'm still a beginner.

The beginning of a great career, no doubt!

Don't worry.

Just relax.

I'm now going to send you into a trance.

Count Helldorf, the most charming of all police chiefs,

will be there to keep an eye on you.

And some of our sturdiest Stormtroopers in Berlin

will be there to support him.

- Ja wohl! - Lmmer bereft!

Focus on this object,

and listen to my voice.

Follow my voice.

My voice is leading you.

Keep your eyes fixed.

Watch this object.

Focus your eyes.

The power of a whole people

will concentrate in you.

Your legs are getting heavy.

Very heavy.

Your arms are getting heavy.

Heavier and heavier.

Your eyelids are getting heavy.

Very heavy.

You feel sleepy.

You feel tired.

Very tired.

You want to sleep.

Your eyes are closing.

Your eyelids are becoming heavier and heavier.

Your eyes are closing,

and you feel sleepy.

Tired. Very tired.

You want to sleep.

Let yourself sink.

You're sinking deeper and deeper.

To the bottom of a bottomless lake.

You are asleep.

I now place a coin on the back of her hand.

I invoke all black powers from the blackest abyss.

The coin on your hand is growing hot.

Very hot.

You feel your hand getting hotter and hotter.

Yet you feel no pain. No pain.

The coin is burning now.

Your hand is being burned.

Yet you feel no pain.

No pain.

Listen to my voice.

I'm now going to wake you up.

I will count to three.

When I count to three, you will awake.

You will feel well, very well.

And you will awaken.

One.

You feel your body becoming lighter and lighter.

Two.

Let your body drift up slowly

towards the surface of the lake.

Three.

You break the surface of the water.

You open your eyes, and you are awake.

You are awake.

You are strong.

You are feeling strong, and you are feeling good.

Are you awake now? Are you awake?

Yes.

Where am I? What happened?

Count Helldorf, sir, can you please come up on stage as a witness?

Will you please take the coin from the back of the hand

of your charming companion?

What do you see now?

Hedwig, my darling!

For God's sake, what's happened?

Please describe what you see.

A blister. A blister from a burn.

A big blister on her hand.

Are you in pain?

No, not at all.

Come in.

Well?

Well, because...

The costume and all this.

What about it?

Marta,

my darling.

Have you met our new strongman?

His name is Zishe.

Ah, yes.

I have big plans for him.

Oh?

I've seen you before.

Oh, yes, backstage.

No.

Where, then?

A dream.

- A dream? - Yes, actually...

What I mean to say is...

The costume.

I don't feel quite right as a Teuton.

Champagne.

Sit.

Sit!

Take a sip.

No, thank you.

Now listen, my boy.

You don't seem to be quite clear yet.

We are entertainers.

We work for a sole employer.

And that is the public.

We give them what they want.

We articulate their collective dreams.

Now...

if you still don't understand this at the end of intermission,

perhaps we should send you back to your little shtetl.

In Poland.

"I'm homesick."

"| miss my brothers and sisters,"

"and working with my father."

"| work here for a clairvoyant."

"His name is Hanussen."

"And he is a mystery to me."

I have the power

to radiate energy onto you.

You feel a pull.

Something is drawing you.

You're sinking.

Sinking.

Sinking...

What the power of the body can achieve, ladies and gentlemen,

the power of the spirit can also achieve.

And more, much more.

The frail body of our pianist

is able to perform far greater things, ladies and gentlemen.

Just as our people

are capable of developing unimaginable powers.

They merely need to be led.

And, like a cosmic event,

like a comet in the sky,

a figure of light has come among us.

And this force, which will crush all foreign vermin,

has a name.

Adolf Hitler.

He will.

I see it. I see it clearly before my eyes.

One day, he will lead our thirsting people.

I am the seer.

I am the prophet of his coming.

"MAN". Sieg Heil!

"MAN". S Die Fahne hoch!

J' Die Reihen fest geschlossen!

♪ SA marschiert

♪ Mit ruhig festem Schritt I

Heil! Sieg Heil!

Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!

So lively, so early in the morning?

I am, you see...

possibly in the wrong place.

Marta, leave us for a moment.

I'll call you when I need you.

Something on your mind?

You see, the audience...

I don't feel right with the audience.

Perhaps I'm just too Jewish.

I understand you better than you think.

Oh, really?

We are alike,

you and I.

Yes.

We are showmen.

We provide the bewildered a beacon of light.

The audience doesn't seem very bewildered to me.

There are a lot of those Nazis out there,

who seem to know exactly where they are going.

And I am their prophet.

You know, my boy, what my dream is?

Something...

much grander than this.

And I've already found it.

I want to be to the present

what the Oracle of Delphi was to antiquity.

High-ranking party members have already intimated to me

that I will be the Minister of the Occult

in Hitler's future cabinet.

I just awaken the barbaric and prehistoric demons

to a new Godless life.

Look, I am not particularly religious,

but in my family there is God.

If there is such a thing as God...

then he dwells here.

And this God protects me.

Gives me power.

Do you want to see what real power is?

Marta!

Marta!

Sing.

Sing!

Which song?

The one about the chandelier.

"As long as my panties are hanging"

"in the chandelier come morning,"

"you can be sure that I still love you."

Now, the proof.

Turn around.

Look, my boy.

The roundest butt on God's wide earth.

And it's mine.

All mine.

I didn't want to disturb you. I'm sorry.

You're not disturbing me at all. Please, stay.

That was really won...

Wonderful.

Why don't you sit down next to me?

I don't know anything about music.

Tell me, where did you learn all this?

I thought you were a princess when I first heard you play.

Tell me.

I studied at the Conservatory in Prague.

You see, I had high hopes then.

And I've never really given them up.

And why are you here?

The reason is that I'm a stateless person.

Do you know what that means? No?

As a child, they kept pushing me around between three countries.

I never knew my parents.

And when Hanussen was in Prague,

he took me away with him.

He was in Prague?

Yes, in Prague. And he gave me work with his Palace Orchestra.

I'm sure you have noticed that he doesn't treat me well.

Yes. Yes, I've noticed that.

But I stay with him all the same.

Well, yes.

Why am I still with him?

Miss Marta, I wanted to...

I am...

Zishe, I know what you mean.

Your music...

It's so beautiful when you play.

You see, I have a dream.

Can you tell me what it is?

Someday, I'd like to play Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto.

With a full orchestra to accompany me.

I would give anything for that.

I have a vision deep inside.

Come with me. I'll show you.

Now, look at these beings.

For me, they have the purest of souls.

I have never seen anything more beautiful, more delicate.

I want to play music to match this vision.

It's deep inside me.

Now, I can see your soul.

- Please, will you take this? - Enough. Enough.

Yes, madam, I shall of course accept your paper.

Thank you.

Is your name on it?

Yes. And an important event in my life.

Mr Hanussen will mind-read this as well.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I cannot explain this phenomenon myself.

There are human emanations which I can read

in a state of self-hypnosis.

Quiet, please!

Mr Peters?

Mr Peters wants to know from you, Mr Hanussen,

what happened in his neighbour's apartment

on March the second of this year.

I see a room.

Flashes.

Yes, flashes.

Someone is taking photographs.

He does have a gift, I must admit that.

It's a trick.

- Everything is a trick. - I see...

I see...

Blood.

A dead body lies there.

Police...

Police!

Call the police!

Ah. The police are there already.

Murder.

Horrible!

Can you confirm this, sir?

It is all true. My neighbour was murdered,

and, yes, there were many photos taken at the scene of the crime.

To clear up any doubts,

do you know Mr Hanussen personally?

Might there be any possibility, sir,

that you had some secret arrangement

with Mr Hanussen beforehand?

I won't stand for this!

I'm Chief Justice of the High Court.

I'm known to a good many of the gentlemen present.

Benjamin! Mother!

Who are you?

Zishe, my son.

How did you get here?

By train. Father gave us permission.

Benjamin just wouldn't stop pestering us.

We can only stay a single day.

Hey, what's the matter?

Zishe, you've changed so much.

Zishe, I made you these cookies.

Zishe?

For you.

Zishe?

Mother, how kind of you.

You know how much I love your cakes.

- But, Benjamin... - Zishe, what's the matter?

Benjamin, you're my favourite brother.

And Mother, you're the best mother a son could have.

But you shouldn't worry about me.

I think I have seen my soul.

I mean, there is an aquarium here.

Benjamin, I can put it simply.

I am who I am.

And now, ladies and gentlemen,

something unheard of, never before attempted.

Siegfried, the Iron King,

and the elephant!

Bravo!

Siegfried! Siegfried! Siegfried!

Siegfried! Siegfried! Siegfried!

Ladies and gentlemen!

My name is not Siegfried,

for my family at home in Poland calls me Zishe.

I mean, I'm not Aryan.

I am not a Germanic hero.

There isn't a German Iron King any longer, but...

but the new Samson.

Samson the Strong.

A Jew.

And I am proud of it.

Jews out!

Jews out! Jews out!

Silence!

Ladies and gentlemen,

I did not expect such an affront

to our German people.

Butlhave, for this gentleman,

I have an answer for him.

Marta Farra,

the delicate and pretty pianist

from the Palace Orchestra

will, under the influence of my hypnotic power,

unite all your strength.

Miss Farra has never performed this feat before.

And yet we shall risk it,

to oppose this cowardly provocation.

You become strong.

Stronger than cold reason can imagine.

You are strong!

You will lift this elephant.

Lift it!

Lift it!

We! We all! We are all united!

Germany!

Hei|! Hei|! Hei|!

I've come for the money you owe me.

I mean, as soon as you pay me, I'll go.

Have you seen the paper, hmm?

Front page!

- You do read, don't you? - Yes, yes.

Mmm.

Do you know there was a line three blocks long

when the box office opened this morning? Three blocks.

Three!

It's the Jews.

They all want to see their new Samson.

Oh, Volker, I'm so happy to see you!

Over here, darling!

Excuse me. Excuse me.

May I introduce myself?

Samuel Edelmann.

I'm the Rabbi of the congregation of Berlin-Charlottenburg.

- Zishe Breitbart. - You needn't introduce yourself.

I saw you on stage.

I was deeply impressed by your courage.

Well, yes, but anybody would have.

I... I mean, at least.

I would like to invite you to our synagogue,

to be called to the Torah this Sabbath.

Well, you know,

I don't have much practice in reading.

What you've done

has given courage to the Jewish community.

Listen, Zishe.

Just come.

You don't have to read. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Just come.

We are looking forward to having you with us.

We are so proud of you.

Before I begin my sermon today,

I would like to take this opportunity

to welcome a very special guest to our congregation.

Zishe Breitbart.

Zishe, please.

Shabbos.

Good Shabbos.

Good Shabbos.

Good Shabbos.

Good Shabbos. Good Shabbos. Have a seat.

Good Shabbos. Good Shabbos.

Good Shabbos.

And, in his honour,

I would like to recite one of the Psalms.

"| will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,

"from whence cometh my strength.

"My strength cometh from the Lord,

"which made Heaven and Earth.

"He will not suffer thy foot to be moved."

"He that keepeth thee will not slumber."

"Behold, he that keepeth Israel"

"shall neither slumber nor sleep."

You've been drawing such large crowds,

I've been thinking of raising your salary.

That was my idea.

And tonight, my circle of aficionados

brings out their big guns.

Guess who's coming to honour us tonight?

I wouldn't know.

Himmler and Goebbels.

Who are they?

Movie stars?

No! Politicians!

Both high up, high, high up in the party.

The party of Hitler.

They let me know they were coming

just to demonstrate their support for me.

Ladies and gentlemen!

As you know, the strongman of our house has...

Jew! You pig! Jews out!

Gentlemen, please.

Doubts have been voiced,

in the audience and in the press,

about the strength of Zishe Breitbart.

Swindler! You swindler!

It's unthinkable that a Jew has such strength!

Yes, sir. I acknowledge your objection.

That is why Breitbart has announced an attempt

at a world record tonight.

He will try to lift, from the ground,

a weight of nine hundred pounds.

This weight is fifty pounds heavier than the current world record.

The precise weight has already been established.

But to give an idea of just how heavy this is,

we have here nine sacks of potatoes.

One hundred pounds each.

And now...

the new Samson,

Zishe Breitbart!

Der Judenschweine!

The rule is simple.

It says that the weight has to be held for three seconds.

If any of you out there touches this old man,

I will break you like a match!

You stop that!

You stop that!

Stop that!

You stop that!

This must be yours.

That was merely an arabesque, ladies and gentlemen.

Take your seats, please.

Don't we all feel refreshed,

after an invigorating battle?

Place your hands in the light.

Make contact.

At least we taught the people of Palestine a lesson.

May I pass on a question from our fuhrer to you?

I am honoured.

The Fuhrer, who appreciates your predictions for the future

and who, in regard to your historic prognosis,

agrees with you entirely,

asked the other day, in a small circle,

how clairvoyance could be in accord

with the principle of cause and effect?

A law of nature.

Nature doesn't care what we think of it.

Nor about the laws that we assign it.

In reality, there is no such thing as clairvoyance,

because, for me, there is no future.

How is this?

There is no future.

Just a state of things and events.

You cannot imagine the cosmos

as either "having been" or "coming into being".

Events are a still point.

Only man hurries past.

Imagine time as a die,

and time sections as sides of the die.

A normal human being sees only one side,

the side that faces him.

And that is the present.

The clairvoyant, however,

in a state of trance,

walks around the die in a way,

seeing it also from the back.

And that is the future side,

which, in time, will become the present.

Mr Himmler,

please tell the fuhrer

that I have seen his coming.

And that I welcome him

as the redeemer of the German people.

In Linie antreten!

Marsch! Marsch!

Wagen abrilcken!

Regt euch!

Augen gerade... aus!

Achtung!

This is not my new palace,

but my ministry.

Open your eyes.

I respect you, because you truly are strong.

This is huge.

This is not only the very heart

of my future Ministry of the Occult,

but far more.

At this circle,

cabinet sessions will be held.

In this very hall, my dream,

my ascent to power,

will become a reality.

But, when I see all this,

and this is the reason I brought you here,

I sense something...

almost like fear.

I love palm trees.

I don't know why.

I even had a dream about palm trees,

and lots of crabs.

You have to get away from him.

Then I'll lose my job,

and I'll be thrown out of the country.

But he beats you.

This is nothing new.

Is there something I could do?

I mean, to help.

Come with me on Sunday.

Where?

Hanussen's boat. He's hosting a party.

There'|| be some of his business associates

and party members. The usual crowd.

I wouldn't be welcome.

Zishe, please come. For my sake.

I need you.

What the hell is he doing here?

Zishe's my friend. I invited him.

Ah, our Jewish strongman.

Excellent. He will add to our entertainment.

Please, come on board.

Herr Goebbels?

I don't understand your concept of style.

You Nazis don't even know how to live.

Not even know what elegance is.

Last night, I went to the casino,

and there was a Japanese man standing there.

He didn't play.

He was just watching and smiling.

And, early in the morning, the casino almost closed,

he presented half a million gold marks,

and he put it on one colour.

On black. Fifty-fifty chance.

Everybody silent.

Only the sound of the ball, rolling round and round.

And then it stops.

And it stopped on red.

He loses.

So, now, what happens?

The Japanese guy

just blushed a little bit, and smiled.

Herr Goebbels, that's what I call style,

which you Nazis don't have.

I wish that Germany,

after the catastrophic defeat of the World War,

just would blush a little bit,

and smile, and show some style.

You know, Count Helldorf,

it's easy to blush for a moment

if you own fifty thousand acres of land and two castles.

Ah, my young Goliath! Do sit down.

We would like your opinion on a little plan of ours.

A Jewish one.

Yes, my love.

A little fire.

The Reichstag Parliament!

You know, Herr Goebbels, what puzzles me most?

That a vulgar person like Himmler

is rising in the party.

What is he babbling about, burning the Reichstag?

Cheers!

I won't do it!

I won't go to that ugly dwarf.

You watch your mouth.

You're speaking of Goebbels.

What do you think you're doing? You remember your place.

Marta's my friend.

Oh.

Fancy that!

This man, whom you shall now keep company with all your charm,

may have a club foot, and measure only five feet,

but what he keeps in his pants

he must have borrowed from a stallion.

You will take him to my private cabin below deck.

In one hour, you will be back with a full report.

I can't.

What does this mean, "| can't"?

Let me put it more clearly. I won't!

You will not say this word to me!

- Put me down! You put me down! - Bravo!

- Excellent! Bravo, bravo! - Put me down!

Excellent! This is entertainment at its best!

You will pay dearly for this. I demand satisfaction!

Sabres? Pistols? Excellent! Excellent!

I shall... I shall...

Gentlemen, frauds like this one are inevitable.

They go hand in hand with the fall of empires.

I mean, the empire you are dreaming of.

- Silence! - It's true. You are a fraud!

A faker, simply a man with a bag of tricks.

I will not have someone like you

telling lies in front of my friends.

These people are not your friends, they're your puppets.

You told me so yourself.

I should kill you for what you've just said.

Herr Hanussen? Please.

We have ladies present.

May I suggest this be settled in a court of law?

If our strongman can prove his case, so be it.

If he can't, then he shall find out what the penalty is

for defiling the honour of a German citizen

with cheap accusations.

Hmm! Excellent, excellent!

Ladies and gentlemen,

you are all kindly invited to a public spectacle.

It seems to me that all performers

take certain liberties with their presentations.

What else?

The elephant act.

There was an apparatus.

A hydraulic apparatus was secretly built.

I mean, it would be impossible for a woman

to be hypnotised to lift an elephant.

I myself can barely do it.

And how is it that you can do it?

Well, sir, I'm very strong.

Herr Breitbart,

in your allegation of the so-called "mind-reading",

you referred to a secret code.

Explain it to the court.

Your Honour, this is very simple.

You just need a good assistant.

He reads out loud from a piece of paper

on which a member of the audience has written down some event.

Then he says, "Quiet", and the word "quiet" signals a death.

When he says, "Quiet, please", it means a murder.

And Mr Hanussen guesses the rest, and embellishes it.

And do you have any witnesses for this?

Well, yes.

Marta Farra.

Fréulein, please.

Approach the witness stand.

Is "Marta Farra" a stage name?

No, it's my real name.

Are you a German citizen?

I'm Czech by birth.

And do you know if Herr Hanussen uses tricks and faker y

for the purpose of defrauding his customers?

Um...

Answer the question, please.

I can't. I mean...

I don't myself believe in such things,

the power of the occult.

Are you saying, then, that Herr Hanussen is a fraud?

Yes.

She's lying.

- You're lying! - Sit down, Herr Hanussen!

You're lying!

Sit down, Herr Hanussen!

I will determine who is lying here.

Can you prove your allegation?

His name is not Erik Jan Hanussen.

He is not a Danish aristocrat.

What is his name, then?

Well?

His name is Herschel Steinschneider.

Jew! Jewish pig! Judensau!

Silence! Silence!

Silence! Silence! Order in the court!

I hold you in contempt!

There seems to be a discrepancy

in regard to your name.

Do you use a stage name?

May I see your papers, please?

A Czech citizen.

Name...

Herschel Steinschneider.

Jew.

Is Herschel Steinschneider your real name?

It's one of many.

In Istanbul,

lonceu.

Borrowed the identity of Franz Lehér.

The, er...

operetta composer.

And, using this alias,

obtained a large amount of money from

enthusiastic theatre lovers.

I then purloined a first class ticket aboard the luxury liner Suez,

for my return voyage to England,

by posing as Enrico Caruso,

the famous Italian tenor.

Thus allowing a French countess

to fall in love with me.

I even escaped the Great Patriotic War,

by using the name of a dead playmate from my youth.

You see, I have nothing but contempt

for the so-called glory of "dying on the field of honour".

With regards to my little "inventions",

my so-called "fraud"...

I'm of the opinion that even God

must have bluffed in his creation.

Otherwise, how could he have come this far?

Hmm?

Come in.

What do you want here?

I wanted to say goodbye.

Actually, I wanted...

I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry.

I didn't want this.

What kind of choice do we have?

We can be kicked around like dogs, or else we adapt.

Dress up. Assimilate completely.

I passed myself off as a Danish aristocrat,

and I, a little Czech Jew, live like a sovereign,

selling the occult to the perplexed.

No trouble. We don't want you.

I'm sorry.

Zishe, I wish we could have been friends.

One moment, gentlemen.

MY Cape.

I want to look elegant for this excursion.

Zishe!

Rabbi, please excuse me.

All at once it came over me, like a great light.

Everything became clear.

It was as if...

as if the Almighty spoke to me directly.

You have found your faith. You have found God.

It's been clear to me, since the day I first saw you,

that he had long ago found you.

And... how can I say it?

My faith, my destiny, has finally been made known to me.

And what is it, my friend?

I see something terrible coming.

So terrible that I don't have words to describe it.

A danger.

A horrible danger for us Jews.

How am I supposed to understand this?

I don't understand it myself.

It's like... as if...

As if I had now become Hanussen. The clairvoyant.

I mean...

I can see it all before me.

What will you do? What do you intend?

I have a mission. I've been called.

Yes?

I must be the new Samson for my people.

You know, Zishe...

you sound as if you might be one of the Unknown Just.

What do you mean? Who are they?

Well, Zishe, you see...

In every generation, there are born among the Jews

thirty-six men whom God has chosen

to bear the burden of the world's suffering.

And to whom he has granted the privilege of martyrdom.

The world reposes upon thirty-six Just Men,

indistinguishable from simple mortals.

Often, they do not recognise themselves.

And the most pitiable are the Just Men

who remain unknown to themselves.

When an Unknown Just rises to Heaven,

he is so frozen that God must warm him

for a thousand years between his fingers,

before his soul can open itself to Paradise.

And it is known that some remain forever inconsolable at human woe,

so that even God himself cannot warm them.

So...

from time to time,

the Creator, blessed be his name,

sets the clock of the Last Judgement forward

by one minute.

You wanted me to wear this dress?

Yes.

I think I know why.

I'm going to miss you very, very much,

but I know you must go.

Zishe, dear, please be careful. You're breaking me in two.

I'm a woman. You must be very tender.

I don't think you know why I asked you to wear this dress.

There is...

I have something for you.

- You didn't... did you? - Yes. Yes, I did.

Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, second movement.

But, in Heaven's name,

we have never rehearsed together.

Don't worry, Madam.

The important thing is that we have rehearsed.

We shall follow you.

Zishe Breitbart? Unmistakable.

Thank you for being at our disposal.

- I want to see for myself. - Get in.

Prepare yourself. It won't be a pleasant sight.

Due identification was made very difficult by the fact...

- Can you take this? - Yes.

By the fact that the corpse shows at least twenty bullet holes,

and has been disfigured by wild animals.

In other words, wild boars have eaten the face,

and half of the body.

I know this man.

Zishe.

Zishe! It is Zishe!

It is!

Zishe!

Zishe, you've... You've become a famous man!

Your brother will be so pleased.

Who? Benjamin?

Yes. Didn't your mother ever write to you?

Yes. Is Benjamin ill?

No. But don't you know that, every day since you gone away,

he's been sitting on the steps of your house.

- Every day. - Looking in the direction you went.

For hours.

I have to see him.

Zishe, my son!

Come closer!

Come closer!

- Come here! Come closer, please! - Please.

Come closer! Come here!

Come closer!

We have to get strong.

We shall need a thousand Samsons.

We must be strong.

We...

We have to defend.

What I mean to say is...

I mean... I mean...

We shall need thousands of strong young men,

to protect and defend our people.

I foresee something terrible happening to our people.

Something horrific.

The Nazis in Germany, er...

Because we need thousands of Samsons.

I will show you how to get strong.

All right, Zishe! You know we admire you.

We are proud of you.

But how, I ask you, could the Nazis

pose any threat to us?

The Nazis, yes. The Nazis in Germany.

Germany's no danger for Poland.

Since they've lost the World War, they are not even allowed

to have an army anymore.

That's not quite true. They are allowed 100,000 men.

No heavy arms, no aeroplanes, no battleships.

Yes, but, Professor, Poland's borders are secure, are they not?

I think so, yes.

If there is a danger, it will come from Russia.

Listen! Listen to me! I see it! I see it!

What is it?

The horror! It's... It's...

The horror! It's real.

Doesn't understand.

Please stay! You must listen to me!

Benjamin's missing. Where is he?

He's in the workshop. He stays in the workshop.

I'll go and get him.

I'm not coming. I have to get strong.

Even if nobody else believes you.

If you want to get strong,

you have to eat properly, too.

There's no muscle there.

It's better for you to study.

Study your studies.

Hmm?

I am the new Samson.

I want to be your protector,

but I can't do this alone.

You have to become strong, like me! All of you.

And I'm a woodcutter. I can handle an axe.

But are you really so strong?

If you want to tell us something,

you have to show us something first.

Did you never hear about Zishe, the Iron King?

The new Samson.

That's what he called himself in Berlin.

But we want to see something.

Some real good stuff. You know, strong.

Impressive! But these are polished nails, probably greased.

I bet you can't do it with this one.

Of course he can.

He can do much more.

Look at this! It went all the way through.

- Oh, it doesn't look too deep. - But it could get infected.

The village barber can stitch it up.

Vodka!

-We'll put some vodka on it. Ridiculous!

The thing was rusty.

Vodka. We'll drink the vodka,

and then we'll go on talking.

L'chaim!

Zishe, you should let a doctor look at that.

Under the table.

The prince.

There is a rooster!

Zishe, you have a fever.

There is no rooster.

Mr Breitbart?

Mr Breitbart?

Can you hear me?

Zishe, can you hear me?

We have to operate at once.

And we have to amputate the leg.

It's the only way to save his life.

I'm sorry, but we have no choice.

- Would it grow again? - Yes, of course!

It'll take only one or two months.

Chanele, come down from the bed.

Why don't you let her stay?

It makes me happy when she's with me.

Zishe, my son, we're leaving.

Would you like us to push you over to the window again?

That would be nice.

Visiting hours are tomorrow morning, from eleven o'clock.

I'm staying. The doctors agreed.

Benjamin, we would like to have you with us as well sometime.

For a whole week now, you've come home only to sleep.

He stays. He can stay.

Zishe, my son.

Zishe...

There is a ringing in my ears.

Someone must be thinking of me.

Father...

Father, Benjamin's flying!

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