Original subtitles

Based on a true story

In September 1939 Nazi Germany invades Poland, annexing its western regions.

Jews are forced into ghettos as rumors spread of deportation to the east.

January 19, 1942 Chelmno, Poland

Hey. Up.

Get up.

They don’t see us.

No, Wolf. Don’t.

Your shoe?

Keep your toes covered or you’ll lose them.

Don’t worry, Szlamek, we’ll find you a new one before we leave.

Where did you hide it?

When you get to Kolo, tell my wife, Klara, I will come for them.

Tell them yourself, tonight. You ready?

No, they’ll see.

The Russians aren’t far. They’ll be here by Spring.

Spring? We’ll not make it to the end of the week. No one is coming for us.

You’ll get us all killed.

We’re already dead.

Go.

Monik, don’t…

Monik, no…

Please.

Now, Wolf.

Herr Polizeimeister, my shovel...

The shovel, the shovel... Sorry.

Forgive me.

Broken, ya?

Sorry.

I want to work.

I want to work.

Please.

You really want to work?

Then you dig with your hands.

What?

Three more for sorting.

I have to finish the pit before the shipment.

Tell it to the Commandant.

Where’s the transport?

The truck’s being worked on. Walk them back.

Walk them back?

You walk them back.

Your lucky day.

Hey. Stop.

You and you. Out.

Hurry up, out.

What are you waiting for? Dig.

On the drive back. Tonight.

You’re mad.

We’ll use the knife to cut through the side of the transport truck.

You already tried that.

With a rock, now we’ve got a blade.

And then what? They’ve already rounded up every Jew from here to Lodz, where exactly will we go?

Have you seen anyone arrive from Grabow?

It’s only a few kilometers away, across the river. It could be done.

No it can’t.

There’s still a ghetto there.

I know the Rabbi, Schulman, he’s with the underground. Trust me, he can help us.

What if Goldman’s right?

What?

If we escape, they'll kill everyone.

They’ll kill everyone if we don’t.

It’s too dangerous.

Every morning when they take us out, half don’t come back.

We don’t even know if we’ll survive the day.

I overheard the Poles. They say the Russians will be here by Spring.

Forget the Russians. We have nobody but ourselves.

No, no. Goldman says that if we just hold on just a little longer.

A little longer? For what? Was burying your parents, your sisters not enough?

Forgive me, Szlamek. I only meant that…

We must stop being afraid if we want to live.

What if we just want to survive?

Stop.

No talking.

I’ll say it again, slowly now:

Each of my four sons has one sister.

How many kids do I have?

Eight.

What? Four plus four, isn’t it?

No, five.

They all have the same sister.

What’s wrong?

The pieces all topple back while driving and put too much weight on the rear.

When you start, push down all the way then gently loosen up.

That pumps the engine properly.

Take your hats off.

These the three?

Have you done sorting before?

No, Scharfuhrer.

- You? - No, Scharfuhrer.

Ya, Scharfuhrer.

- Department? - Clothes, Scharfuhrer.

Move.

If you steal anything, you try to escape, you so much as talk to each other…

- Are you listening to the Scharfuhrer? - Yes.

- What? - Yes, Polizeimeister.

Everything must be kept in order. In the right pile.

You pick up the belongings, you take it inside for sorting.

Very simple.

Yes, Scharfuhrer.

Three thirty. Right on schedule.

No talking, no eye contact.

Yes, Scharfuhrer.

No speaking. No eye contact.

Yes, Scharfuhrer.

Come everyone. Everyone off. It is alright.

You're safe now.

Stand there.

I am aware of the hardships you Jews have endured.

Since the start of the war. And in the ghettos.

The horrific living conditions, the disease, the lack of food…

But I assure you, your suffering is finally over.

This is the Kulmhof Transit Center.

And let me be the first to tell you that you all have been chosen for good, honest work.

From here, you will be transported immediately to a new, state-of-the art factory in Leipzig,

where you will be given hot meals, a place to stay,

and fair wages like that of the German work force.

Now, as you may know, there has been a scare of typhus in the ghettos,

and we cannot allow that to spread to the factory.

Therefore, before the long journey, you will need to shower

and all your clothes and luggage will be disinfected.

Gold, money, foreign currency and jewelry are to be deposited against a receipt.

Do not lose your receipt,

since you will be asked to present it upon arrival in Leipzig.

Now, please, gather your things.

Do so quickly so you can step inside to the warmth of the castle,

where you can undress and shower.

Do not forget to properly mark your baggage so it can be identified later.

Make sure to hand over all valuables hidden in your garments.

The steam from disinfecting oven will destroy everything.

It would be shame to let your valuables be ruined.

Your number.

We all know how stressful this period can be.

We believe it would be helpful if you would write letters to your families

that you have arrived to your destination and you are safe and healthy.

Please. This way.

Please come in.

You two.

Szlamek? Szlamek Wiener?

It’s me, Aaron. From Kolo.

You don’t remember me?

I’m Moishe’s father.

Yes, yes, I remember you.

Did you see Moishe?

He was in the transport two weeks ago.

Did he arrive at Leipzig?

Will we be working in the same factory?

Moishe… I…

Take this gentleman’s belongings inside for disinfection.

Now.

- You wrote your letter? - Yes.

You can go inside. Thank you

Soap and hand towels for everyone.

Let’s go.

Stop.

That one’s too pretty to be thrown in the truck just yet.

No reason we shouldn’t enjoy her for a night or two.

Hide this. Hide it.

Go on.

My pockets are torn. Hide it.

You’re risking our lives over a pencil?

If people knew what this place is, what the Germans are doing, they will help us.

Now take it please. Come on.

Move.

Get them out.

Next time you idiots keep the engine running longer.

What are you waiting for?

They’re not going to bury themselves.

Use every centimeter. Keep them tight.

Look in the mouth.

The fat ones on the bottom and the skinny ones on top.

Faster.

Klara?

Klara?

Gutta... Abos...

My baby, my baby.

Kill me.

Kill me now, please. Let me be with my family.

Let me be with my family.

- You have to leave them. - No.

- Leave them. - No.

Kill me.

Please. I beg you.

Please, kill me.

He's a strong one, plenty of work left in him.

Seems so.

Continue to work. Come on.

Come on.

Back to work.

We have to keep going.

- Keep going? - Hey, get up.

For what?

Hey, continue working. Come on.

Get up. Back to work.

Last warning. Continue working, now, get up!

Come on.

Back to work.

Back to work.

Work.

That’s enough.

Ready?

As soon as we get on the truck.

Ready.

It'll never work. You'll get shot.

They must still be working on the truck.

Looks like it.

We could be here all night.

We’re walking.

Move.

Tomorrow morning.

They’ll have fixed the truck.

Stop.

We caught him outside the woods, Polizeimeister.

He came to us looking for food.

Thank you.

Hats off.

You can eat now.

You have to eat.

Tomorrow we have to make sure we board the back of the truck together.

If we get separated,

Szlamek, do you know the way to Grabow?

This is the castle.

Grave site.

We run east through the forest until we hit the river.

Follow it downstream,

then head north through the farms past Dabie.

The water is freezing.

Fall in and you’re finished.

But it moves quick, so if we can find a raft or something.

It will take us down river and we’ll be in Grabow in thirty minutes.

We just have to keep away from the roads.

And whatever happens, do not trust the Poles.

I’m sorry about your family, Michael.

We will do right by them.

Attention! Hats off!

Today’s report.

Today we processed nine transports.

Eight hundred and twenty three bodies from Kolo.

One last transport was late and will arrive tomorrow.

Berlin asked me to increase our productivity to no less than twelve transports per day.

And we will do so with maximum efficiency.

One.

Two.

One.

Two.

Stop!

Shema Israel Adonai…

Lenz, where’s your violinist?

And bring the girl.

Let us lighten the mood, yes?

Play something.

What is this, a funeral?

No, no. Play something happy, something uplifting.

Something to dance to.

Ya, great.

Dance, dance.

Louder, louder!

I’m sorry, Commandant, I didn’t mean to.

Who kills the bride? What a waste.

You will find me another tomorrow.

We used to dispense of Jews by firing squads.

But Berlin thought this was too traumatizing for our soldiers.

One night an officer came home drunk from a party.

Fell asleep in his garage with the engine on.

So now we use vans.

Which means we still need target practice.

Solomon, if you get to Grabow

Your men need more practice.

Not a word till morning.

May the One who brings peace to the universe, bring peace to us,

and to all people, and let us say, Amen.

What now, Szlamek?

What we are going to do now?

Now, we run.

Run?

We have no one left to run to.

Wolf was right. No one is coming for us.

But as long as we’re still breathing there is hope.

Hope? All our families are gone.

But there are other families.

One day the Germans came into our ghetto,

saying they were in need of workers.

'Only the strong will be chosen’, they said.

'Each man should bring a shovel and enough bread for two days.'

My family, like everyone else in Izbica,

we were convinced that we were off to a labor camp.

Better than starving in the ghetto.

The Nazis, they put us in the truck.

We even stopped on the way there at a petrol station.

So that we can stretch our legs.

My neighbor, Bronshtein, he…

he wandered off.

The Nazis, they didn’t even notice.

And when the truck kept going, he came running back.

Banged on the sides so that God forbid he wouldn’t be left behind.

We had no idea.

No idea.

But as soon as we arrived here, they made…

They made no more effort to conceal what was really going on.

They took away our shovels, our food.

I was taken out to the forest with three others to dig.

The rest, we buried that day.

My family…

My parents and my four sisters…

Not long after.

We have…

We have to get the word out.

We have to warn our people what this place is.

What it really, really is.

And you think that will bring an end to all of this?

I don’t know.

I don’t know. But if we succeed,

the next Bronshtein, he will not be so keen to run back.

But how? How do we escape?

Just like Wolf and Monik planned.

With what? We haven't got a blade.

We have this.

We cut through the side of the truck on the way out tomorrow.

We take the river.

We stay off the roads and we don’t stop running until we reach Grabow.

Yes?

Yes.

Listen, everyone.

Michael and I are going to leap off the next transport tomorrow morning.

Who's with us?

You think you're the first to try to escape, young Szlamek?

Remember Zerlin from Leczyca.

Isserman and Greenberg from Kutno.

No, they ran from the castle or the grave site.

Not from the transport trucks in the middle of the forest.

There will only be five or six Germans on us.

And two never ran together.

We’ll use the trees for protection, draw fire in different directions.

Exactly.

Join us, Goldman.

The Russians are less than 400 kilometers away.

We don’t know that.

We only have ourselves to rely on, Goldman.

You can take your chances here.

Michael and I are leaving.

Even if you make it through the forest,

the first Pole you meet won't hesitate to bring you back for five zlotys.

Grabow is only a few kilometres away.

The ghetto has not been liquidated yet and there’s a Rabbi there, he can help us.

And if by some act of God you make it there in one piece,

who do you think will be staring down the barrels of a firing squad

once they realize you’re gone?

Goldman’s right.

We’ve survived this long.

You are all welcome to join us.

If we succeed and they take it out on you…

Please know that I am sorry.

We will pray for you.

We will pray

for all those who suffered here.

Wolf, he was from Kutno, yes?

Yes?

Lodz.

Wolf was from Lodz.

Monik from Kutno.

Thank you, Felix.

Who else?

Who else?

Jacob Zerlin from Leczyca.

Simcha Wachtel of Leczyca.

Josef Hershnikov from Kutno.

Motle…

Motle Symke, also from Leczyca.

Gestl Shtayer from Turek.

Josef Hershkowicz from Kutno.

Who else?

Moshe Plocker from Kutno.

Moshe had a son here with him.

Yosef… no.

- Fyvel? - Favel.

Favel Plocker also from Kutno.

Isaac Masza from Brzeziny.

- Jonas Lew from Brzeziny. - Who else?

Yosef Yacovitch from Lodz.

- Aaron Nussbaum from Sanok. - Yakov Shlamovich from Kutno...

Moshe Heshnikov from Kutno.

Yakov Yudkevich from Sanok.

- Noach Nussbaum... - Leib Koch from Lodz.

Also Yitzhak Szama from Brzeziny.

My wife.

Klara.

Gutta and Abos Podchlebnik, ages 5 and 7.

From Kolo.

Who else? Who else?

The late transport has finally arrived.

Everybody out, back to the forest.

Now, go! Out!

Move!

Faster!

At least we don’t have to walk you dogs back.

Goldman.

Goldman.

Hey, sit down.

- Sit down! - Please Herr Polizeimester.

- Sit down, I said. - Herr Polizeimester, it’s important.

You sit down or you’ll be the first in the ditch.

Sit down, I said!

Spare a cigarette?

You like it? It’s good? Good cigarette.

You have it, it’s yours.

You smoke it too, my friend.

You take it, you share it.

Smoke it.

Smoke the cigarette.

Stop the truck!

Stop the truck! Stop the truck!

We’ll freeze.

Go!

Szlamek!

I can’t, the current.

Hold on!

Michael!

Hold on!

I'm coming, I'm coming!

Hold on!

Hold on!

Szlamek...

Michael, hold on!

I'm coming!

I’ve got you.

I’ve got you.

We need to keep moving.

My leg.

I’ve been shot.

Where? Show me.

It passed straight through.

You want to know something?

I think I broke my leg jumping off the truck.

Come on. Come on.

I guess...

We're going to be late for roll call.

Come on.

You think they'll report it?

I’m sure they’ve notified every police station from here to Lodz.

Two witnesses escape...

Lange will have Lenz's head.

I'd pay money to see that.

Put a milk bottle on him.

What do you...

think’s going to happen to the others?

Do not move.

Just stare back at it.

Come on. Come on.

Come on.

Stay low.

We need to head for the barn.

They’ll hand us in if they catch us. We can’t.

We’ll freeze out here.

Come on. Come on. Stay low.

What now?

The motorcycle.

- Can you ride one? - Yes.

What are you doing?

Wait. Wait.

She’s alone.

Railway uniforms?

My husband’s.

They might keep you safe but please hurry.

That’s all I can do.

Now go. Please.

Thank you.

God be with you.

Hey!

Let’s turn around.

What do we do?

You two with the motorcycle, stop.

You two. Come here.

Polish?

- Yes. - Come help us.

Push!

Hey, wait a minute.

Come here.

Come here. Come.

What happened to your leg?

Just an accident.

A group of Wehrmacht fired at us just past Dabie.

A stray bullet.

- A stray bullet? - Yes.

I don’t think they meant to.

My medic will take a look.

- No, really. There’s no need. - I insist.

Come sit, please.

So you are with the railway?

What?

Your uniforms.

Yes, yes.

We are just on our way to a repair on the Klodawa track.

Klodawa?

That’s our direction. We will give you a lift.

Thank you.

Thank you but I have to take him home.

He can’t work in this state.

Where does he live?

Siedlec, just past Grabow.

All right. So we will take him.

I would not want to hold up any service to the Fuhrer’s train.

No, of course not, I…

I have to refill the bike anyway, so…

but thank you for your help.

We really appreciate it.

Thank you for your help, Sir.

Well, thank you for your help.

Grabow.

We need to avoid the guards.

It’s not just the Germans I’m worried about.

- The Judenrate? - Yeah.

- Here. - Did Wolf tell you where the Rabbi’s house is?

No, but someone here will know.

It’s empty.

It’s curfew.

How’s your leg?

Come on.

- Who is it? - Please, please let us in. Please.

- Who’s there? - We are friends.

We’re looking for Rabbi Schulman.

You’re not from here.

No, no, we’re Jews. We’re Jews.

We escaped from the Nazi camp in Chelmno, we’re looking for Rabbi Schulman.

Abramson.

You know you can’t break curfew.

- Abramson! - Yes, yes, I know.

- I had a problem with the lock - Well fix it.

Don’t let the Germans see it open during curfew.

- You say you come from Chelmno? - Yes.

My son, with his family, they were sent off to work in Chelmno.

Jacob Abramson.

He sent me a letter from Leipzig. Maybe you saw him?

I’m afraid not.

Please sir, the Rabbi’s house.

Go around back. Take the side street all the way down.

It’s the second house on the right. The blue door.

Thank you.

Are you sure you did not see my son?

Sorry sir.

Rabbi Schulman?

- My name is… - Shh... Quick.

Please, please.

Mania, Ester, bring a bowl of water and some food.

Motle, go and fetch the doctor.

Hurry but make sure no one sees you.

Please, come sit.

Thank you.

I’m Solomon Wiener from Izbica.

This is Michael Podchlebnik from Kolo.

We are escaped prisoners from the Nazi camp in Chelmno.

Please, eat.

Blessed are you, our God, who brings forth bread from the earth.

Amen.

Thank you, Rabbi.

There is a work camp in Chelmno?

It’s not a work camp. It’s a death camp

A what?

We have to be, we have to be brief.

We passed a hole contingent of Wehrmacht on the way here.

It won’t take them long to figure out who we are or where we were headed.

What have you done?

I know this will sound crazy.

It is crazy, but…

We’ve just come from a place…

A true Gehenna on earth.

What… what place?

The Germans are building death camps.

- Death camps? - Factories designed to exterminate our people.

We have buried an entire Jewish community. Thousands.

With our own hands. Our own families.

- Rabbi? - Thank you for coming. Chaim, please.

Here, sit, sit.

Thousands, you say? How?

With gas from a truck engine.

Then we bury them in ditches in the forest.

Impossible.

This is the twentieth century.

No one can annihilate an entire nation and get away with it.

Even during war time it’s unheard of.

And yet it is happening, Rabbi.

No more than a few kilometers from here.

They tell them stories of work in Leipzig and then they murder them.

Listen, we don’t have much time. We need your help.

We need to get a a message out, notify everyone. Everyone.

No, no…

I have a community here. I cannot...

I must take care of them.

- I cannot spread rumors. - Rumors?

Rabbi, these are not rumors.

Our people, they must be warned.

The world, it must know the truth.

This cannot be the truth. I know the Germans here.

- They would not do this… no. - Rabbi...

No. There is a war going on.

People are sick, scared, frightened for their lives.

This will cause panic. You will scare them even more.

They should be, they should be scared.

Look. Look at these names.

No.

These are just the ones that we remember. Look at my hands.

Every day they bury a thousand of our brothers and sisters.

Look at me and tell me you don’t believe me, Rabbi.

Look at me!

Dear God in Heaven…

Nothing I can say,

will do it justice.

You have to see it with your own eyes.

But it will be the last thing you ever see, Rabbi.

We came here so that you, your family,

this community, will never have to.

Why us?

Why here?

I’m just a Rabbi…

We were told you had connections to the underground in Warsaw.

No… no…

Who, who told you this?

Wolf Kaminski.

May God avenge him.

Rabbi, can you help us?

Are you expecting anyone else?

No.

Rukowski.

We heard you may have some guests.

Guests?

No one came looking for you?

Who would come during curfew?

Then you don’t mind if we come in?

I was just about to daven. Please, join me.

Your father would be happy to know that you didn’t miss prayer.

That should hold the Judenrate off for a while,

but they’ll be back.

Tell me what happens in Chelmno.

We will write everything down.

But we need to know that you can get this out.

Have you something to write on?

Tell me everything.

The camp started operating on the 8th of December, 1941,

when the first transport of Jews arrived from Kolo,

Michael’s village.

Over seven hundred were gassed that day.

They… They were the first.

The…

The first day I arrived…

My...

My...

We will get everything down.

This will reach the underground, and they will get it to London.

I promise you this.

People will not remain silent.

The world will tremble.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Solomon's testimony became the first eyewitness account of the Nazis' mass murder of Jews.

The Jewish Underground smuggled it to London where it was broadcast on BBC radio on June 26, 1942.

This was the first news report of the Holocaust.

Following Chelmno's prototype gas vans the Nazis soon advanced to gas chambers in such camps as Treblinka and Auschwitz.

Of the 220,000 Jews sent to Chelmno, only four survived.

I am aware of the hardships you Jews have endured since the start of the war

and in the ghettos.

The horrific living conditions, the disease, the lack of food…

But I assure you, your suffering is finally over.

Rabbi Jacob Shulman did not abandon his community

and three weeks after meeting Solomon and Michael he was taken to Chelmno together with the Jews of Grabow.

They were all gassed immediately upon arrival.

Solomon 'Szlamek' Wiener fled Grabow in search of his surviving relatives

but was captured and sent to the Belzec death camp, where he was gassed in April 1942.

Before his capture he was able to send one last message submitting the first report of the gassings at Belzec.

Michael Podchlebnik parted from Solomon in Grabow, survived the war hiding on a Polish farm

and immigrated to Israel where he remarried and had two sons.

Michael faced Chelmno's guards one last time as key witness in their 1962 trials in West Germany.

One day at the camp I saw my wife and children.

Michael Podchlebnik, 1979

I hugged them in the ditch and begged to be killed.

But the German said I still had strength to work and they wouldn't kill me.

The World Will Tremble