Original subtitles

Here on the outskirts of Jerusalem

is a place known as the Mount of Remembrance.

Each tree along its avenue of the righteous

honors another gentile.

Men and women who risked their own lives to save a Jew's

during the Holocaust.

The accompanying medal to each honoree,

some living, others no longer, bears an inscription:

"Whoever saves a single soul,

it is as if he had saved the whole world."

Although there is no order of precedence along this path,

it is generally acknowledged

that the man whose name is on this plaque

heroically earned this honor

through the courage and passion of his life.

Come on, let's give the old witch one last dance.

Come on, kick.

Kick higher.

Raoul is a bit old for it, isn't he?

Why?

If I didn't mind grass stains on my shoes,

I'd be out there dancing with them

instead of sitting here being old with you.

Notice, Herr von Fremd,

my dear cousin's spirited defense of her baby.

Well, it's a mother's right.

Raoul, be careful!

In Germany, we celebrate the family.

Isn't it so, Mr. Lauer? Ha-ha-ha.

One, two...

- Well, throw it. Three!

Come on, get going.

Get the hell out.

Nice Hungarian peasant boys.

Sixteen, maybe 17.

Arrow Cross fascists jerk them off their farms,

teach them to burn, to kill.

What you say your name was?

Fodor. You know, it's Nikki Fodor.

Well, not anymore.

You're Laszlo Birosh, Catholic, factory worker.

You know the Jewish Music Society?

Well, go there. Get everyone out, back to their homes.

Those choir boys will burn anything with a Jewish sign on it tonight.

Major Wisleceny, Colonel Eichmann.

Admiral Horthy is expecting you.

Father, look. Is that Eichmann?

- Yes, I invited him. - You invited him?

Yes, I thought it would be politic. Go on, ride on, Nikki.

Ah. It's good blood. Magnificent.

How many centuries of noble blood does the old fossil claim?

I was taking about the horses, not the old fossil.

Occasionally, a piece of horse flesh arouses me more than women's flesh,

but only occasionally.

I don't think Admiral Horthy will let you meddle with his stable.

His country, he can't do anything about,

but his stable and the region of Hungary, he will fight for.

Colonel Eichmann, how very pleasant you could come.

Heil Hitler, Highness. - Yes.

- Major Wisleceny. Heil Hitler, Highness.

You both know Monsignor Rotha, papal nuncio.

Colonel Eichmann.

Colonel Eichmann, what a happy surprise.

Lisl, this is remarkable Colonel Eichmann

that you've wanted to meet for so long.

Colonel, my lovely bride.

How truly fortunate you are, baron.

And how truly unfearsome you seem, Colonel Eichmann.

Not at all what one might expect.

Really?

I am flattered.

Fearsome? Where could you have heard such a thing?

Baron, why don't you invite the colonel

to your Arrow Cross maneuvers next week?

I'm sure his presence there will encourage your young scamps.

Admiral regent,

I must see those excellent Lipizzaners at close range.

- Delighted. - Baroness.

- You obviously fancy horses. Thank you.

I am certain the colonel welcomes this opportunity

to discuss the upcoming rites of purification privately.

Rites of purification?

Oh. Oh, yes.

That is appropriate on Walpurgis Night, isn't it?

You know, of course, Walpurgis Night is of German origin.

An ancient pagan custom from Bavaria.

Can you imagine, in the old days,

people actually put some poor woman to the torch?

I thing I prefer one made of straw.

Herr von Fremd.

I'm told you Germans are still disposed

to such amusements.

A national appetite for bonfires, huh?

- True? Raoul.

- Herr von Fremd is our guest. - Of course.

And an important client of the Wallenberg banks.

That's enough, Raoul.

I apologize for my young cousin's rudeness.

I only spoke the truth.

Herr von Fremd, please forgive my son.

I think he has had a bit too much to drink.

Not at all, Mother.

I'm as sober as Adolf Hitler.

Now, there's a leader to be admired.

No alcohol, no tobacco.

But perhaps a taste for more exotic vices.

That's enough, I said, Raoul.

I will expect a written apology to Herr von Fremd.

- You may leave. - Leave?

My dear Mr. Wallenberg, that won't be necessary.

Many people listen to this false propaganda

of unreliable sources.

I can assure you,

we have not inconvenienced one single Jew.

And you have amply supplied them with gas.

Oh, for cooking and heating, of course.

Your Führer will not tolerate people

...making jokes about garbage.

I teach you a lesson, a big lesson.

If you laugh at mein garbage, I give you big jails,ja?

Und the gallows, und the whip, und the bullet, und the gas,

und the fire!

Out. Out. Everybody out. Go home.

You there, mind your manners.

You can't break in here like this. It's a concert.

They're burning the synagogue. They'll be here next.

The warder sent me. Go home.

The warder? But who...? Who burnt the synagogue?

Arrow Cross.

What are you all sitting here for? Go home.

And lock your doors.

Hannah, I'll take you home.

- Come on. - No.

Oh, no, no.

- NIKKl: Come on. - Hannah.

But the Germans said we'd be safe.

Yeah, like the 12,000 they shipped out last week.

Let the Jews burn!

Kill the Jews!

Hey, you, Fodor, whatever your name is.

How do we know we can trust you?

Papa, we can.

He has friends. They're fighting for us.

Friends? Zionist hoodlums.

- Nikki, what'll we do? - Follow me.

I know the back alleys.

Eichmann told the council we would be safe.

We... We would be safe if we followed orders.

- We are Hungarians. - Follow me.

The Führer will tolerate no further delays

- in eliminating Jewish sabotage. - Colonel Eichmann...

There are still a quarter of a million Jews in Budapest,

including three individuals whose wealth and power

you personally continue to shield.

I really must protest.

Colonel Eichmann,

I was an anti-Semite before you were born.

I bow to no one in my distaste for the chosen people.

I drafted Hungary's best, most vigorous anti-Jewish laws.

But death camps like Auschwitz were never what I had in mind.

Auschwitz, Auschwitz. No.

Even our enemies, by their silence,

acknowledge that we are right about the Jew.

Colonel, it is tradition in our country

to leave all matters of commerce and finance to the Jew.

And I am not going to violate this ancient Hungarian tradition.

- Certain Jews... - All Jews must go.

You will not be allowed to interfere any longer with deportations.

Not be allowed? I will not be spoken to in this...

The Führer demands a favorable ruling from your cabinet.

The deportations will be intensified.

The final solution has been set in motion.

Your behavior was outrageous.

You humiliated your mother.

It's a good thing von Fremd is a tolerant man.

Tolerant? Germany's collapsing, he needs your money

for all those ambitious new projects such as Auschwitz.

Raoul.

Is that really a good investment, Uncle?

Oh, Raoul, please.

You're not only impertinent, you're naive.

Of course we do business with the Germans.

Who hasn't?

But we are also working closely with the anti-Hitler movement.

Banking is not a business for moralists.

And you certainly demonstrated that when we sent you to Heifer in '37.

Somehow I wasn't made to sit behind a desk and say no to people.

But instead of calculating exchange rates,

you brooded into your wine glass

and talked philosophy with your new friends.

Brooded? We did that some.

We also talked about movies and women.

Oh, please, stop, both of you.

Raoul, with your goading.

And, Jacob, you do make Raoul out such a dilettante.

It simply isn't true.

He worked very well in Heifer. He always works well,

at the university and as an architect.

I thought his plans for the new spa were quite stunning.

The fact that you and your brother rejected them

tells more about your own limitations than about Raoul's.

The bath he designed for it was outrageous.

It was brilliant.

Not really, Mother.

But my quick cork, that was brilliant.

Popped right out of the bottle without a corkscrew.

And without a single customer among wine merchants everywhere.

But was I discouraged? Never.

I went right on to cheap Japanese zippers,

which led directly to my current involvement

with a middle-European trading company, n'est-ce pas?

Where I'm a leading authority on the importation

of smoked goose breast and pickled cucumbers.

Kalman Lauer is a generous man,

and his philanthropic zeal has led him to offer you a desk and a phone

and to send you off to any place

where your gift of languages could be useful to him.

Not to mention your talent for locating the wild truffle.

A talent I share with rooting hogs.

Raoul,

you said you were drilling your home guards this afternoon.

- Can you drop me off in town? - Yes.

Don't turn away from this, Maj.

- I'm not turning away from anything. - Please don't deny it.

You have confided to me your sorrow at Raoul's indifference.

Indifference?

Towards having a worthy career.

- That's a source of sorrow for me too. - Uncle.

Just the opposite may be true.

I have felt so keenly

the enormous advantages I came into, the privilege,

the love that has surrounded me.

And I'm afraid I've made so little of it all.

That I find myself going about my business in the middle of a nightmare,

trading shrewdly for shipments of wild truffles in countries

where people are herded like cattle into freight cars and gas chambers.

We can't change the world.

The war is practically over. The nightmare will end.

But if you go on wandering through life in search of perfect justice,

you'll starve, my boy.

Swedes don't starve, Uncle. They're neutral.

Especially Wallenbergs.

The assignment requires an experienced diplomat.

It also calls for a persuasive one, doctor,

and it looks like our man just qualified himself.

Once Raoul makes a commitment...

Now, just for your information,

our American ambassador has talked to your foreign ministry

and we're sure that they'll respond favorably.

Oh, Raoul, you're improving. Only 25 minutes late.

My apologies, Kalman.

Iver Olsen, my friend Raoul Wallenberg.

- How do you do? - I believe you already know Dr. Preiss.

- Always a pleasure. - Indeed, sir.

Well, I hear that we're practically fellow Americans.

Well, you spent five years in Michigan, didn't you?

Much more. Maine to Mexico.

Nice to see you, sir. Champagne?

Beer, please.

My champagne cousins own the hotel,

so the employees are under the misconception

that I have some share in the Wallenberg fortune.

- Sir. - Thank you.

- Skoal. - Skoal.

As you know, Mr. Olsen's with the War Refugee Board

set up by President Roosevelt.

Yes, we're looking for someone to represent us in Budapest.

Mr. Lauer has told me that the purpose of your organization

is to save the 250,000 Jews left in Hungary.

Then you can understand why it is so important to choose the right man.

Dr. Preiss is head of the Jewish Committee here in Stockholm.

Yes, as foreigners, we thought it proper

to consult with an advisory group.

I've told Mr. Olsen about the many trips

you've taken for me to Budapest.

Business as well as in search of my wife's family.

He knows the city.

He has contacts.

But Dr. Preiss still has his doubts about me.

Only about your seriousness, Mr. Wallenberg.

If I am selected

and if the Foreign Office agrees to give me the latitude I need,

I would be relentless, gentlemen.

You'd be a fully accredited Swedish diplomat

attached to the legation.

What the mystery writers call "a cover."

Ha. Precisely.

Now, my contact tells me

that your country is ready to increase its representation.

And they're fully aware of the purpose you mentioned, to save Jews?

Cautiously aware, I'd say.

I'm told even Swedish Jews are cautious.

That they occasionally suffer what my American friends call

the Mayflower complex.

Which is?

The fear of crowding the vault if too many more Jews come here.

Tell me, doctor, would it militate against me

if you knew I would go to any length to save lives in Budapest?

Including the promise of Swedish citizenship

to as many Jews as possible?

I would answer saying

that you have expressed your seriousness most eloquently.

Amen to that.

This is dreadful. Quite dreadful. It won't do at all.

- It doesn't fit. None of it fits. - Ha-ha-ha.

The whole of it is just one long piece of green.

You are like a little boy with a new soldier suit.

- Look at all these buttons. - Stand still.

Gabor, we must get this aligned.

Ga...

God, I adore you.

If the jacket isn't right, it must go back to the tailor.

The fit isn't right.

All the decent tailors in Budapest were Jews.

Well, Gabor, where have they all gone?

Who knows? They are such a mysterious breed.

I don't know. I've met so few Jewish people.

It's one of the advantages of a convent upbringing.

Three successive convents.

You can't imagine what a welcome sight you were

after all those sisters.

And I thought it was the Italian men who suffered by comparison.

So they did, my love.

Actually, this uniform is quite good for me.

And the arm band, it gives it some flair.

- Panache. - Yes.

And how grateful I am to your cosmopolitan background.

You were taught not only to speak French,

but to make love like the French.

Such things cannot be taught, Gabor.

- Isn't the green a bit poisonous? - Green is green.

What do the crossed arrows stand for?

Now, that is an old Magyar symbol.

Honor, courage, virtue.

Supremacy over Bolshevism and the Jewish menace.

Why are they a menace?

That is enough about politics for one day.

But if I don't ask,

how will I ever learn?

You've already filled your pretty head with more than enough questions.

- Gabor, I have one more question. - If you must.

What did Monsignor Rotha mean when he asked God

to forgive everyone who kept silent about the Jews?

The nuncio is a meddlesome old woman.

Does that invalidate his prayers?

That is a second question.

Gabor, if what he implies has actually happened to those people...

Those people are unworthy of another moment's time

as our senile regent will learn shortly.

- Gabor. - Yes.

Eichmann is losing patience with Admiral Horthy

for trying to suspend Jewish transports.

Horthy is trying as well as Rotha.

It's my feeling the Germans will soon replace the old man

with one of our people, the Arrow Cross,

which would make your husband the new foreign minister.

You, Gabor?

The foreign minister?

How wonderful.

Isn't it?

How wonderful.

- Here it is. May I take this? - Mm-hm.

- Be careful. - Nobody picks on Lutherans.

Besides, I'm the most cautious man in the world.

Ugh. What a dreadful liar.

When you were little, you'd run into a lightning storm

and dare the other children to follow.

- You called it God's fireworks. - Did I? I don't remember.

I've tried to be mother and father to you.

He would have liked you to be a naval officer.

Mother, I'm a diplomat. Overnight.

Second secretary of the legation. Not bad

- for an importer of goose breasts. - Hmm.

Take that.

So you'll write to me and come home for visits?

Certainly by Christmas, Mother.

Why do you feel you have to go to Hungary?

Even Jacob and Fredrik say it's dangerous.

I think you know.

I would...

I would explode if I missed this opportunity.

I know. I know and I understand.

I'll miss you.

I love you, my son.

And I'll always love you, Mother.

- Where are we? - Austria.

We should have crossed the border long ago,

if we hadn't stopped for the bombing.

I thought Goering said they couldn't reach this far with the bombers.

Idiot. He still thinks there's a Luftwaffe left.

Goering said if they ever bomb Germany, they could call him Meyer.

That fat bum? He's Meyer, Isador and Abraham by now.

Papers, travel documents and IDs.

Sweden?

Second secretary of the Swedish Legation in Budapest.

Traveling like an infantry replacement.

I had little choice, sergeant.

Sorry.

Diplomat, huh? I never met one.

What does a second secretary do?

Oh, import-export licenses, trade.

You know, a Hungarian salami for a Swedish herring.

Hungarian border.

Out. Everybody out.

Bring your papers down. And one valise.

Yes, come out. Do what you heard.

Only head count and registration.

Come down.

Any Jew strong enough to work goes to the labor brigades.

- Yes. - This goes for kids and girls.

- The rest go to the train. - Everybody out.

RABBl: Come, children, you know we have to go.

Everybody in this building must come out.

Our Hungarian police will treat us decently.

Fodor.

Fodor.

Chaim, you're in charge.

Everyone downstairs. Fodor!

Fodor!

Oh, you fool. Put the knife away.

Come out with the rest of us.

Look, they have the names of everyone here in the building.

You are a janitor.

Look, if you don't come out, they'll torture me,

kill the students.

No, I'm not going. I'll hide out with Teicholz.

Teicholz? Your resistance movement is a joke.

Where is the professor? Where's the rest of them?

Go and line up. Line up. Four and five.

Get out of my way, Rabbi. Tell them I'm dead.

Come out. Come on, hurry.

Do you understand?

Come out. Come on.

Hurry, hurry. Show me your papers.

- Hannah. Where is she? - That cannot be everybody.

- Oh, have you seen my daughter? - What are you waiting for? Go.

- Everybody must go. - I don't know where she is.

Line up in the street. Line up.

Quietly. Quietly.

Hannah.

You can't be here.

- Why not? - Because no place is safe.

We have to go.

My father says I can't see you anymore.

He's got bigger worries than me. They took him away.

They've cleaned out the block.

I have to hide you.

- What will they do to him? - I don't know.

Maybe they'll put him to work.

They've got 15,000 digging trenches outside the city.

Oh, my God.

- We have to help him. - No, we have to help ourselves.

- How? - We'll make a run for it.

We'll find Teicholz.

Come on.

What's wrong?

They won't take us all away, will they?

No, no, no. Of course not.

- I have to go home. - Listen.

You go back and you'll die. You'll die.

Come.

Hey, "street rat" your father calls me, eh?

Eh? Eh? Ha-ha.

Street rat.

Well, street rats know the alleyways. Come on.

Stay together.

Get in line. Move.

Stay back. Stay back.

Move back.

Stay inside. Only one at a time.

Come on, please.

Hey, let us in.

Please.

Why do they do nothing?

Your identification, sir, please.

Be sure that you keep this with you at all times,

or I can't be responsible for the consequences.

But otherwise, there should be...

- You wouldn't be Raoul Wallenberg? - Oh, but I would.

We've been expecting you.

Excuse me. My name is Per Anger, second secretary here.

Just a moment and I'll take you up to meet Minister Danielsson.

There, I'm sure you'll sleep a little better

with this Swedish pass under your pillow.

- Thank you. - Goodbye.

Above-mentioned to be regarded

as protected by the Royal Swedish Legation.

Only if they can establish a family or a business connection.

- There must be a limit. - Why?

You know, these security passes could use more filigree,

more gold in the pattern.

Germans respect that.

Please.

I swear, that crowd gets bigger every day.

Word spreads quickly.

One can hardly blame them.

Eichmann's preparing to make mass arrests.

Setting up deportations again.

This time, I'm afraid worse than Horthy's latest suspension.

Well, Wallenberg, this is now your project.

What do you suggest?

First, sir, these passes, which are a remarkable idea,

might be issued in much greater numbers.

- Oh, you mean thousands? - I mean as many as there are Jews.

In effect, to make honorary Swedes of them all.

No.

No, that's impossible. We could never follow through on that.

Eichmann wouldn't tolerate it.

We won't know till we've tried.

The Germans will be soon seeking our goodwill.

The Hungarians already are.

Nevertheless, we should do nothing in haste.

I'll set up a meeting with Horthy in the next few days.

With the minister's permission, I've already made the appointment.

With my permission?

Sir, under the terms of my agreement with the Foreign Office,

I am authorized to do so without going through channels.

I verified the appointment this morning

when I delivered King Gustaf's latest telegram to Horthy's office.

Would it be too much to ask, since you appear unstoppable,

if you could operate with discretion?

Not at all, sir.

Toward that end, I will also ask you to employ as few people as possible.

I'm afraid that won't be easy.

I intend to use my funds to hire 100 people.

I'll need secretaries, drivers, clerks, printers, maintenance personnel.

But it won't cost the legation a krona.

I was more concerned with our neutrality

than with the money.

Precisely why I decided to hire staff from outside the legation.

These will all be Jews.

In that connection, sir, I would like to work with Wallenberg.

Since I was the one who initiated the rescue effort,

I could provide continuity.

Well, your charm has certainly had its effect, Wallenberg.

Very well.

But in no way must the crown or this legation be compromised.

No, sir.

We are the leading neutral power in Budapest.

We must not offend anybody.

Jeopardize that condition, you lose our support.

Understood.

Before we go any further, I beg you to come to me

if anyone tries to harm you.

I will punish those responsible, even if they are German soldiers.

But, and this is the reason for my calling together your council,

your people must not try to mislead me, or they will regret it.

I have been handling Jewish affairs for ten years, so nobody can fool me.

My main task is to raise the output of the war factories,

and Jewish labor is essential for this. Heh-heh.

There is so much hysterical propaganda among you

that sometimes I despair of reaching my work quotas

without resorting to the use of force.

I need 400 volunteers at this moment.

If they work hard, no harm will come to them.

Of course, the yellow star will have to be worn.

This will have to be more strictly enforced.

But, colonel, you have given us...

However, these sudden measures that I will announce soon

will only last until the end of the war.

Once, please God, this is given to us, you will find us Germans

the good-humored fellows we were before.

Excuse me a moment.

Ja, what is it?

Horthy has ordered the train to Kistarcsa stopped.

- Well? - We had 12,437 Jews,

a new record, I believe, on the way to Birkenau camp.

Now the Hungarians are turning the train around

and are leading it back into Budapest.

Wisleceny, we will not be stopped.

We will carry on until we clean every piece of Jew crap out of Hungary.

And, Vilmos, please find a larger car. A limousine, we'll need more room.

I want to make it into an office on wheels, a supply truck,

maybe even an ambulance.

Cannot promise much these days. An old Buick, maybe.

Don't promise, just get me what I need.

My God. Wonderful.

Listen to this.

"Informant in Horthy's office tells me your personal note

together with King Gustaf's telegram

led the region to stop Jewish deportation train,

turn it back at border. Twelve thousand or more Jews."

Yes. Yes.

"The papal nuncio, Monsignor Rotha, has heard of our mission, applauds,

and he wants to join forces."

- That's wonderful, wonderful. - Oh, Vilmos.

Pick up the medical supplies at the dock in the Danube.

They've just come through on my orders to Vienna.

- Yes, sir. - Raoul, vice-consul.

- I'll take it on my phone. - He's just going to his desk.

Thank you.

Consul Lutz, Wallenberg.

How kind of you to return my call.

Do you agree we need an urgent meeting

to coordinate action? Huh?

Yes, all neutral diplomats. The Spanish, Portuguese.

- I'll call you back. - You must wait your turn.

Nothing can be done this way. Please. You must wait your turn.

What's happening here?

- Please, get back. - No, you must go down.

Come. Come, get back.

Listen to me. Listen to me.

We were trying to be fair. We can help only so many,

but we can help none of you if you act like this.

You're playing favorites. The rich ones. You're selling passes.

- No, sir. - Mr. Wallenberg is right.

We mustn't act like this.

Let's go outside and wait our turn.

Please. From the back, please go down the stairs.

Yes, she's right. Go on back down.

- Could you go back? - Young lady, young lady.

What is your name?

- If you'll just form a queue outside. - Sonja Kahn. My son, Josef.

Josef.

Do you have any connection with Sweden?

Once I knew a Swedish girl in summer camp.

She taught me how to tie my shoe. It was 15 years ago.

Do you work?

I was a teacher, but we were all dismissed.

- But actually, I'm a good typist. - Ah.

Do you speak and write German?

And English, French, Italian, and of course, Hungarian.

We'll hire you.

Eva, you have a new helper.

I will find you a desk somewhere, a typewriter, a telephone.

Now you have your Swedish connection.

- You're an employee of the legation. - Thank you.

- Like to meet your fellow Swedes? - Oh, yes.

Josi, hurry home and wait for me. Go on.

- Where is your husband? - No one can tell.

He was picked up a month ago for no reason.

I don't know where he is.

Well, you will be safe here.

Excuse me.

It's getting out of hand here.

You know, Danielsson wants us to find new quarters.

Good. We need more room.

Seven hundred passes? Ridiculous.

We need a new document, a whole new direction.

Something broader. Something more forceful.

Swedish royal colors. It's looking better.

But why not the royal seal as well? Just here.

"The Royal Swedish Legation in Budapest

confirms that above-mentioned person will travel to Sweden

on course for repatriation."

Et cetera, et cetera. "Valid for a single and specific trip to Sweden."

Yeah, looks lovely. Reads nicely.

Do you think they'll honor it?

It's too impressive to ignore.

A splendid job, but you must keep this work secret.

Oh, and random numbers on the documents.

- Keep the Germans guessing. - Yes, sir.

Come on, Per. I know where we can get a shipment of powdered ink.

Don't know why

There's no sun up in the sky

Stormy weather

Since my man and I ain't together

Keeps raining all the time

Pity your wife has to miss the fun.

Yeah, Elena adores it here at the Arizona,

but it's too soon after the baby.

She insisted I expose you to a little cosmopolitan chic.

That must be Eichmann.

- Waiter. - Yes, sir?

- What's your best champagne? - Pommery, sir.

Please take a bottle to Colonel Eichmann with this note.

- Right away, sir. - You read the dossier?

Up from the bottom. A drifter, toady.

He's on his feet saluting before his superior enters his office.

And I hear he's an avid collector.

Oh, yes.

Jewish silver, Jewish china, Jewish pianos.

Everything I had is gone

Stormy weather

Since my man and I ain't together

Keeps raining all the time

The time

Colonel Eichmann.

All I do is pray

The lord above will let me

"My dear colonel, please accept this modest gift

from the Royal Swedish Legation, which has heard so much about you.

Raoul Wallenberg, second secretary."

Stormy weather

Since my man and I

Wallenberg?

- Have we met him, Gabor? - No, I don't think so.

Lisl, you know what it is to be a Rockefeller in America?

That's what it means to be a Wallenberg in Sweden.

But they don't send Wallenbergs to be errand boys.

- Do they, colonel? - No.

Excuse me, baroness,

the Reich is obliged to keep the neutrals happy.

This man is clearly not an errand boy.

Please.

Mr. Anger, Swedish Legation, I believe?

Colonel Eichmann, how nice to see you.

- May I introduce Mr. Wall... - Raoul Wallenberg.

Thank you for the Pommery.

You're the banking family.

Just a poor cousin.

Trying my hand at a bit of diplomacy. A pleasure to meet you, colonel.

A bit of diplomacy.

A privilege of aristocrats to try on jobs like clothing.

What are your duties at the legation?

I'm here to...

To help you with your Jewish problem.

Help me?

Well, what can Sweden offer? Freight cars?

Winter clothing?

Please, don't try to camouflage your mission.

You have been sent here by the Americans

to prevent us from dealing with the Jews.

My orders come from the King of Sweden.

A humanitarian mission? I am a humanitarian myself.

We are not harming Jews. We're protecting them.

Good. We simply want to make that job easier.

By issuing those laughable Swedish documents?

The Hungarian government has recognized our passes, colonel.

In connection with the Jews who hold those passes, colonel,

we will be needing protected houses for them.

Buildings that will fly the Swedish flag.

That is ingenious, Wallenberg.

- How many houses do you need? - At least 40.

I have twice that number under my control.

Houses that I have requisitioned.

How much can you pay?

I would say $200,000 in Swedish kronor.

You don't put much value on your Hebrews.

The Americans offered me $2 million for the Jews of Slovakia,

and you propose 200,000.

It's barely a dollar a Jew.

It seems a generous amount for houses you got for nothing.

But I want interest on my investment.

I can see why you don't work for your family's bank.

Delightful meeting you, colonel.

I don't mean to compromise your authority.

I want to cooperate.

You can cooperate by letting us handle the Jewish question in our own way.

Your errand running between King Gustaf and Horthy

was a failure, by the way.

Oh, yes, the Hungarian intervention

stopped one trainload of Jewish laborers

much needed in our war factories.

But this morning, we got through twice as many.

Two trains.

So we made up for your little delay, see?

Hitler. Hitler.

Bloodhound.

Isn't that that what he likes to call himself?

I warned you about his determination.

Some Nazis are less interested in the war

than they are in murdering Jews.

I am determined too, Per.

And stubborn.

Who's the beauty?

Baroness Elisabeth Kemeny.

A family tree that includes two popes

and a holy Roman emperor.

To your health, baroness.

There is a woman full of secrets.

May I pass on to Your Highness

my government's deep appreciation of your response

to His Majesty's recent message.

Please be brief, Wallenberg. The regent is a busy man.

My colleagues and I salute your brave efforts

to stop the death trains,

even though Eichmann countermanded your orders.

These are worthless.

Worthless?

Oh, more impressive than the previous design,

but they have no validity in international law.

They violate Hungarian sovereignty

by taking our citizens away from Hungarian law

and placing them under Swedish jurisdiction.

- No, it cannot be that. - Dangerous nonsense.

We're only trying to make your work easier.

To take the Jews off your hands.

And I'm sure the colonel has more pressing matters

than arresting children.

I have suspended deportations several times,

but it is essential that I do not antagonize the Germans.

These passes, as you call them, will make things worse.

Highness, this telegram has arrived for you.

At the legation.

Good heavens, another message from the King of Sweden.

You hear that, Ferenczy?

"That you take every measure

to terminate deportations of Jewish citizens

in the interest of humanity and take steps to protect..."

King Gustaf is a Christian.

Why does he care so much about Jews?

Ha. But then, of course, you have so few of them in Sweden.

I believe His Majesty's concern transcends religions

or national borders.

Well, I trust you will inform His Majesty

that within limitations, I am doing my best.

We shall indeed, Highness.

But on that subject, our diplomatic pouch also contained

a new analysis of the military situation.

Including the statement of an American general

saying that he would soon fight his way into Berlin

and shoot Hitler in the head as if he were a snake.

May I remind you that Germany is our ally.

There is now little doubt that the Reich is doomed,

and there will be a day of retribution, trials for war criminals.

How dare you intimidate His Highness?

Ferenczy. Shh.

What is it you want?

Not I, Highness. Sweden.

It is King Gustav who hopes you will join us in this humane endeavor.

Come to the point, Wallenberg.

You've made admirable efforts, Highness.

But you have only suspended deportations.

Why not cancel them once and for all?

Exempt all Jews who hold Swedish passes

from wearing the yellow star.

- Expel Eichmann. - You are a brash young man.

Highness, there is great urgency.

Look upon me as a sympathetic witness,

someone who can testify on your behalf.

I ask you

to inform all officials that this document must be respected.

Let us distribute these to the Jews of Budapest.

- How many? - Fifty thousand.

Impossible.

I will authorize 4,500 passes.

The recipients must renounce their Hungarian citizenship.

- Only 4,500? - Be grateful for that.

And I shall hold you to your promise.

You will tell the allies of my benevolent treatment of Jews.

When you give this to Dr. Levi,

he will look somewhat suspiciously at your collar, but finally,

he'll give you all the delousing powder you need from his clinic.

I'm sure of it.

You have instructed me well in underground ways.

You're an apt pupil, Monsignore.

And I welcome support from the clergy.

But I'm not sure the Vatican shares our concern.

I am afraid there are always political considerations.

I meant our moral concerns.

There he is.

His name is Darwas.

Very rich, but maybe not for long.

I'll leave you now. I can walk easily from here.

You're sure? There'll be no trouble?

Your appointment looks nervous enough without my presence.

Don't forget, tomorrow night at the Vatican embassy.

I'll be there, Monsignore.

Mr. Darwas, Raoul Wallenberg.

Oh, yes.

- From the Swedish embassy. - Yes.

- Let's walk. - Of course.

- Your houses are nearby? - Yes. These three.

There are three more in Buda.

I want you to donate your houses.

The Swedish government will hold them in trust until the war is over.

I need safe houses for the Jewish people I'll be protecting.

They are all I own. My children will inherit them.

Mr. Darwas, do you know what Aryanization is?

What Eichmann has been doing?

Hmm. He calls it dejewification.

As soon as the Nazis crack down on Horthy,

Eichmann will Aryanize everything in sight.

Mr. Darwas, if you donate your houses to me,

they'll save Jewish lives, and you will get them back.

Oh, there's the last of my houses.

Oh. Wonderful.

But you can give me no assurances.

You have no army, no police.

Your only assurance

is that Eichmann will kill every Jew in Budapest unless we fight him.

If we don't fight him, we don't deserve to live,

in houses or in caves, for that matter.

Who are you to lecture me?

A nice Swedish boy with nothing at stake.

Not true, Darwas. I'm one of you.

I'm half Jewish.

Don't you see I'm fighting for my own life as well?

Will this entitle me to one of those Swedish documents of yours?

A mint copy.

Hmm.

All right, then.

Let me tell my family and I'll call you tonight.

Half Jewish?

You told me that your great-great-grandfather was Jewish.

All right, I'm one-sixteenth. Call me a liar for a fraction.

Ha-ha. The wildness of the imagination.

Why not, Vilmos? I feel half Jewish.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

The Swede is doing a good job.

I had to stand in line all night long outside the legation to pinch that.

Oh, poor boy, we are so hard on you.

Schiffrin, can you forge copies for us?

When Schiffrin the counterfeiter is finished,

the Nazis will think mine are real, his are fakes.

I want you to print 15,000.

On top of what Wallenberg's printing?

The Germans will get suspicious.

Are you working with Wallenberg or are you working with me?

Who is he, anyway, an overnight messiah?

All I know is the police are pulling more men off the street

for labor brigades every day.

You're right. Raise the order. Print 20,000 of these.

We'll give Mr. Wallenberg more help than he expected.

The paper, I can get.

The color of the ink is the problem.

Get Schiffrin whatever he needs.

Why always Nikki?

He's the youngest.

Nikki, put on the green jacket.

You make a good fascist, kid.

Ah.

- This can't be everyone, Sonja. - No, it's about half.

The others are afraid.

Get after them. Telephone them.

They must move. Your people must help me.

Through the power invested in me,

by His Majesty, King Gustav of Sweden,

I hereby designate this building Swedish territory

under the protection of the Royal Swedish Legation.

The Swedish flag. For them?

Yes, captain.

Well, Sonja will assign rooms.

It won't be the Gellért Hotel, but you will be safe.

- Can you believe it? - Go on, go on.

- You have a savior. - Vilmos, hurry up.

Hey, I know you don't believe in a savior, but you have a savior.

Come on. Come on. Go on and be brave.

- Go on, go on. - All right.

Come on.

- Good morning, sergeant. - Good morning.

You must be the men assigned to guard our new annex

of the Swedish Legation.

- Come on. - What?

Didn't you know? Colonel Ferenczy has approved several houses

under the protection of the Swedish flag.

If this is your patrol area, you are obviously responsible.

Come on, you Jews.

Those are Jews.

It's hard to tell without the yellow star, isn't it?

You will see that no one violates the diplomatic status of this building.

Honor that command and I will recommend you for promotion.

That will be all.

Come along, come along, don't be afraid.

Just follow that bunch of Swedes. Come on.

Let's go. We'll get him later.

Yes, Mr. Derrick. Forgive the late hour.

Yes, my staff can work 20 hours a day, so I can hardly do less.

Mr. Derrick, could you ask your friends for three more trucks?

No, I know how difficult it is,

but we need them to distribute food to the safe houses.

Oh, wait just a moment.

Carry it with you at all times, and remember, you're a Swedish citizen.

- I beg your pardon? - We bless the name of the Almighty.

- Thank you. - And you, Mr. Anger.

The map. Mr. Wallenberg, we have the map.

You will have them? Thank you.

Of the safe houses?

- Yes. - Raoul, the map is here.

Well, at last we have it.

Are Darwas' houses marked?

- Yes. - Yes.

Mama, pick a good house for us and my friends.

We'll go where we are assigned, Josi.

Mama, look.

Colonel Eichmann.

Major.

What an honor.

Heh. Please, everybody.

Go back to work. Go back to work.

I am aware that this is Swedish territory.

We respect the Swedes. Even new ones. Right, major?

We did not expect you, colonel.

Ja, I apologize for the breach of etiquette, and at this late hour,

but we couldn't leave Budapest without saying goodbye.

- Leave? - Your... cooperation

has been so successful that we are going home for a little holiday.

Josef.

Josef, fetch coffee for the colonel and the major.

We'll only be a moment.

May I see one of those magical cards

that changes Hungarians into Swedes?

Of course.

Here.

Admiral Horthy has given his blessing to these documents.

Ja, ja, I know,ja.

Ha-ha-ha. "Above-mentioned person and his home to be regarded

as protected by the Royal Swedish Legation in Budapest."

Creating Swedes with a stroke of your wand,ja?

Oh, there is no magic involved, colonel.

Carry on.

Carry on.

Carry on.

Oh, don't believe the stories you hear about Colonel Eichmann.

Actually, I have never had a bad time with a Jew.

As you can see, I am most tolerant of Mr. Wallenberg's little exercise.

Good evening, colonel. Good evening, major.

Hitler.

"Don't believe the stories you hear

about Colonel Eichmann, huh?

Actually, I've never had a bad time with a Jew."

All right, all of you, back to work.

In the Third Reich, nobody loafs on the job except me.

What do you think?

Could we really be winning here?

Better to hope than not.

Especially for them.

Maybe this is why Horthy

withdrew almost 2,000 of his gendarmes to the countryside.

He's deliberately left Eichmann too shorthanded

to continue his house cleaning.

It's my guess Eichmann's going home to ask his Führer for more strength.

Let's hope the Führer declines.

Meanwhile, with the Russians advancing,

we might be winning.

Get the medic.

All right, this way, this way. I need three more men.

Make sure you do not run out of ammunition.

- The street behind. - You see?

Hey, what's the matter with you? Can't finish it off?

A few of the kids left.

- They're cleaning them out. - Get it over with.

Shh.

Go.

- Mother Mary... - What is this?

You realize you might have shot my wife?

I am Baron Kemeny. What is going on here?

It's the resistance, sir.

Jews hiding in the factory opened fire on us.

Women and children.

We have to teach them a lesson.

Colonel Eichmann left so few SS behind.

We must set an example to maintain discipline.

Yes, I understand that, but there must be a coordinated plan.

The gendarmerie with our Arrow Cross

and whatever remaining SS

- dealing with the Jews. - Yes, sir.

- Driver. - Gabor, why?

Old traditions, old hatreds.

Some of them valid, you know.

After all, our people have suffered.

And with the Russians getting closer,

the Jews could virtually open the city gates to the Bolsheviks. Shh.

Let's go.

Shh. It's all right.

Move, Jews.

Keep moving.

Come on. Move.

Good work, good work.

Let's get the rubble cleared out of this passageway, huh? Move.

Per Anger's bringing a busload of orphans in one hour.

So let's get finished here as quickly as possible and get cleaned up

so we can tuck them into their beds like the proper nannies we are.

All right, we'll do what we can.

This way.

Look ahead. Go on, move.

Come on, Vikings, let's show them how a Swedish brigade works.

- Come on. - We'll show them now.

- Come on. - Good work.

- Thank you. - With your hands.

Come on, that's it.

- On to the lorry. - Mr. Wallenberg?

- Baroness? - We have not met.

No, but I almost introduced myself to you once.

I have heard such remarkable things about you.

I had to take this opportunity to speak with you.

Well, then may I buy you coffee?

I'm told Hungarians are never too busy to stop for coffee.

Even those who are half Italian and half Austrian.

You have done research.

- I won't take you from your work. - No, I have many helpers.

Just give me one moment.

Thank you.

Shall we go? Just across the square.

Please, you are getting wet.

- Share this. - Thank you.

It's astonishing how so many lovely things survive,

even in the midst of catastrophe.

Please, Mr. Wallenberg.

I don't indulge in sidewalk flirtations.

As it happens, I do.

I'm also grateful for chance encounters.

This was not by chance.

Monsignor Rotha told me where to find you.

Ah.

A Queen of England so admired that espresso machine

that she ordered one just like it.

Took it home with her.

Which queen?

Oh, I am embarrassed.

I should know. I went to school in England.

So we are both recipients of Anglo-Saxon educations.

I am told you came here to help the Jewish people.

Yes, and I'm finding it a painfully difficult business.

Would you like a pastry?

- No, thank you. - Yes, yes. I insist.

Have a chocolate square. I'll have an almond bar.

If only to reassure ourselves that the ovens of Budapest

are still turning out splendid pastry.

I think I know what you were implying

with your use of the word "ovens."

But I can honestly tell you that I find it

difficult to believe.

Decent people always find it difficult to accept obscenity.

- I am not a child. - No, no.

But you are a neophyte, baroness, in this matter of genocide.

Isn't that why you sought me out?

I am not sure why I am here.

I heard of your mission.

And I felt I had to hear your side of it.

- So did the nuncio. - There are no sides.

There are only facts.

There are places where millions of innocent people are put to death.

Dear God.

After they are stripped of everything and murdered,

their bodies are burnt in vast ovens.

The sky over a part of Poland is murky, full of soot.

The stench of death permeates everything.

Forgive my ignorance.

Forgive me, I have... I have forgotten my manners.

But, baroness, I need your help.

What could I do?

The Jews of Budapest are the last survivors.

- We can save them. - How?

Your husband is in a position to help me stop this insane slaughter.

You have heard that my husband will be the next foreign minister

- if there's a change of government. - Yes, I have.

And you must convince him to reverse this policy of extermination,

or he will pay for it along with the others.

He is not like the others.

But it would be so very difficult

to make him understand.

Baroness.

When the fighting ends, he will be tried as a criminal

unless he makes an act of contrition.

Now.

Excuse me.

NIKKl: Hey, Teicholz.

If the Russians don't get here soon, what do we do then?

Get Hannah to change your dressing. Your brains are leaking.

Heh. My brains are leaking.

- It felt good to hit back. - Nikki.

We sit around and pray or talk and call each other names.

Socialist, communist, Zionist, orthodox.

All that talk, talk, talk.

When we're finished insulting each other, they'll kill us.

Not all of us. And not the children.

Please go to Wallenberg.

At least put Rachel and Jed into one of his orphan homes.

Forget the Swede. We can take care of our own.

We are all doing all right with our passes.

Wallenberg started it.

He's just another goy, Fodor.

Ow.

When Eichmann comes back, and he will,

you better be damn sure who's really on your side.

- A young boy is... - What do you mean?

Listen.

Raoul Wallenberg,

second secretary of the Swedish Legation.

Good evening, Raoul.

I want you to meet General Schmidthuber.

Surely you've heard of Raoul Wallenberg.

He's been outdoing the Red Cross,

setting up soup kitchens and hospitals for victims of the allied bombardments.

Even the Vatican is impressed.

As was my colleague, Eichmann.

So much that he has abandoned Budapest to you.

- You flatter me, general. - Not at all.

You're giving him fits.

Turning Jews into Swedes.

Tell me, what sort of surgery is involved?

An operation being performed by a worldwide team

of civilized countries.

Well spoken.

Baron and Baroness Gabor Kemeny.

Yes, yes. We're even expecting Szálasi this evening.

Thank you.

Shall we drink? To our host, Consul Charles Lutz of Switzerland

and his lovely wife for this fine reception.

And to all, good health.

And also to the Spanish and Portuguese ambassadors,

and the papal nuncio

for their growing aid to suffering humanity.

The Spanish are also at your service.

Very graceful, my friend. But stop proselytizing.

We neutrals are the only ones who can enjoy the amenities

when the walls are crashing around us.

Oh, Raoul, have you met Baroness Kemeny

and her husband, Baron Gabor Kemeny?

Mr. Wallenberg.

What a delight.

Baroness.

- Wallenberg. - How do you do?

Mr. Raoul Wallenberg, Ferencz Szálasi,

chief of the Arrow Cross Party.

SZÁLASl: Delighted.

Baroness, what an adornment you are to Hungary's national pride.

Thank you.

But I really know nothing of politics.

We will rescue Hungary for you. We'll purify its wounded soil.

And you, baroness, shall be our beacon.

You expect too much of me.

Before I can go back to Sweden, we must assure the security

of the remaining Jews.

We've issued as many passes as we can.

To Jews of Spanish descent, those who speak our language.

- How many? - Seven hundred.

Reparations for the Inquisition?

Gentlemen, I'm talking about tens of thousands.

A campaign to put all the Jews under our care.

I agree.

The pitifully small number we help with baptismal certificates

or providing sanctuary in the convents.

It simply is not enough.

Excuse me, gentlemen, I must rescue the baroness from Szálasi.

It's molestation.

May I have a word with you?

Baroness, may I have the honor of finishing this dance with you?

If you like.

An unusual mix, huh? The guest list.

If you mean Szálasi, unusual is too kind a word.

I understand your husband is his ardent supporter.

Are you beginning where you left off that afternoon?

My husband is a diplomat.

Then perhaps he can use his diplomatic skills

to civilize the Arrow Cross.

And I'm sorry if I offended you.

How do you assume I can influence him in these matters?

He obviously worships you.

- As he should. - You are presumptuous.

I have been led to believe the Swedes were more reserved.

Perhaps it's my Western education.

Among other things, I developed a taste for democracy

and American music, like this song.

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Has it occurred to you that you are rushing into...

Intruding upon my relationship with my husband?

But not, I hope, as a...

As a fool.

No.

No, no.

Not as a fool.

That pleases me, baroness.

More than I can say.

Excuse me, Wallenberg, but I wish to dance with my wife.

Of course. Thank you, baroness.

Have you seen Raoul Wallenberg?

Yes, he's here.

Raoul.

Horthy is about to announce an armistice with the Russians.

Oh, it's not unexpected.

What does your minister think will happen?

German occupation.

And not just the odd Wehrmacht battalion.

Waffen-SS in control everywhere, and Arrow Cross given a free hand.

They're advancing on Budapest even now.

Eichmann. This is what he's been waiting for.

He and that slime, Szálasi.

Of course.

I have the car.

- Excuse us. - Excuse me.

- I will join you as soon as I can. - Good.

Move inside, quickly.

Get out, as fast as you can.

- That's right. - Raoul.

Move inside. Quickly, please.

Horthy has surrendered. It's on the radio.

He said Germany has lost the war and he warned the fascists not to fight.

Help get everyone settled. Beds, food.

- Can we go home? - No.

Please, sir, we want to see our families.

No more Germans, no more war. It is safe now.

No, no, it is not safe. You'll be better off inside. Go on. Go on.

I assure you we'll try to bring your wives and families here.

Stop! You are in violation of the Swedish-German treaty.

- I said stop! - Who the hell are you?

Do you not see the Swedish flag? This man is under our protection.

Now, release him.

- Go on, go inside. - Thank you. Thank you.

You dare to violate our diplomatic status again

and you will answer to Colonel Szálasi.

Now, get out!

All right?

What did I tell you?

Arrow Cross are going berserk shooting anyone they can find.

- How many have we got back? - About a hundred.

- Quickly, quickly. - This way. Move quickly.

- Come on. Quickly, inside. - Find a place inside.

We'll try to bring your families.

You. You traitors!

Animals!

Mikki, I will save you! I swear it!

My God, what can I do?

Abdicate, my dear admiral.

Abdicate?

For the good of Hungary, Highness.

And at the request of the Führer.

If I refuse?

Admiral Horthy, if you do not abdicate in favor of Colonel Szálasi,

your son will be shot.

Find a way to make it clearer to Szálasi the disagreement is secret.

Hungary sends us 50,000 Jewish laborers

to replace the worn-out workers.

The allied bombings have cut the trains.

- The rolling stock is scarce. - They can go on foot. March them.

All Jews remaining in Budapest to be rounded up

and put into concentration camps to work.

Damn Hungarians never do anything properly.

Random shooting, shoving Jews into the Danube.

- And neutral countries' passes? - No exceptions. March them.

My friends, I am so pleased that you responded to my invitation.

- Come, come, come. - Good morning.

Good morning, good morning, good morning.

As you can see, I'm back.

But I desperately need your cooperation.

Now, we must work swiftly and efficiently.

are here in the outskirts of Budapest.

Premier Szálasi has commanded all Arrow Cross...

Fodor. Fodor.

Into your clown suit.

NIKKl: What? - Come on.

Take some of these.

Which ones?

The Swedish passes, our own.

Take them to Óbuda.

There's a work brigade building tank traps.

You got to smuggle them to the people.

You heard how bad it is on the radio.

Are they in charge?

Does it mean...?

Is the Arrow Cross now running the government?

It means we save as many of our people as we can.

Any way we can.

first advance columns are nearing the outskirts of Budapest.

Scared?

No.

Yes.

We'll do it.

You'd better.

Come on, Jew.

Hurry up. Hurry up.

Come on, you.

And you. Move.

Too weak, huh?

No good.

Drag him out. Get rid of him.

Jews turn green when they die.

Hey, you don't think it's funny?

Oh, Papa.

Oh. Oh.

Hannah. You must get away from here.

- You must get away. - Forget her.

Take them.

When you get a chance, give them out.

You risked your neck for these? The guards don't respect them.

- They spit on them, Hannah. - No. They can save you.

Hey.

- What's going on? - Oh, nothing.

Nothing.

I could not find what I was looking for.

Do you have papers?

Get back to work. You want soup, you work.

This is no good.

You're a Jew, aren't you?

NIKKl: Hey, is there a problem here?

A Jew girl here has one of those Swedish papers.

They aren't any good.

Sure they are.

Those are the new ones. I'll take her back to Budapest.

- Arrow Cross intelligence. - Hey.

Intelligence? You mug, you idiot.

Go away.

Get over there and start digging.

Then we'll have some fun, huh? Come on, move.

Hey, look, we take care of our Jews.

We're in charge here.

All you do is shoot them and throw them in the river.

We get a day's work out of them.

Come on. Ah.

- Hey, wait a minute. - Hey.

I don't like you.

Come on, keep working there.

Why'd you stop him working for? Keep on. Come on.

All those with Swedish passes, come forward.

Come.

I said, all those with Swedish passes, come forward.

Stupid.

It does not matter if you have lost them or misplaced them,

or if you have applied and they have not yet been issued.

We have a record of all persons holding neutral passes.

- Come forward. - Come on.

Come, we'll look after you.

- Hurry! - What's going on?

Who the hell are you?

I am the second secretary of the Royal Swedish Legation.

I'm here to take responsibility for all workers under our protection.

Get back to work, all of you.

All persons holding neutral passes, come forward.

Get back to the field. Go, Jews, go.

You are being illegally held in violation of international law.

Come forward. Come.

Sergeant, I'll thank you to assist me

so we can accomplish this in an orderly manner.

This has all been cleared with Colonel Eichmann.

Ha-ha-ha. He must be crazy.

You, sir. I know I issued you a pass.

- Please go to the car. - Thank you.

Raoul, come down.

You've got three seconds to climb down, mister,

or I'm going to blow your head off.

He must be crazy.

You are being illegally held in violation of international law.

Come forward.

Sergeant, I'll thank you to assist me

so we can accomplish this in an orderly manner.

This has all been cleared with Colonel Eichmann.

He must be crazy.

You, sir, I know I issued you a pass. Please go to the car.

Thank you.

Raoul, come down.

You've got three seconds to climb down, mister.

Or I'm going to blow your head off.

No. No, don't shoot.

No, don't shoot!

You are to be released immediately to the custody of the Swedish Legation.

- He must be crazy. - Get down, damn it!

Get back to work.

- I have a pass. - Let me through.

You, sir, I know you have a pass. I signed it myself.

- Get back. - And you, young lady.

Yes, I saw you at the legation. Go to Mr. Anger.

Stay where you are.

Release her. She is to follow us to the legation.

Go to Mr. Anger.

Me, Fisher. I have a pass.

Good, then you're going back to Budapest.

- Grab him. - I'm on the list.

Don't let me lose you.

The rest of you, get back to work.

- All of you are strong... - Come down.

Get down.

Get down.

Sergeant.

You will answer personally to the International Red Cross

and the Swedish-German Friendship Society, if he dares touch me again.

Nobody touch him.

Sergeant, what do I do now?

- Leave him alone. - Thank you, sergeant.

Now, if I may proceed.

All those with documents, come forward.

Come forward with your documents.

It does not matter if you've lost them or misplaced them, we have a record.

Yes, sir, they took your pass, eh?

- Yes, yes. - Per.

Yes, you're in the book, Gasner Abram.

- Go ahead. - Come, tell me your name.

You, I know you, sir. May I see your pass, please?

- I lost it. - Go ahead.

Let me see your documents, please. Yes, there it is. There's your pass.

My tax receipt?

You think those animals can read?

Go on, he has a pass. Good.

The oldest will go in the car, the others will follow on behind.

Sergeant, I shall commend you to your superiors.

Thank you, gentlemen.

- Who is he? - You didn't ask for his papers.

He has a Swedish flag on his car, hasn't he?

As soon as Mr. Langfelder has turned the car around,

we'll follow him back to Budapest. It will be a long walk.

But after that, we'll find a place for all of you

in one of our safe houses.

And perhaps a cup of hot soup. Come along.

- Thank you all, for your cooperation. - I don't believe it.

Sergeant.

What do you want?

Would you leave us alone with a few of those Jews?

Just for a minute.

Yeah.

I need a schnapps.

You. You with the beard.

- We haven't finished work. - Behind the bunkers.

- Move. - Move.

You, over there.

Per, drop back and make sure they stay close together.

Yeah.

No! Please! No!

Keep walking. Keep walking.

Dearest Mother, today you will get only these hurried lines.

Rest assured that all is well with me.

"Times are extraordinarily exciting.

The main thing is that we are working and fighting successfully

to preserve the gift of life, as you like to call it.

I'm gaining a truer sense of that gift in helping to save others here.

And so you must think of me as one of the most fortunate of men.

It is not given to many to live such a life.

I hope that you are well, and I promise with all my heart

that next time you will get a much fuller report.

I shall close now. I greet and I kiss you all, Raoul."

I must say, he seems to have found himself this time.

Yeah, I agree.

Then why the long face?

According to Kalman Lauer, conditions are worse than ever there.

Raoul has become something of a hero.

And what is conceivably wrong with that?

Heroes have been known to die, Jacob.

That's what's wrong.

Every hour matters, lives are in the balance,

or I would never have allowed a third party to intrude upon this meeting.

With or without Monsignor Rotha,

you are welcome in my house, Mr. Wallenberg.

- Call me Raoul. - Then it's Lisl.

Tell me if I'm wrong, but that day in the flower market,

I sensed you eagerly reaching out to know, to help.

And now the situation is so critical, baroness...

Lisl.

- That I couldn't resist coming to you.

You can't possibly imagine Gabor is at all like Eichmann.

I don't know your husband, but I do know the party he represents.

He's his own person.

He could never destroy innocent lives.

Then let's put it to the test while we help shape his policies.

That is where you expect to make use of me?

By allowing your passions, your attitudes to shape mine.

They are already your attitudes, Lisl.

I will not be disloyal to him.

I'm asking you to keep him alive.

Because unless he can turn his new power

to save lives and not crush them,

he will be tried when the war ends, and executed.

- Oh, my God. - The point is that need not happen.

There is still time for him to disassociate himself

from this government of madmen.

I am bearing his child.

Then you must. Help him.

My child will be fatherless.

Not if you act. He has great influence.

The only aristocrat in a den of failed shopkeepers and cashiered officers.

Szálasi is a convicted murderer.

Your husband must prevail upon him to honor the passes.

To ease restrictions on the Jews. To refuse to cooperate with the Nazis.

And to stop the Arrow Cross from murdering.

Show them the work order.

You're from Ferenczy's headquarters. The detail is being moved.

Then march them off to the safe house.

Come on, over there. You heard him.

Come on.

- What if they don't believe me? - So they'll shoot you.

Go on.

You, take that over there.

Yes, you, go on.

Put it down there.

Faster.

You want your cabbage soup, huh? Work then.

I have orders to take all these workers to Buda.

- Wait a moment. - Orders.

- Let me see your papers. - I have papers.

- Go on. - Ferenczy, from headquarters.

All right. On your way.

Up on the road, you're going to Buda.

You. You. Over there, you.

You gotta shoot them in the pants to get work out of them.

- Come on. - Ha, ha.

- All right, keep working. - You, Fodor, with them?

I'm not with them.

So?

I'm with the resistance.

Please be quiet until we get to the house.

You, the worst student I ever had.

You were smarter.

We are scholars. You perform a blessing saving us.

I save anyone I can, including myself.

You saw them drown our people in the Danube,

shoot them in the back, kill the little Jewish children.

- I saw. - So how can you still believe in God?

- How can you still believe in man? - You didn't answer my question.

It is beneath me to discuss the Talmud with a tramp.

Some scholars.

Perhaps you would prefer to discuss the Talmud with the fascists.

Where was your Talmud when they shot the little children?

Fodor, what you believe and what I believe are different things.

This is what I believe in, and it is all that they believe in.

Move on.

Gabor,

should we go to the shelter?

Hmm?

It's getting closer.

We can hold Budapest.

We and the Germans, of course.

That's not what I hear.

I swear on the cross of the crown of St. István

that no Bolshevik will ever set foot in our city.

Wallenberg says the Russians will be in Budapest

- within two weeks. - And what does he know?

He's far too busy pulling Jews off trains.

He knows a great deal.

You've seen him?

He was here today. I invited him and the nuncio.

I knew that.

Your priest playing the procurer, was he?

Gabor,

Señor Rotha is our spiritual advisor.

And the pope is our spiritual leader, and he seems quite disinterested

in Rotha's compassion for our enemies.

Rotha has compassion for you as well, Gabor.

So has Mr. Wallenberg.

And how does the Swede show his compassion?

Does he hold your hand?

Does he whisper sweet endearments in your ear?

We talked about you.

Why didn't he come directly to me?

He's cautious. He wanted me to hear him first.

Ah.

A bit of intrigue, yeah. I like that.

- What did he say? - Gabor.

It would make me so happy if you could help him.

Help him?

Who gives a damn about him or his Jews?

I am thinking of Hungary's future.

Isn't the goodwill of neutral nations part of Hungary's future?

Szálasi might like the idea. Isn't he greedy for Swedish approval?

So all that clever teaching of the nuns,

they made you a first-class diplomat.

No. No, no, Gabor,

this is not about diplomacy.

Stay together. Move quickly and be brave.

- And follow Mr. Wallenberg. - Come on. Hurry, hurry.

We'll all be better off in the basement.

- What was that? - Come on, come on, come on.

Come along now, come along.

Quickly.

- Is Josef all right? - Come on.

- Oh, yes, just a childish secret. - What, about me?

He saw your reaction to that explosion.

Reaction?

And thought you carried it off beautifully.

The little devil. Why wasn't he laughing out loud?

I think he forgot how.

Come on, come on, come on. Opa!

You all right?

- Okay? - Raoul?

- Yeah? - Since the Germans are the first

into the shelters, why don't we unload the beds while the streets are clear?

- But the explosions? - We'll do it during the loss.

Is everyone still with us?

Present and accounted for.

Children, any of you hurt?

Raoul is taking care of them.

I think they're taking care of me.

Their poor little lamb, huh? Ha.

Do I hear a cow?

Where are the rest of my barnyard animals, huh?

Do I hear some chickens?

Some cats, huh?

Dog?

Dog?

But when I added Wallenberg's Swedish condition

that we must refuse to cooperate with Eichmann's deportations,

Szálasi squirmed and Ferenczy roared with laughter.

But you made the first step.

And they know you are right.

They know it.

So tonight at the cabinet meeting, you must be strong.

I will not be going to the cabinet meeting.

But you must.

- You are the foreign minister. - I will not be pushed, Lisl.

Anyway, they treat me as a child, the baby of the cabinet.

Not old enough to be taken seriously.

- No, I will not be humiliated. - Gabor.

You told me yourself,

if the cabinet decides tonight against the protection passes,

tomorrow is the beginning of the end.

- The Jews will be finished off... - The Jews.

...once and for all. - The Jews.

The Jews. The Jews.

The Jews!

Haven't I told them for years, "Shave off your beards, cut your hair.

Don't be so stupid and stubborn in your ways.

You'll only bring trouble on yourselves"?

Gabor!

I do not want to bring our child into a world

where human life is not worth fighting for.

Lisl, my adorable wife,

you know I would do anything for you and our baby, anything.

- But I will not... - Then you will go.

And make them see what they must do.

We bring you a message from Premier Szálasi,

speaking to you from his office.

SZÁLASl: Tonight, in an extraordinary session,

the Hungarian cabinet has voted with me to observe and support

the measures taken by the neutral powers

to offer protection to the Jews of Budapest.

Bloody Swede.

His protected Jews.

What the hell has got into Szálasi?

Keep moving. Fifty thousand, and 50,000 more until it's over.

SZÁLASl: And Arrow Cross guards will, hereafter, honor passage

issued to Jews by foreign power.

Protect the Jews and their houses will not be subject to the new laws.

- How do you explain that? - We, uh, have a good fairy, Per.

SZÁLASl:will not be required to wear the yellow star

or be subject to transportation.

Concerning Jews,

police and Arrow Cross guards will, hereafter, honor passage issued...

Should I beware of Swedes bearing gifts?

Consider the gifts to mark a happy event.

A happy event?

I'm told Himmler has ordered a halt to the gassings.

- Please. - Oh, thank you.

And what else has your intelligence bought you?

Or are your American benefactors supplying that as well?

What a charming thought. Cigarette?

- No, I don't. - Thank you.

No, this item's from your own department.

Auschwitz is to be dismantled.

And this all clearly pleases you?

After how many dead? Four million?

Five? Six?

It's quite an achievement, eh, Wallenberg?

Himmler seems to be having second thoughts about this achievement.

It appears he's now trying to save his neck.

Himmler? Ha, ha.

You want me to believe you're not interested in saving your own neck?

Oh, what you believe is of little interest to me.

Really, Eichmann? What does excite you?

Let me tell you what it is. The desire to excel.

To go to my grave knowing that no one has done more than I

towards ridding Europe of its Jews.

To accomplish this with distinction.

To prove myself worthy.

Oh, a worthy soldier, that would be a change.

Thus far, your career has been mostly... Uh, what shall I say? Technical.

Administrative.

Moving trains, never quite filling quotas.

You conniving dilettante.

You tricked the Hungarians into honoring those ersatz documents

for a while.

Now you're making a stink about the marches.

Don't be encouraged by your little moment of triumph.

I have already got that ass, Szálasi, to countermand his broadcast order.

There is still time to cancel the march, colonel.

- And since Himmler himself... - Himmler be damned.

I'll decide the fate of Hungarian Jews.

Starve them, beat them, shoot them.

March them into mass graves, 50,000 at a time.

I know all about you.

You get your money from the Americans,

from that cripple, Roosevelt.

Furthermore, we know your secret as well.

You're a Jew yourself, Wallenberg.

Eichmann, you disappoint me, given your reputation for exactitude.

The fact is my great-great-grandfather was a Jew,

which makes me one-sixteenth Jewish,

and not as much as I would have preferred.

And now, may I make a suggestion?

Please.

Let's open your Scotch. I'm thirsty.

Shall we drink to...? To honor. To duty.

Can you still feel secure, colonel,

in continuing to carry out your orders to murder helpless civilians?

They give me orders. "Get them to the camps."

Well, by God, I'll do it. And I'll keep on doing it until...

Until Valhalla crashes down around your head.

Not the twilight of the gods but the death of monsters.

Shall we drink to the death of monsters, Eichmann?

Get out of here, Wallenberg. Your charm wears thin.

I cannot consider this conversation as private. The Vatican and...

To hell with them!

Wallenberg.

I'll do you a favor.

I'm open to offers.

I'll find a train for your Hebrews.

For 750,000 francs, made payable to me personally,

you can take a few hundred Jews anywhere you want.

- And the others? - They remain.

I'll consider it. Good day, colonel.

- Thank you, major. - Wallenberg.

I want that Jew lover dead before the day ends.

Sonja.

- Sonja? - I'm really quite all right.

Well, the doctor's coming right away.

You won't be riding that bicycle of yours for a few days.

- I don't know. Why not? - Are you sure you're all right?

Colonel Eichmann, please.

No, I'll, uh... I'll need it until Vilmos gets us a new car.

I really think she should go to a hospital.

Colonel Eichmann,

your driver did an excellent job on my car.

- However, I was not in it. - Not in the car.

Perhaps next time, huh?

Dieter.

Dieter!

- What do you want, colonel? - I'll tell you what I want.

I want you to start marching the Jews.

And you can march them until they drop.

This time, I will tolerate no delay.

- Come out, everybody. - Come out. Come down, please.

Everybody get dressed.

One warm coat, one pair of shoes and one valise.

No one is exempt.

Don't be frightened. You are being loaned to our German ally for work

on behalf of Hungary, by order of Prime Minister Szálasi.

You must obey.

- Come on. - Mama, I have school.

- Josi. - Come down.

- Hello? Hello, operator? - Come down.

Operator, I need 789-0...

Operator? Oper...?

Come down and don't be frightened. Come on.

Put on your coat, Josi.

Move it. Get down here now.

Will you call my teacher?

What?

What?

Will you call my teacher?

Come out, please.

You have no right to do this.

I am a Hungarian citizen. You have no right.

Please, we must have everything.

- Quickly, or we'll be here all day. - That belonged to my mother. No.

- Watches, eye glasses, jewelry. - That belonged to my grandmother.

Everything you have.

You don't need to be so rude.

They're taking these. It's for the best.

- What are we going to do? - Have you no mercy?

- I need... I need them to see. - Where are we going?

- My glasses. - Hey.

- We have Swedish papers. - Aha.

You are not allowed to do this.

These belong to my mother. Oh, no.

What's the matter, you don't like it? Get on with it.

- Papa, when will we come back? - I don't know.

- Move, move! - Hannah.

- I'm going to get her. - No.

They're taking her away.

- I said, no. - Why?

This is Eichmann's work. None of that Hungarian sloppiness.

- They're going to clear the city out. - Come on, a walk will do you good.

That's the Swedish flag.

Let them blow their Jewish noses in it.

Follow them. Get word to me where they're headed.

- Where are you going? - Wallenberg.

He needs to see me.

Well, why bother? I thought he was just another goy.

Illmosh, you won't believe what I found.

Fresh carrots, fresh onions, fresh potatoes.

Ha, fantastic.

Brother Holin, it's nice to see you.

Welcome to our restaurant. I hope you're enjoying your food.

Yes. Good. There's plenty for all, don't worry.

SS round-up.

Go to the house on Bencher Street, number 47, basement.

Good. Good. Eat. Eat all you like. There's plenty. Always plenty.

SS round-up. Bencher Street, number 47, basement. Good.

Wallenberg?

Somebody told me you wanted to talk.

Who are you?

You tell me.

Szcepakec Bronislaw.

Birthplace: Kraków. In Budapest as registered alien.

Religion: Catholic. Perfectly acceptable.

As you can see, we're also feeding the sisters.

I'm not here to eat.

I'm Teicholz. This is all lies.

Except the part about my being Polish.

Teicholz. You're with the Walde.

I hear you're good,

but, uh, difficult.

Did you get your head busted fighting with the partisans in Poland?

Did you have to come to this country illegally like me?

I'm impressed. That's why I sought you out.

Why should I do anything for you?

- Walde's doing fine by itself. - Indeed it is.

But we are overlapping in certain areas,

with your printing business, in particular.

Who in hell are you to complain about our passes?

Do you know how many lives we've saved with them?

Hundreds. Nevertheless, you and I are beginning to overlap.

It's causing problems for people carrying our passes

- and we're saving thousands. - That's your claim.

That's the truth.

So redirect your hostility, if you would, toward the enemy.

I'm on your side.

What do you want from me, Wallenberg? Not that I'm delivering.

I want access to the Walde's underground bunkers, Mr. Teicholz.

And you damn well better deliver, because if you don't,

every one of these people will be rounded up,

with the rest of the Jews in Budapest,

and sent off on a death march that will have no survivors.

I'll tell you what,

I got room for about 300.

A thousand and make room.

I'll make room.

Shake hands.

Fifteen hundred.

Hmm.

Keep up there.

Move ahead.

New arrivals will proceed...

- Keep moving. - ... to the waiting area inside the gate.

Keep your belongings close to you.

Find a comfortable spot once inside, if you please.

And stay quietly until you receive further instructions.

Keep moving.

I repeat:

The new arrivals will proceed

to the waiting area inside the gate.

- Women there. - Come on. Move.

Keep your belongings close to you.

Please, I'm an employee of the Swedish Legation.

I must call my office.

Mama, I'm late for school.

Move. Move.

Mr. Langfelder, who drove you here, will be waiting for you on the street.

How can I thank you and Mr. Wallenberg?

There's no need, madam.

- Good night and good luck. - Good night.

Per?

- Yeah? - Tell me something.

Do you ever miss those carefree Scandinavian days?

Yes.

I don't.

Isn't it curious?

They're all a blur to me.

Full of contentment,

but it's as if they never touched me.

Perhaps nothing ever did before, Raoul.

You found yourself here.

I'm sorry, but I must not allow your obsession

to ruin what's left of my marriage.

It's 1:00 in the morning, you needn't apologize for leaving.

Well, you have that sort of effect on people.

My secret weapon.

We hit rock bottom today, Per.

- Yes. - Marches again.

My God.

What are we coming to?

Get some sleep.

Welcome to my sitting room.

Thank you.

I'm sure Mr. Anger imagines all kinds of things,

seeing me here at this hour.

I promise to disabuse him in the morning.

I came to tell you that your life is in danger.

I know that.

Not only from Eichmann,

Szálasi also.

And I wanted you to know

that Gabor tried to stop the marches from starting again.

Then you came here to feed your husband's case?

You are a neutral witness.

You might be asked to testify.

But you could've told me that on the phone.

Yes, but the climate is worsening, as you predicted,

and I wanted to be sure that I saw you again

to tell you these things directly.

What things, Lisl?

- That Gabor is not an evil man. - Simply misguided.

I am still carrying our child.

I don't need reminding.

- I was not admonishing you. - Then what?

What other things, Lisl?

I am here...

...because it was impossible for me not to be here.

You...

...are the most beautiful woman I have ever known.

And if I take one step towards you,

I will forget why I came here in the first place.

I must leave.

Leave?

Is this not the safest place?

But the warmest.

Monsignor Rotha told me something this afternoon

that moved me very deeply.

He said the Nazis' greatest victory

was convincing the Jews that they were doomed,

but that you changed that for thousands of them.

What does a clergyman know about the real world?

Learn to accept a compliment, Raoul,

when it is given with love.

All, attention. Attention.

You must stop trying to get special treatment

from our attendants here.

Cries and complaints will not be tolerated.

We are doing everything...

I am hungry, Mama.

Josi, they'll feed us soon.

We said it could never happen to us.

We were Hungarians and proud of our country.

The people wouldn't let it happen.

Maybe the work camp won't be so bad, Papa.

Oh, yes, the work camp.

Any inconvenience you may undergo...

- Open the gates. - ... is only temporary.

- That's it, hurry up there. - Open.

You must not exaggerate your problems.

All right, Jews. Come on.

- Get moving. - Up on your feet.

- Get up. Come on, up. Up. - Get moving.

- Come on. - On your feet.

Up on your feet.

Who are you?

Fodor, Special Intelligence.

From Czepo.

I was sent here.

I never seen you before.

- On your feet! That's right. - Can you hear me?

You want to stay here?

Get up.

- Keep moving. - You must move, you must move.

Come, we're going for a walk.

That's right.

Mama, if I miss school, will the teacher be angry?

Of course not, sweetheart.

We're only going a short way.

Why you cry, Mama?

I am tired.

- Will Mr. Wallenberg come? - You must obey orders.

Yes, my little one. He'll come.

- He'll come. - Keep in line.

Up. Up.

- Mind the line there. Move on. - Let's go.

Come on. Grab your bag, join the line.

- Just a short walk from here. - Come.

Hannah, you must promise me when this is over, your music first.

You have talent.

- Don't stop, just move. - Come on, don't waste time.

Come along.

Move faster.

Those at the front, move faster.

Watch the line. Nobody moves out of the line.

I'm going to drag you out.

I won't go without my father.

- You, I knew you were no good. - Papa.

- You see, Hannah, I warned you. - He's not with them.

- Listen, we can run. He can't. - You're crazy.

- You're going with me. - Hannah.

Hannah, don't leave me.

Papa. I'll kill him.

They'll kill us if we don't run.

After him!

- Who are you? - Intelligence. I got, uh, ID card.

Stay quiet.

Keep still, you. Keep still.

German.

Go to the house on Petri Street, you know it?

- Good luck. - Thank you.

Sir. Sir. They've cleaned out four buildings in Buda.

- What? - One of ours, one of the Swiss.

They won't exempt anyone.

And Teicholz said to tell you that the march has begun

and they have trains waiting at Hegyeshalom.

To take the Jews across the border.

It's happening. Death march.

Sonja's building's empty. She and the boy are gone.

What? Police or SS?

- I didn't ask. - Didn't they respect our flags?

- Apparently not. - Damn them!

Once they get the Jews out of Hungary, they're doomed.

At least here, I have some bargaining power.

With the Russians, you mean?

Well, so long as I can threaten these savages with the Red Army,

we have a chance.

Like all murderers, they're cowards.

Lutz? Wallenberg. Do you have the report also?

Yes, tens of thousands of them. Sick, dying, starving.

Yes, a massive rescue operation. Trucks, food, clothes, medicine.

- Stop complaining. - Come on.

Faster. There's a road ahead.

Good God.

Come on. Move, move, move.

- Move. - Go on.

- Go, go, go. - Come on.

Get moving.

You don't need to hit. Don't need to hit.

Stay away. I can't...

- Don't. - Come on.

I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it.

- Come on. Get up. - I'm up.

Get away from there.

Shall I stop, sir?

Mr. Wallenberg. Mr. Wallenberg.

No.

We can try to stop this only at the trains.

- Please, help me. - Drive on to the station.

Mr. Wallenberg, please help me.

Help us. Save us.

Per,

what does our Christian faith tell us about these Nazi scoundrels?

Who are they? What shaped them?

I am no theologian.

Please, Mr. Wallenberg. Save us. Help us.

Perhaps we are witnessing the death of God himself.

Please.

Move! Move!

Keep moving. Keep moving.

Train is ready for you.

Let's go.

Keep that line tight.

Move.

Watch out where you're going.

Go on, we're going up ahead now.

Move it.

Don't fall behind.

- Come on, Jews. - Come on.

Get away from that car.

Keep away from there.

Off the road. Off the road.

Let the car through.

Get away from the car.

The main thing is statistics.

Too many died after they got here before we could load them.

You, you have to take back the pregnant women and the sick.

- My orders are otherwise, major. - Up, up, up. On your feet.

I want live bodies on the train.

- You, on the train. - We're arguing whether Jews

should die on the train or on the road to Budapest, what's the difference?

The useless ones don't go.

- Look at him. - You heard what I said!

Shoot them or hang them, for all I care. The sick ones don't go.

I'll kill you all with my bare hands!

Come on, you too.

You with the beard.

Perhaps we call Budapest, I'll get a clarification from Minister Biner.

You do that.

How did we end up on the same side with all the garbage of Europe?

Statistics.

Where is Teicholz?

- No, please. Please. - Get on the train!

Out of the way.

Come on, move. Move. Come on.

Move forward. Come on, on your feet.

Never mind all that. Come on, move forward.

What are you doing?

Nobody touch the medicine. It's not for you.

- Get away from here. - Get back.

- Step back! - Get out of here. Get away.

Step back or I'll shoot you.

- Ferenczy. - What are you going to do?

I'm not sure. Vilmos.

Get me some whiskey, cigarettes and big packets of money.

You want me with you?

No. You and Charles do everything you can to stop the trains from leaving.

And write down the names of people without passes.

Fill in the blanks for the young and strong ones.

Wait for me, huh?

- Colonel Ferenczy. - Oh, the Swedes.

What a nice reunion, colonel.

Christmas is upon us. I thought we might celebrate early.

Celebrate?

To warm the hearts of your splendid policemen, huh?

- Thank you. Thank you. - Ha, ha.

So this fellow, this foreign office chap, he asks,

"How can Hungarian Jews becomes Swedes overnight?"

And I said, "Didn't you know, the Swedes are the lost tribe of Israel?

These Jews are going home."

Going home? That's a good one.

- Stockholm, the new Jerusalem, huh? - Yes. Yes.

I said, "It's been proven, by measuring skulls and matching fingerprints,

the Swedes are descended from King David.

The Royal House of Sweden has Jewish roots.

Our constitution is based on the Ten Commandments."

And now for the real Christmas, huh?

Dollars? American dollars?

What do you want from us?

You know what I want, colonel.

You all know what I want.

Come on, move it.

Please, please. Let me help with the boy.

- You come with me. - Leave this to me.

- I've got my orders. - Leave the child alone.

Stop! There are people here who are Swiss citizens.

Get them out of here!

There are many people here, Swedish persons.

Close the doors.

Stop! Stop! Keep those doors open!

Stop!

Are there any Swedish protected people here?

Take these.

If so, come forward at once.

You are in violation of international law!

Let them get away with that? Get those men out of here.

Take these. Pass them out.

- Those are ours. - Stop!

- We have to move the train. - Stay back.

I am the secretary of the Swedish Legation.

If you have a pass or if you have lost one, step forward at once.

Get off the trains at once.

Josef?

Mrs. Khan.

Mrs. Khan of the legation.

- Vilmos. - I'll take her.

- Take her to the car. - Let me have him. Come on, my boy.

Please. He is very ill.

- Get him down. - Anyone with a pass, step forward.

Take your filthy hands off him.

Mr. Wallenberg is a diplomat.

Ferenczy, our agreement!

Stop. Leave him alone!

I have made an arrangement with this man, sergeant.

- We have passes. - Raise your hands.

- Raise your hands. - What's a handful of yids to us?

Raise your hand if you have a Swiss pass.

It does not matter if you have lost it. You are here in the ledger.

You have the full protection of the King of Sweden

and the Swiss Republic.

Oh, Mr. Schuarz, I know you have a pass.

Mr. And Mrs. Yultz. Yes, yes. I gave you passes myself.

I remember. Hurry. What is your name?

Caroline Takie.

Yes, yes, yes. Her name is in the book.

This Swede bribes you again, eh, Ferenczy?

You'll get your share.

We'll give him 400 yids.

- He can't take all of them. - Hurry.

- Rabbi. My friend Rabbi? - Mandel.

- Rabbi Mandel. Yes, I know. - Please, follow me. Please.

Yes, I know you have a pass. You have sisters in Sweden.

Come on, Rabbi.

We have our orders.

My family will be here. My son, my daughter.

Yes, your children. Get up, please. You are protected. Get up.

These are the Rabbi's children.

Release this man, at once.

Is there anyone else?

- Anyone else, raise your hands? - Me.

- Speak up. - We are... We are here.

Bring the children.

I'm sorry. I can take only so many, so I must take the young.

- Forgive me. - Forgive you?

I pity you.

- Get back in line. - Yes, dear lady, pity me.

Close the car doors. The train is about to leave.

- Ferenczy! - Yes?

Ferenczy, open those doors.

- Open them. - I can't do that.

We have food and medical supplies on the truck. You will distribute them.

Per. Vilmos.

See that all our 400 are safely on the trucks.

There is another car.

Sonja, we'll find a doctor.

How many will you take?

- Get back on the train. - Come on.

Get the people on. Close the doors.

Get out, Swede!

Go home, Swede!

Move the train.

- Close the doors. - Close the doors.

- Home before dark, as I promised. - We are most grateful, sir.

- You're welcome. - Thank you.

You're safe now, Sonja.

You and Josef will be happier here with my orphans.

And tonight, we'll light the Hanukkah candles, huh?

Sonja?

Sonja.

Oh, no.

Oh, no. Give...

Give me the child.

Sonja, give me the boy.

Give him to me.

Sonja, give him to...

Very good. Come down to your presents.

Come on.

Raoul, I'm being exiled to Italy.

All passengers leaving for Milano, please board the train immediately.

The official reason given is for my own security.

I leave tonight on the train for Milano, my family's home.

I shall remember you always.

A Franz Josef suite.

Nothing is too good for the wife of the foreign minister.

Now, if the Allies cooperate by not bombing the rail lines,

we will be grateful.

The allies are not deporting me, Gabor.

That is a minor interruption.

You will be rejoining me before you know it.

Perhaps.

In the meantime, at least I will be with my family.

You see to it they provide you and our baby with every comfort.

I've enjoyed far too much comfort while others have...

But you, Gabor...

No, no. Come now. No more of that.

All visitors must leave the train.

Departure is one minute.

Goodbye, my beloved.

My little Lisl who will bear our child.

God bless you both.

Goodbye, Gabor.

Package from headquarters.

Raoul.

Roses in the winter.

It took some doing.

But the train is under way.

I'm an old hand at bribing conductors.

Vilmos is waiting for me at the next stop.

How clever you are.

Shall we drink to your safe and pleasant journey? Hmm?

To your safe and pleasant life.

You've made it more than pleasant.

You've restored my faith, along with a handful of others.

But mostly, Lisl, it was you who helped me,

with the least to gain.

The least to gain?

Oh, no, Raoul.

I have been rewarded beyond words.

Now I am abandoning you.

But what choice have you? Szálasi would have had you arrested.

I should have made him do it. I should have.

You would have.

I'm not bearing a child.

Oh, dear Raoul.

How difficult it is for you to acknowledge what you have done.

What you continue to do.

Never enough. Never soon enough.

In matters of this kind, timing is all.

In all matters.

We're not doing so badly, are we? Hmm? A vintage year.

A deep friendship.

Much more than friendship.

Yes.

Much, much more.

They said I was your spy.

My beloved spy.

Shall we ever meet again?

Wherever I am,

we will never stop meeting.

Here.

Well, colonel, shall we retire to the library?

Please, come sit where it's more comfortable.

Cigar?

Thank you.

Genuine Havana. And why not?

This is an occasion, huh? Our last meeting.

Mm.

- You aristocrats do things properly. - Ha, ha.

Dinner on bone china, wine from Bohemian crystal,

Cuban cigars.

All that's lacking is en... Entertainment.

Others have provided that, colonel. Hmm?

Glorious display of fireworks courtesy of the Red Army.

- Magnificent, isn't it? - Mm-hm. Aren't you frightened?

- I'm a soldier. - Out of uniform on the eve of battle.

Budapest could fall tomorrow, colonel.

Shouldn't you be at the front driving your troops?

It does not become a Swede to mock me.

You see, Wallenberg, I achieved my goal.

I cleaned Europe out, all but a handful. Himmler couldn't do it.

Oh, yeah, yeah. He would sit with us over beer

and agree that the Jews had to be finished off.

But that was with comrades over beer, you know?

But to do it, to really do it, that isn't easy.

Himmler. Ha, ha.

How many Jews are still alive in Hungary?

In the countryside?

Not enough to fill a synagogue.

Budapest,

oh, 100,000.

Maybe 20,000 of them carrying those damned papers you gave them.

So few.

So few.

And, colonel, I ask you to spare them all.

Do you hear those guns?

The Red Army is less than two kilometers away.

What can these few Jewish lives mean to you now?

Be honest with yourself, Wallenberg.

We Germans acted on what others dreamed about.

Philosophers, churchmen, rulers.

The forbidden lust of Europe to destroy the children of Abraham.

Colonel, your sense of history is on the same level as your morality.

- I ask you again, spare these people. - Ha, ha.

The world will thank us someday, you mark my words.

Oh, there's your thanks. There's your thanks.

You're doomed. You and your whole pack, finished.

Oh, but it was a good road to travel.

Power. Wealth. Blooded horses.

The elite of Europe's whores.

Not bad for a modest salesman.

But you're an aristocrat, you wouldn't understand.

When my time comes, I'll go to the hangman smiling.

Colonel,

I will do everything in my power to speed your journey.

You're certain the road is still open?

It is, sir. The Russians have cut the others.

- You will drive me to Vienna. - Yes, sir.

Wisleceny, orders are that all children and protected Jews

are to be taken to the central ghetto. No exceptions.

Once they're resettled in one place they're going to be eliminated.

No single Jew must come out of the ghetto alive.

I expect you to rise to new heights, major,

in order to finish the job properly.

- Heil Hitler. - Heil Hitler.

Help us here. That's right. All right, this is the last one.

Okay.

- Come on. - You don't do this to us.

Jewish pigs, get back.

- Close the door! - Get back. Get back in there.

Put the bar in. Go on. Quick.

Nikki, those are chains. They're locking us in.

No, the Russians are in the city. They'll come in time.

Those are German tanks outside.

Why aren't they off fighting the Russians?

Just listen. I'm going up higher to get a good look.

The street rat will find a safe nest for us yet.

- Come on, help me. - Get us out of here.

No, change that, Sonja. Say, "My dear Marshal Malinovsky,

I greet you on behalf of the Swedish government

and extend my good wishes to the Soviet Union.

I'm working on a plan for the restoration of normal life in Budapest.

I put myself at your disposal,

and will happily meet with your representative at..."

Sonja, you didn't have to come to work.

The work is good for me.

We couldn't even bury him in the Jewish cemetery.

The soldiers, they wouldn't let us go there.

We had to break the frozen earth in someone's yard.

- I'm sorry. - A child.

Eight years old.

Who had he offended?

Sonja...

They won't feel sorry us, Raoul.

Ever.

They'll laugh at us.

Josi.

The Arrow Cross and the SS are coming here.

They took everyone from the other office.

Believe me, sir, we have to get out.

All right, everyone, another move.

Back with our orphans on Venture Street.

We can hide out in those tunnels under that old place for weeks.

All right, get moving.

Do we have any blank passes left?

- Yes. - Good. Well, take them.

Take some official seals and stamps, uh, typewriters, files.

Oh, and, Vilmos, see if you can find Teicholz.

Don't get yourself killed, but we need a diversion in the center ghetto.

Sir.

Hello. Some new faces. Welcome to our hotel.

And how are you? Feeling better, huh? Good.

Where were we?

"I propose we name this organization

the Wallenberg Institute for Support and Reconstruction.

Its purpose, General Malinovsky, would be humanitarian..."

Wallenberg! Mr. Wallenberg.

The savior of the Jews.

Excuse me, sir, my staff and I are very busy.

Two days now, I have been guarding your Jewish orphanage, Wallenberg.

I have to atone for my stupidity.

Captain, if you would just go upstairs...

You are a wonderful man, Wallenberg. I have been less than wonderful.

Dreadful, stupid. From now on, you have a Hungarian bodyguard.

- Whether you know it or not. - Wallenberg!

Wallenberg. Five hundred SS defense units...

Get off me, you bastard.

- It's all right. Tell me. - Eichmann's orders before he left:

Shoot everyone.

They're moving in on central ghetto. Tanks, machine guns.

- Surrounding your safe houses. - Oh, my God.

I've got to find General Schmidthuber.

Vilmos! Vilmos!

What did you see?

Some guys hanging around.

You can tell me.

I think...

- I think that they are going to... - I know, my son.

I know.

Come, children, time for afternoon prayers.

Get your books.

You too, Fodor.

The Lord doesn't give out marks.

I do.

Nikki, go on and pray with them.

What good will it do?

Maybe by tomorrow, we won't be here.

But our book will remain. God's word will last forever.

Come, children, we will sing now. Nikki will join. Page 33.

Stop him.

No, you can't come in here.

Royal Swedish Legation, official business.

A strict order, all of these offices were to be cleared out before noon.

The files must be burned. We can allow for one day or two.

- Stop preparing a mass operation. - General.

Oh, Wallenberg, I heard you were killed.

General, are you aware

of the operation about to take place in the ghettos?

- What's he talking about? - Eichmann's orders.

- Well? - The orders are

to machine-gun 100,000 people to death.

Men, women, children, infants.

Do you understand this will be your parting gift to humanity?

I wasn't aware of it.

I'm fighting the Russians.

General, there are companies from your own division waiting to move in.

I ask you to stop it.

Not my division.

Yours?

It is true?

I'm told you are a combat officer, hmm? A soldier, not a murderer.

I warn you, general, if you allow this atrocity to take place,

I will personally see you are tried as a war criminal.

- You threaten me, Wallenberg. - It is not an idle threat.

You will be seen by the world not as a soldier,

but as a contemptible murderer.

To hell with him, general. He's been bluffing.

He's been making trouble for months.

General, you will hang for this!

Cancel it.

Call Operations and cancel it.

And you, call off those Arrow Cross pips.

You have my personal guarantee there will be no such action.

Thank you.

Eichmann is a madman, but if we stop now,

- it's a confession of guilt. - Silence.

Wallenberg.

Wallenberg.

Don't work too hard at saving some necks.

- We have to move out. - All right.

- Move out? - All right.

Come on, men, we're moving out. Pack up.

- Attention, everybody. - All right, on the truck.

Everyone in the trucks.

Move out.

All you men, move on it.

Hannah.

Rabbi, they're going away.

I wish you'd change your mind. The city isn't secure.

Nonsense, I've already made contact with the Russians.

Look, Malinovsky has sent an escort for me.

But the streets aren't safe, they're still fighting.

Well, I have absolute faith in Vilmos.

Oh, Per, I've left some money with the minister.

Please see that it's used to buy food and medicine for the ghetto.

- I am. You can depend on us. - I always have.

God bless you, Per.

And you.

Well, I'll back in a week, making my usual impossible demands on you all.

Good luck, Mr. Wallenberg.

Meanwhile, Sonja will keep you on your toes, huh?

Maybe Mr. Anger is right, sir.

Maybe you should wait.

Our new friends don't look threatening.

Good morning, comrades.

Sonja.

- It's going well, huh? - Yes.

I'm only sorry I, uh... I didn't teach Josef to smile.

- Ready, comrades. - Goodbye.

- Thank you, bye-bye. - Bye.

Come on, let's get our people out! Bring the bar.

Take that.

Move that one. Stand back.

Come out!

What's the matter, you wanna stay in here?

Come on, you're free!

Is it possible, Vilmos, that we did make a difference, huh?

Mr. Wallenberg.

Mr. Wallenberg.

Captain.

I'm the second secretary of the Swedish Legation.

I have an appointment with Marshal Malinovsky at Debrecen.

Raoul.

What? What are they doing?

My name is Wallenberg, here are my credentials.

The driver to the truck, you are going with me.

I am in direct contact with your commander.

Come, I have my own orders. Please come.

What the hell are you doing?

What the hell are you doing?

Do you realize I have diplomatic immunity?

I demand an explanation.

Go!

Dear beloved Raoul,

after many years of despair and infinite sorrow,

we have never given up hope of seeing you again.

Despite the fact that all our efforts to contact you

have been unsuccessful.

From other prisoners who have returned

and who have shared cells with you,

we have learned about your life in prison.

However, nothing sustains us more

than your thought that it is given to few men

to lead a life such as yours.

There is a room waiting for you when you return.

On January 17th, 1945, Raoul Wallenberg vanished.

After repeated requests for information as to his fate,

all of which were rebuffed,

the Soviet Union announced that he had died in July, 1947.

No evidence was produced to support their claims.

And over the years, reports about him persist

from those who claimed to have spent time with him in Soviet captivity.

I, Per Anger, was Raoul's colleague for seven months in Budapest.

I believe to this day, he still may be alive.