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This is the story of a filmthat was never completed.
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A film designed to serveas propaganda for the Third Reich,
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that empire infatuated with a camera...
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00:01:08,468 --> 00:01:11,631
that knew so wellto document its own evil...
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passionately, systematically...
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00:01:13,873 --> 00:01:15,841
like no other nation before it.
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A full decade after the end of the war,
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East German archivistsbegan for the first time...
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to sort through what remainedof Hitler's propaganda machine.
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Thousands of films discovered in the exactlocation in which they had been stashed.
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00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:37,225
A concrete vault hidden in a forest.
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It is also there that one lone copyof a film was found.
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Over one hour long, with no soundtrack,no opening or closing credits.
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Only a brief title:
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The Ghetto.
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It was a rough first draft...
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of the longest Nazi propaganda filmever shot inside the Warsaw Ghetto,
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the largest of the Jewish ghettosestablished by the Nazis in occupied Roland.
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The silent footage juxtaposesmeticulously staged scenes...
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in which Jews are shownenjoying a life of luxury in the Ghetto...
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with images that requiredno staging at all.
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Why was the film crewsent to film the Ghetto...
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00:02:41,694 --> 00:02:44,891
shortly before it would be wiped out?
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00:02:44,964 --> 00:02:48,957
And why was work on the filmcut short in the early stages of editing?
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00:02:51,604 --> 00:02:54,437
In the absence ofa final version of the film,
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the intention of the propagandistscan never be determined.
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00:02:58,845 --> 00:03:01,211
One can only surmise.
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00:03:03,716 --> 00:03:07,812
Ironically, after the war,this film commissioned by the Nazis...
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00:03:07,887 --> 00:03:11,721
turned into a trustworthy documentfor any filmmaker or museum...
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00:03:11,791 --> 00:03:16,694
seeking to show what really happened...to tell the untellable.
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The cinematic deception was forgotten,
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and the black-and-white images wereengraved in memory as historical truth.
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From the frenzy of propaganda,the images alone remain,
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concealing many layers of reality.
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00:05:46,446 --> 00:05:48,778
May 1942.
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The Warsaw Ghetto.
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Two and a half years have passedsince the Ghetto was established.
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And in three months, many of thosewe see here will be sent to their death.
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00:06:03,229 --> 00:06:07,290
Here are images in which these peopleare still fighting for their lives.
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What the film doesn't tell is that nearlyhalf a million Jews were trapped here...
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in a walled-in areaof less than three square miles,
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in conditionsof unparalleled overcrowding,
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plagued by hunger and typhus.
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The Ghetto housed not onlythe many Jews of Warsaw,
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but also thousands of Jewish refugees...
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00:06:36,295 --> 00:06:38,695
deported from all corners of the Reich,
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with no possessions, no language,
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no chance to survive.
49
00:06:53,479 --> 00:06:56,880
Those who were caught smugglingfood or attempting to escape...
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00:06:56,949 --> 00:06:59,315
were immediately captured and shot.
51
00:07:05,291 --> 00:07:09,694
And, as in every other ghetto, here, too,the Nazis had set up a Judenrat...
52
00:07:09,762 --> 00:07:13,755
a Jewish council...appointing as its head Adam Czerniakow,
53
00:07:13,833 --> 00:07:16,267
whose job was to managefor them from inside...
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what had essentially become the holdingpen before the final destination.
55
00:07:21,941 --> 00:07:25,775
As he fought a losing battleto save all he possibly could,
56
00:07:25,845 --> 00:07:29,144
Czerniakow insisted on documentingthe events of his life...
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day by day, with urgency,in nine diary notebooks.
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00:07:34,620 --> 00:07:36,884
And even as time was running out,
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he made a point of writing extensivelyabout the shooting of this film...
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and of his part in it...an actor playing himself,
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unaware how his role will end.
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00:07:50,837 --> 00:07:54,432
May 3, 1942...
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00:07:56,542 --> 00:08:01,070
At 10 a.m. The propaganda crew arrived.
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They started to takepictures in my office.
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00:08:14,927 --> 00:08:20,092
First, they staged a scene of rabbisand petitioners entering my office, etc.
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00:08:26,038 --> 00:08:29,496
Then they removedall the paintings and charts...
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00:08:30,643 --> 00:08:37,378
and brought in a nine-armedcandlestick with all the candles lit.
68
00:09:00,306 --> 00:09:05,437
May 7, 1942...
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00:09:06,145 --> 00:09:09,273
On the streets, they are filming Jews.
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00:09:17,823 --> 00:09:19,381
Oh God!
71
00:09:39,612 --> 00:09:42,843
What if I see someone I know?
72
00:10:35,735 --> 00:10:39,933
I keep thinking that
among all these people,
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00:10:40,006 --> 00:10:42,634
I might see my mother walking.
74
00:10:49,915 --> 00:10:56,718
Leszno, the main street,
was full of traffic.
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00:10:57,590 --> 00:11:04,928
I remember that once
they filmed people.
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00:11:04,997 --> 00:11:07,989
Germans would often show up,
77
00:11:08,567 --> 00:11:13,163
usually for unpleasant reasons
and usually shooting.
78
00:11:13,239 --> 00:11:19,405
So, when they were filming,
it was much more positive.
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00:11:19,478 --> 00:11:25,781
Anyhow, it was never good news
when Germans showed up.
80
00:11:31,957 --> 00:11:35,916
By this time in the Ghetto,
I was independent.
81
00:11:36,529 --> 00:11:39,123
I was already 8 or 9 years old.
82
00:11:42,868 --> 00:11:46,463
My mother let me play in the courtyard,
83
00:11:47,907 --> 00:11:52,173
and I went to all sorts
of places by myself.
84
00:11:53,546 --> 00:11:57,448
So, yes, I saw them filming.
85
00:12:04,690 --> 00:12:12,324
They filmed beggars
and all sorts of passersby.
86
00:12:12,398 --> 00:12:17,700
At the time, I didn't realize
that they had deliberate intentions.
87
00:12:17,770 --> 00:12:20,000
But of course they did.
88
00:12:30,282 --> 00:12:34,343
May 14, 1942...
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00:12:36,756 --> 00:12:40,214
The film crew is stillvery much in evidence.
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00:12:40,292 --> 00:12:43,455
They are filming both the luxuryand the extreme poverty.
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00:12:45,564 --> 00:12:53,061
When I returned home at 4 o'clock,I found uniformed filmmakers, etc.
92
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They decided to film in our apartment.
93
00:13:02,248 --> 00:13:07,709
I requested that a couplebe engaged as actors.
94
00:13:12,758 --> 00:13:16,558
They placed a sign on the doorwith something written on it.
95
00:13:23,135 --> 00:13:27,401
Two women and a male "lover"were brought to the apartment...
96
00:13:31,110 --> 00:13:33,271
and they started filming.
97
00:13:49,295 --> 00:13:54,198
In the meantime,an old Jew with a Vandyke beard...
98
00:13:54,266 --> 00:13:56,530
was seized on the street.
99
00:13:56,602 --> 00:13:59,571
He sat in my apartment for hours,
100
00:13:59,638 --> 00:14:03,768
but his photogenic qualitieswere not used.
101
00:14:05,144 --> 00:14:09,137
I can imagine what happenedwhen he returned home...
102
00:14:09,215 --> 00:14:12,742
and tried to tell his wifethat he had earned nothing...
103
00:14:12,818 --> 00:14:16,879
while waiting for three hoursto be a "star."
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00:14:17,523 --> 00:14:22,654
I wonder whether I will ever meet you,my professional colleague.
105
00:14:22,728 --> 00:14:26,528
Did we not both miss our destiny?
106
00:14:57,730 --> 00:14:59,391
What on earth?
107
00:15:00,699 --> 00:15:03,497
Where did one ever see a flower?
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00:15:04,169 --> 00:15:06,899
We would have eaten the flower.
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00:15:08,807 --> 00:15:15,474
Who could stay
in their private apartment...
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00:15:15,547 --> 00:15:20,712
with their furniture
and their teapot? Who?
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00:15:22,554 --> 00:15:27,582
Only the privileged, like Czerniakow.
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00:15:30,362 --> 00:15:36,665
Jewish families weren't allowed
to live in more than one room.
113
00:15:36,735 --> 00:15:44,073
So, we took all the belongings
we still had...
114
00:15:44,143 --> 00:15:47,203
and squeezed into one room.
115
00:15:47,279 --> 00:15:51,579
At the same time,
a family we had never met before...
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00:15:51,650 --> 00:15:55,313
suddenly took over my parents' bedroom.
117
00:16:18,477 --> 00:16:21,071
When they reduced the area of the Ghetto,
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00:16:21,146 --> 00:16:23,671
we got expelled from our home,
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00:16:25,084 --> 00:16:28,918
and we had to find a new place
to live within two days.
120
00:16:28,988 --> 00:16:33,584
We found a place and started
to take our belongings there.
121
00:16:33,659 --> 00:16:36,719
We were given a room and a kitchen.
122
00:16:38,063 --> 00:16:45,526
And my father hired a man
who had a cart with no horse.
123
00:16:58,684 --> 00:17:01,778
Once, as we were pushing the cart...
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00:17:01,854 --> 00:17:04,755
loaded with our possessions
back and forth,
125
00:17:04,823 --> 00:17:08,589
we saw them filming near "Femina."
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00:17:09,395 --> 00:17:15,300
When we realized
that we were in their way,
127
00:17:15,367 --> 00:17:20,395
my father got scared
and let go of the reins.
128
00:17:20,472 --> 00:17:24,067
The German jumped on him
and beat him...
129
00:17:24,143 --> 00:17:27,704
until he fell down
and the cart rolled away.
130
00:17:27,780 --> 00:17:31,307
I started screaming like crazy.
131
00:17:31,383 --> 00:17:33,647
My father was lying on the ground.
132
00:17:33,719 --> 00:17:39,055
"Stop screaming," he said,
"or they'll beat you too!"
133
00:17:40,125 --> 00:17:44,858
I put my hand over my mouth
and stopped screaming,
134
00:17:47,099 --> 00:17:52,662
and the Germans left us alone
and continued filming.
135
00:17:52,738 --> 00:17:57,869
I looked up and saw two men...
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00:17:57,943 --> 00:18:04,781
standing by a camera tripod.
137
00:18:06,251 --> 00:18:08,742
They were filming outside.
138
00:18:51,029 --> 00:18:53,361
The Ghetto was not a comfortablework environment...
139
00:18:53,432 --> 00:18:57,892
for the S.S. Officers who carried outits step-by-step destruction.
140
00:18:57,970 --> 00:19:01,098
They set up their headquartersoutside the Ghetto walls,
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00:19:01,173 --> 00:19:05,109
in the Brühl Palace,located in the Aryan part of Warsaw.
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00:19:07,479 --> 00:19:13,941
In May 1942, their commander was the youngKommissar S.S. Officer Heinz Auerswald,
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00:19:14,019 --> 00:19:17,921
who submitted to his superiorsweekly reports.
144
00:19:17,990 --> 00:19:20,220
He described the developmentsin the Ghetto,
145
00:19:20,292 --> 00:19:22,317
including executionshe himself had ordered,
146
00:19:22,394 --> 00:19:24,055
in the passive voice,
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00:19:24,129 --> 00:19:27,565
as though these thingshappened by themselves.
148
00:19:27,633 --> 00:19:31,865
Weekly Report, May 5, 1942:
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00:19:34,206 --> 00:19:37,505
The filming currently underwayin the Ghetto continues,
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00:19:37,576 --> 00:19:40,067
despite the lack of cooperationby the inhabitants.
151
00:19:43,682 --> 00:19:47,948
During the filming in the Ghetto,
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00:19:48,020 --> 00:19:53,185
there was an upheavalin the Jewish prison.
153
00:19:57,162 --> 00:20:00,461
When the film crew showed up...
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00:20:00,532 --> 00:20:03,831
with representativesof the Jewish Council,
155
00:20:03,902 --> 00:20:07,565
panic broke out among the prisoners.
156
00:20:19,885 --> 00:20:25,016
Those imprisoned for leavingthe Ghetto illegally were convinced...
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00:20:25,090 --> 00:20:28,617
that they were about to be executed.
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00:20:31,730 --> 00:20:36,030
Women and children fainted.
159
00:20:38,370 --> 00:20:40,031
Everyone calmed down...
160
00:20:40,105 --> 00:20:45,042
only after the real purposeof the visit became clear.
161
00:21:29,087 --> 00:21:33,251
May 19, 1942...
162
00:21:36,595 --> 00:21:40,122
Waiting for Auerswald'sphone call about the film.
163
00:21:44,536 --> 00:21:48,267
In the afternoon,a hall was prepared for filming...
164
00:21:48,340 --> 00:21:53,937
where a ball with champagneis to be held tomorrow at 8:30 p.m.
165
00:21:55,447 --> 00:21:59,110
"The Ladies"are to wear evening dresses.
166
00:22:01,186 --> 00:22:03,677
A messenger arrivedwith instructions...
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00:22:03,755 --> 00:22:07,122
that I am to play the role of the host.
168
00:22:12,197 --> 00:22:17,692
I called Auerswald,who forbade me to perform.
169
00:22:18,370 --> 00:22:21,533
He said that I should beat the community center at 7:30,
170
00:22:21,606 --> 00:22:25,064
as something might still change.
171
00:22:25,143 --> 00:22:29,876
This means that the matterhas not yet been settled.
172
00:22:29,948 --> 00:22:34,408
Will I have the strength to acquitmyself honorably from this affair?
173
00:22:39,424 --> 00:22:42,587
Later I saw a hearse full of flowers...
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00:22:42,661 --> 00:22:47,394
taken from the cemeteryto the ballroom.
175
00:22:52,170 --> 00:22:55,628
The city is full of rumorsabout deportations.
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00:22:56,341 --> 00:22:59,435
They are talkingabout tens of thousands.
177
00:23:00,879 --> 00:23:05,873
Purposeful work under suchconditions is admirable,
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00:23:05,951 --> 00:23:10,285
and yet we do it every day.
179
00:24:08,046 --> 00:24:11,846
For years, researchers tried to discoverwho had made this film,
180
00:24:11,917 --> 00:24:15,876
but none of the files...not one of the documents they uncovered...
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00:24:15,954 --> 00:24:18,320
could solve the mystery.
182
00:24:18,390 --> 00:24:24,454
Only later, in the 1960s, a lead wasdiscovered in the Warsaw City Archives.
183
00:24:24,529 --> 00:24:27,327
It was a German entry permitto the Ghetto,
184
00:24:27,399 --> 00:24:30,027
issued at the timeof the shooting of the film.
185
00:24:30,101 --> 00:24:32,968
A single document that disclosed one name:
186
00:24:33,038 --> 00:24:38,135
Willy Wist,along with his profession: Cameraman.
187
00:24:39,010 --> 00:24:41,672
Willy Wist, who gave up filmingright after the war...
188
00:24:41,746 --> 00:24:43,941
and became a scrap-metal merchant,
189
00:24:44,015 --> 00:24:46,108
took great pains to cover his tracks,
190
00:24:46,184 --> 00:24:48,948
burning copies of filmshe had shot during the war.
191
00:24:50,355 --> 00:24:54,689
Of all those involved,he was the only one to be exposed.
192
00:24:57,662 --> 00:25:02,326
Years later, when the German courts beganto prosecute local war criminals,
193
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,131
including the lawyer, former S.S.Kommissar of the Warsaw Ghetto,
194
00:25:06,204 --> 00:25:10,106
Heinz Auerswald, Wist wasamong those called on to testify.
195
00:25:14,479 --> 00:25:19,007
Court transcripts record exactlywhat he was asked and what he replied,
196
00:25:19,084 --> 00:25:23,248
providing for the first time a pointof view of the man behind the camera.
197
00:25:26,758 --> 00:25:29,886
Herr Wist, the court would like to know...
198
00:25:29,961 --> 00:25:32,896
whether you were ever assigned
to the Warsaw Ghetto during the war.
199
00:25:32,964 --> 00:25:34,124
Yes.
200
00:25:35,133 --> 00:25:40,867
In 1942, I was sent there from Berlin
with three other reporters,
201
00:25:40,939 --> 00:25:43,271
cameramen and photographers.
202
00:25:43,341 --> 00:25:45,969
We were stationed in Warsaw.
203
00:25:46,044 --> 00:25:49,980
I worked there as a cameraman.
204
00:25:50,048 --> 00:25:52,710
When exactly was this?
205
00:25:52,784 --> 00:25:59,246
Probably in the winter of'41 -'42.
206
00:26:00,492 --> 00:26:06,021
Herr Wist, allow me
to refresh your memory.
207
00:26:07,098 --> 00:26:09,566
This is your entry permit to Warsaw.
208
00:26:20,245 --> 00:26:26,241
It is probably true that I was
in Warsaw in May 1942.
209
00:26:27,285 --> 00:26:30,379
I most likely said winter because...
210
00:26:31,823 --> 00:26:37,125
I remember being in Warsaw...
211
00:26:37,195 --> 00:26:40,926
when nature was still hibernating.
212
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,697
Did you or your colleagues
have any idea...
213
00:26:45,770 --> 00:26:48,739
what awaited you in the Warsaw Ghetto?
214
00:26:49,374 --> 00:26:52,070
On our way to Warsaw,
we cameramen...
215
00:26:52,143 --> 00:26:55,306
had no idea what awaited us there.
216
00:26:56,114 --> 00:26:58,344
Like many times before,
217
00:26:58,416 --> 00:27:02,614
we were simply told curtly
that we should film there.
218
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:42,783
I clearly remember filming
trade on the streets.
219
00:27:42,861 --> 00:27:45,329
We also filmed...
220
00:27:45,397 --> 00:27:48,230
street scenes...
221
00:27:49,501 --> 00:27:54,029
and overcrowded houses.
222
00:27:56,141 --> 00:28:04,310
In this context,
I remember being told to film...
223
00:28:05,150 --> 00:28:11,749
a large pile of feces in the courtyard
of one of the buildings.
224
00:28:16,828 --> 00:28:19,763
I remember thinking to myself...
225
00:28:19,831 --> 00:28:23,164
that either because of the winter...
226
00:28:23,234 --> 00:28:27,398
or because of the overcrowding,
227
00:28:27,472 --> 00:28:31,067
the sanitary installations
had stopped working.
228
00:28:51,262 --> 00:28:53,093
Do you see the garbage?
229
00:28:53,164 --> 00:28:56,327
People would throw their garbage
out of their windows...
230
00:28:56,401 --> 00:28:59,928
because they were too weak
to go downstairs.
231
00:29:03,742 --> 00:29:09,009
Hungry people become apathetic.
They don't care anymore.
232
00:29:35,140 --> 00:29:39,042
The piles of garbage are real.
233
00:29:58,196 --> 00:30:02,257
I was ten years old at the time.
234
00:30:02,333 --> 00:30:07,293
I was actually the dominant figure
of my family.
235
00:30:09,274 --> 00:30:15,304
Mother would send me
to the Warsaw municipal garbage dump,
236
00:30:16,014 --> 00:30:18,244
and when I'd return home,
237
00:30:18,316 --> 00:30:21,752
I saw how they were eating
what I had brought.
238
00:30:44,809 --> 00:30:49,041
May 5, 1942...
239
00:30:52,217 --> 00:30:55,186
In the afternoon,the filmmakers were busy...
240
00:30:55,253 --> 00:30:58,017
in the bedroom of Zabludowsky's neighbors.
241
00:30:58,923 --> 00:31:04,418
They brought in a woman who hadto put on lipstick in front of a mirror.
242
00:31:24,916 --> 00:31:29,876
In addition to all this, there arepersistent rumors about deportations,
243
00:31:32,323 --> 00:31:36,987
which appear not to be unfounded.
244
00:31:38,596 --> 00:31:43,932
Kommissar Auerswald ordered usto provide a contingent of 900 people...
245
00:31:44,969 --> 00:31:47,631
to leave tomorrow for an unknown camp.
246
00:31:57,248 --> 00:32:02,743
Have you met the Kommissar in charge
of the Jewish quarter, Dr. Auerswald?
247
00:32:03,254 --> 00:32:08,123
I am not familiar with this name.
I had nothing to do with his department.
248
00:32:09,227 --> 00:32:15,097
Herr Wist, could you tell us,
to the best of your knowledge,
249
00:32:15,166 --> 00:32:19,330
whether the purpose of the film
was ever mentioned?
250
00:32:19,404 --> 00:32:25,502
I never knew what the purpose
of the films we shot was.
251
00:32:27,312 --> 00:32:32,079
However, it was absolutely clear to me
that they were intended for propaganda,
252
00:32:32,150 --> 00:32:35,017
particularly because we were focusing
on the extreme differences...
253
00:32:35,086 --> 00:32:38,453
between the rich and the poor Jews
254
00:33:03,081 --> 00:33:05,743
Oy, I remember that woman.
255
00:33:10,989 --> 00:33:17,087
She used to walk around
with her baby in her arms,
256
00:33:18,629 --> 00:33:24,534
screaming, and asking
for a piece of bread.
257
00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:37,778
I was 13 years old.
258
00:33:38,983 --> 00:33:43,818
I used to smuggle Kosher meat
into the Warsaw Ghetto...
259
00:33:43,888 --> 00:33:48,154
by tram, through houses
near the Ghetto borders,
260
00:33:48,226 --> 00:33:50,126
through holes in the wall.
261
00:33:52,263 --> 00:33:54,959
I was always on the move,
262
00:33:55,033 --> 00:33:58,093
so I saw everything that was going on.
263
00:34:08,179 --> 00:34:10,613
They filmed all the time.
264
00:34:20,124 --> 00:34:25,926
For example, they brought geese
to the market...
265
00:34:25,997 --> 00:34:33,165
to prove that Jews were living
in reasonable conditions.
266
00:34:37,275 --> 00:34:39,641
This is horse meat.
267
00:34:40,411 --> 00:34:44,472
Not everyone could afford it.
268
00:35:01,833 --> 00:35:05,269
People who had goods or money...
269
00:35:05,336 --> 00:35:09,568
were able to buy food
up until the very end,
270
00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:12,438
albeit at exorbitant prices.
271
00:35:13,744 --> 00:35:18,078
There were 20, or possibly 50 people...
272
00:35:18,149 --> 00:35:21,209
who could afford it.
273
00:35:21,285 --> 00:35:25,688
However, most people had nothing to eat,
274
00:35:25,756 --> 00:35:31,194
nothing to wear, or to heat with
because they had sold everything.
275
00:35:31,262 --> 00:35:33,992
They were waiting to die.
276
00:35:40,805 --> 00:35:44,673
People from respectable families...
277
00:35:45,543 --> 00:35:50,412
would take their loved ones,
who had died, out to the pavement.
278
00:35:50,481 --> 00:35:58,752
In the morning, you woke up
to find a corpse every 100 meters.
279
00:36:18,509 --> 00:36:24,141
I was 18 years old
and I worked at the post office.
280
00:36:25,183 --> 00:36:28,983
One day I was walking
on Leszno Street...
281
00:36:29,587 --> 00:36:34,957
when, suddenly,
a big jeep with Germans in it...
282
00:36:35,026 --> 00:36:38,894
pulled up next to the café.
283
00:36:40,064 --> 00:36:44,501
A young woman was lying
next to the café.
284
00:36:44,569 --> 00:36:47,800
Sixty years later, I still remember...
285
00:36:47,872 --> 00:36:49,999
what she looked like,
though not her face.
286
00:36:55,813 --> 00:36:59,249
I could see exactly
what they were doing.
287
00:36:59,317 --> 00:37:02,252
They didn't touch anyone.
288
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:07,383
They filmed the cafe
and the woman and they laughed.
289
00:37:09,393 --> 00:37:11,861
She was a young woman.
290
00:37:11,929 --> 00:37:15,956
By then it was obvious
who was starving.
291
00:37:16,033 --> 00:37:18,661
You could see it on their faces.
292
00:37:39,223 --> 00:37:41,123
Financial Report:
293
00:37:43,694 --> 00:37:47,892
During March 1942,the following were brought in:
294
00:37:52,837 --> 00:37:55,863
2. 18 kgs flour per head,
295
00:37:57,508 --> 00:38:02,104
0. 199 kg sugar(white and yellow) per head,
296
00:38:04,582 --> 00:38:07,050
1/5 egg per head,
297
00:38:11,622 --> 00:38:15,752
0.93 kg fresh vegetables per head,
298
00:38:17,028 --> 00:38:21,431
0.077 kg salt (white and grey) per head.
299
00:38:23,267 --> 00:38:29,001
Since 1/5th of an egg per monthamounts to only 2.4 eggs per year,
300
00:38:29,073 --> 00:38:34,602
it is evident that the populationresorts to free trade...
301
00:38:34,679 --> 00:38:38,274
in order to ensurea minimum level of nourishment.
302
00:39:21,292 --> 00:39:26,594
Smuggling along the Ghetto wallshas been greatly reduced lately.
303
00:39:30,534 --> 00:39:35,801
A number of Jewscaught smuggling were shot,
304
00:39:36,907 --> 00:39:40,035
as a consequence,the smuggling was reduced.
305
00:40:04,602 --> 00:40:08,231
This is Rubinstein! For heaven's sake!
306
00:40:10,107 --> 00:40:12,769
"Alle gleich," everyone's equal,
he used to yell.
307
00:40:19,250 --> 00:40:21,946
Do you see how people
were lying on the street?
308
00:40:26,590 --> 00:40:28,956
People lived here.
309
00:40:30,494 --> 00:40:32,962
They lived here until they died.
310
00:40:45,676 --> 00:40:48,008
What's the point of showing this?
311
00:40:50,147 --> 00:40:54,811
To show contrasts? There were
many contrasts in the Ghetto.
312
00:40:59,356 --> 00:41:05,124
Many people kept clean
and preserved their dignity.
313
00:41:05,696 --> 00:41:10,099
We used to shower
and brush our teeth every day.
314
00:41:11,936 --> 00:41:14,803
Our mother took good care of us,
315
00:41:17,341 --> 00:41:20,208
even though the conditions
were impossible.
316
00:41:25,950 --> 00:41:30,649
People who are not starving to death...
317
00:41:30,721 --> 00:41:33,713
don't surrender their humanity.
318
00:41:34,625 --> 00:41:37,856
People made jokes in the Ghetto
and laughed.
319
00:41:38,696 --> 00:41:41,392
Sometimes we would even sing.
320
00:41:43,367 --> 00:41:45,699
People did what they could.
321
00:41:46,804 --> 00:41:51,969
That was the tremendous contrast...
322
00:41:52,042 --> 00:41:55,637
and paradox that the Germans had created.
323
00:42:32,149 --> 00:42:36,279
Herr Wist, were you aware
of the restlessness among the Jews..
324
00:42:36,954 --> 00:42:41,823
when the camera crews showed up
accompanied by the S. S?
325
00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:49,156
On the one hand, I was unable
to have much contact with the Jews..
326
00:42:49,233 --> 00:42:53,795
because the S.S. Immediately
pushed them away.
327
00:42:53,871 --> 00:42:56,271
On the other hand,
they brought us Jews...
328
00:42:56,340 --> 00:42:59,400
they deemed appropriate for filming.
329
00:43:02,313 --> 00:43:06,579
I do not know which department
these S.S. Men belonged to...
330
00:43:06,650 --> 00:43:10,211
or who their commander was.
331
00:43:15,859 --> 00:43:23,095
I'd like to point out that the Jews
were frightened of the S.S.
332
00:43:28,439 --> 00:43:32,535
There were no incidents
during the filming.
333
00:44:56,126 --> 00:44:59,391
While the Nazis recordedtheir own version of history,
334
00:44:59,463 --> 00:45:02,990
Jews were risking their livesby creating in secret...
335
00:45:03,067 --> 00:45:05,501
their own chronicle of life in the Ghetto,
336
00:45:05,569 --> 00:45:08,333
using pen and paper instead of a camera.
337
00:45:09,940 --> 00:45:12,135
Historian Emanuel Ringelblum,
338
00:45:12,209 --> 00:45:16,236
courageous enough at the war's outsetto predict how it would end,
339
00:45:16,313 --> 00:45:20,010
had begun organizinga vast underground archive,
340
00:45:20,084 --> 00:45:23,110
documenting the daily struggleand annihilation...
341
00:45:23,187 --> 00:45:26,987
of one of Europe's largestJewish communities.
342
00:45:27,057 --> 00:45:30,151
Recognizing that a scholarly narrativecould never capture...
343
00:45:30,227 --> 00:45:32,422
the many facets of this tragedy,
344
00:45:32,496 --> 00:45:37,456
he called on anyone capable of resistanceto keep a personal journal.
345
00:45:37,534 --> 00:45:40,526
Right up to his final daysin his place of hiding,
346
00:45:40,604 --> 00:45:44,404
he carried out the task of compilingdozens of individual voices...
347
00:45:44,475 --> 00:45:46,443
into a multilayered portrait...
348
00:45:46,510 --> 00:45:48,944
the final portrait.
349
00:45:49,012 --> 00:45:55,645
Everyone wrote: Journalists, writers,teachers, public figures,
350
00:45:55,719 --> 00:45:58,552
the young and even children.
351
00:45:58,622 --> 00:46:04,686
Everyone was aware of the valueof the work being done...
352
00:46:04,762 --> 00:46:09,495
and its importance for future generations.
353
00:46:10,534 --> 00:46:15,733
Our guiding principle wasthat the work should be multifaceted.
354
00:46:15,806 --> 00:46:19,572
Our second principle was objectivity.
355
00:46:19,643 --> 00:46:28,017
We aspired to present the whole truth,as bitter as it may be.
356
00:46:57,347 --> 00:47:02,250
Some of my friends who knowabout my secret diary...
357
00:47:02,886 --> 00:47:06,378
have suggested that, given theirdespair, I should stop writing.
358
00:47:06,456 --> 00:47:11,860
"Why are you doing this? What for?Will you ever publish it?
359
00:47:11,929 --> 00:47:16,229
"Will your words ever reach the earsof future generations?"
360
00:47:16,300 --> 00:47:20,168
Nevertheless, I don't listen to them.
361
00:47:20,237 --> 00:47:22,899
I feel that continuing the diary...
362
00:47:22,973 --> 00:47:27,433
until I am no longer physicallyand emotionally capable...
363
00:47:27,511 --> 00:47:31,277
is a historical missionthat must not be underestimated.
364
00:47:31,348 --> 00:47:34,249
My powers of creationhave not yet been silenced,
365
00:47:34,318 --> 00:47:38,778
even though I haven't eatenanything in five days.
366
00:48:10,888 --> 00:48:14,483
They continue filming everythinginside the Ghetto.
367
00:48:19,129 --> 00:48:22,496
All the scenes are being staged.
368
00:48:34,278 --> 00:48:37,975
On Smocza Street,they assembled a crowd of Jews..
369
00:48:38,048 --> 00:48:42,644
and ordered the Jewish policemento disperse them.
370
00:48:51,395 --> 00:48:54,421
To achieve a more "natural"effect,
371
00:48:54,965 --> 00:48:59,527
guns were fired in the airto induce people to flee in panic.
372
00:49:52,189 --> 00:49:54,180
Forty-five years passedfrom the moment...
373
00:49:54,257 --> 00:49:57,454
the unfinished propagandafilm was discovered...
374
00:49:57,527 --> 00:50:01,588
until chance revealed another film reel,containing outtakes...
375
00:50:01,665 --> 00:50:05,999
frames from the raw footageleft on the cutting-room floor.
376
00:50:07,537 --> 00:50:10,097
Images that were never meant to be seen...
377
00:50:10,173 --> 00:50:14,803
now revealed repeated attemptsto stage moments over and over again...
378
00:50:14,878 --> 00:50:17,574
until a take seemed credible enough.
379
00:50:48,645 --> 00:50:52,411
They reveal the multiple anglesfrom which these scenes were filmed,
380
00:50:52,482 --> 00:50:54,712
as well as the cameramen themselves,
381
00:50:54,785 --> 00:50:57,777
inadvertently capturedin one another's lens.
382
00:51:12,269 --> 00:51:18,401
Do you know who told you
and the other reporters what to film?
383
00:51:19,242 --> 00:51:25,408
We were brought to the various
locations by a man wearing an S. A...
384
00:51:25,482 --> 00:51:28,610
or brown party uniform.
385
00:51:29,653 --> 00:51:34,454
We called him "Goldpheasant."
386
00:51:35,659 --> 00:51:38,594
Can you recall his name and rank?
387
00:51:39,463 --> 00:51:42,432
I have no idea what his name was.
388
00:51:42,499 --> 00:51:50,531
Judging from his appearance,
he must have held an important position.
389
00:51:51,274 --> 00:51:57,509
I believe he was in charge
of propaganda matters in Warsaw.
390
00:51:58,115 --> 00:52:01,175
Could you describe
what kind of contact you had...
391
00:52:01,251 --> 00:52:03,947
with this so-called "Goldpheasant?"
392
00:52:04,020 --> 00:52:08,218
"Goldpheasant" sent us...
393
00:52:09,960 --> 00:52:15,227
to various scenes or groups of people.
394
00:52:15,298 --> 00:52:22,261
He never gave us any explanation
concerning the meaning of our filming.
395
00:52:22,339 --> 00:52:26,207
He simply said that he wanted us
to film this or that.
396
00:52:32,616 --> 00:52:36,313
As far as I could tell,
he knew nothing about film.
397
00:52:36,386 --> 00:52:42,689
We constantly had to point out
that under the given light conditions,
398
00:52:42,759 --> 00:52:46,195
we couldn't deliver reasonable pictures.
399
00:53:03,847 --> 00:53:08,079
We didn't have a chance
to express ourselves.
400
00:53:08,718 --> 00:53:13,382
We were sent by "Goldpheasant"...
401
00:53:14,090 --> 00:53:20,928
to locations, to people,
or groups of people.
402
00:53:23,466 --> 00:53:26,902
You were not given a chance
to express yourselves freely?
403
00:53:26,970 --> 00:53:28,460
No, we were not.
404
00:53:30,473 --> 00:53:35,968
I know for a fact that the film
was processed in Berlin.
405
00:53:36,513 --> 00:53:40,449
We were never told
what happened with it after that.
406
00:54:18,855 --> 00:54:23,189
Today they set up a film sessionin Szulc's restaurant.
407
00:54:29,199 --> 00:54:37,698
They rounded up well-dressed,typical Jews,
408
00:54:41,611 --> 00:54:45,342
seated them at the tables,and ordered that they be served...
409
00:54:45,415 --> 00:54:48,714
at the expense of the Jewish community:
410
00:54:48,785 --> 00:54:54,883
Fish, geese, liquor,pastries and other delicacies.
411
00:54:58,828 --> 00:55:03,026
The Jews ate and the Germans filmed.
412
00:55:11,041 --> 00:55:15,068
It is not hard to imaginethe motivation behind this:
413
00:55:16,279 --> 00:55:20,978
Let the world see the paradisein which the Jews are living.
414
00:55:28,291 --> 00:55:33,888
These despicable scenes went on for hours.
415
00:55:56,286 --> 00:56:01,155
Yesterday morning, the Germanstook all the waitresses outside.
416
00:56:01,224 --> 00:56:04,625
The girls were lined up on the street...
417
00:56:04,694 --> 00:56:08,460
and were instructedto look happy and attractive.
418
00:56:09,833 --> 00:56:14,236
At the same time,they grabbed beggar-children...
419
00:56:14,304 --> 00:56:18,035
and told them to walkby the elegant waitresses...
420
00:56:18,675 --> 00:56:23,271
with their hands out,into which nothing was put.
421
00:56:24,681 --> 00:56:29,311
This was recorded on film, to showthat while the Jews live in luxury,
422
00:56:29,386 --> 00:56:32,082
they share nothing with the hungry.
423
00:56:43,133 --> 00:56:47,229
My mother also wore her beautiful coat,
424
00:56:47,771 --> 00:56:51,263
maybe even a hat. So what?
425
00:56:53,443 --> 00:56:57,504
Does that mean that life goes on as usual?
426
00:57:02,218 --> 00:57:06,245
After the filming,
these people vanished...
427
00:57:06,322 --> 00:57:12,989
after being loaded onto trucks
or caught in some other way.
428
00:57:13,062 --> 00:57:18,728
Perhaps they believed
that being filmed would save them,
429
00:57:18,802 --> 00:57:20,736
but no way!
430
00:57:24,274 --> 00:57:28,005
Their fate was the same
as everyone else's.
431
00:57:37,720 --> 00:57:41,053
Weekly Report, May 19, 1942...
432
00:57:43,860 --> 00:57:48,593
There are rumors that gas was usedfor the first time in this war,
433
00:57:48,665 --> 00:57:50,326
on the German side.
434
00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:55,960
Rumors about new resettlements fromWarsaw have been circulating for days...
435
00:57:56,039 --> 00:57:58,701
and have created an enormous panic.
436
00:58:00,343 --> 00:58:04,439
As usual, the "rumor-makers"know from a "reliable source"...
437
00:58:04,514 --> 00:58:07,972
that the German authorities intendto resettle the Jews of Warsaw...
438
00:58:08,051 --> 00:58:10,281
in the East.
439
00:58:22,499 --> 00:58:27,994
The next morning at 8 a.m.,all the actors were ordered to appear...
440
00:58:28,071 --> 00:58:30,972
at the New Azazel Theater.
441
00:58:31,841 --> 00:58:37,370
During the rehearsalswith the actors on the stage,
442
00:58:37,947 --> 00:58:41,178
a group of soldiers picked up people.
443
00:58:43,353 --> 00:58:46,015
People started running and panic ensued,
444
00:58:46,089 --> 00:58:51,527
in the midst of which the Germanstreated everyone to heavy beatings.
445
00:59:07,410 --> 00:59:11,608
Since no one knew whythey were being held there,
446
00:59:11,681 --> 00:59:14,479
you could hearthe sighs and groans...
447
00:59:14,551 --> 00:59:19,784
of the children who were picked uptogether with their parents.
448
00:59:27,830 --> 00:59:31,095
After each actor finished his part,
449
00:59:31,167 --> 00:59:36,264
the audience had to yell "Bravo!"
450
00:59:37,307 --> 00:59:41,869
The audience in the theater was held...
451
00:59:42,545 --> 00:59:46,481
until the filming was finished at 8 p. M...
452
00:59:46,549 --> 00:59:53,079
without food or any opportunityto take care of their bodily needs.
453
00:59:54,524 --> 00:59:58,893
When an actor sang happy songs,
454
00:59:58,962 --> 01:00:02,796
the audience was orderedto roar with laughter.
455
01:00:02,865 --> 01:00:08,826
Woe to anyone who didn't laugh properly.
456
01:00:08,905 --> 01:00:12,636
His fate was doomed.
457
01:00:12,709 --> 01:00:17,908
They laughed as they hadnever laughed before.
458
01:00:27,056 --> 01:00:35,259
The Germans ordered all the actorsto overact as much as possible.
459
01:00:46,776 --> 01:00:51,804
David Seiderman sang "My Yiddisher Mame."
460
01:00:51,881 --> 01:00:58,844
Ruth Zandberg, who accompanied himon the piano, wept bitterly.
461
01:00:58,921 --> 01:01:06,692
Her mother, Yiddish actress ZushaZandberg, had just died of typhus.
462
01:01:15,471 --> 01:01:19,464
The scope of the film is quite broad.
463
01:01:19,542 --> 01:01:25,208
The filmmakers are interested in everyaspect of Jewish life in the Ghetto.
464
01:01:26,683 --> 01:01:30,915
It isn't hard to guesstheir intentions...
465
01:01:30,987 --> 01:01:33,251
for this "artistic"project.
466
01:01:34,190 --> 01:01:39,150
They aim to capturevery "objectively"...
467
01:01:39,962 --> 01:01:43,864
aspects of the so-calledJewish folk character.
468
01:02:07,256 --> 01:02:12,159
In front of our eyes unfoldsthe prologue to a great tragedy.
469
01:02:12,228 --> 01:02:17,666
Even though we don't know its name,we can sense what it's about.
470
01:02:17,734 --> 01:02:21,067
The name of the prologue:"A Jewfilm."
471
01:02:22,405 --> 01:02:25,636
A group of artists arrivedfrom Germany...
472
01:02:25,708 --> 01:02:30,077
with a list of scenes whichthe community must prepare for them.
473
01:02:30,146 --> 01:02:35,379
At that point, even the blindcould see where things stood.
474
01:02:41,124 --> 01:02:46,653
The community had to preparea circumcision ceremony, a wedding,
475
01:02:46,729 --> 01:02:52,395
the Sabbath, both in the synagogueand the cemetery, and holidays.
476
01:02:53,035 --> 01:02:56,971
This clearly had one intention:
477
01:02:57,039 --> 01:03:02,636
To prove to the "righteous gentiles"in Hitler's camp that they are right,
478
01:03:02,712 --> 01:03:07,445
that there is only one wayto deal with the Jews: Annihilation.
479
01:03:12,188 --> 01:03:14,952
I'd like to read you
excerpts from the diary...
480
01:03:15,024 --> 01:03:20,621
of the Chairman of the Judenrat,
in Warsaw, Adam Czerniakow.
481
01:03:21,964 --> 01:03:27,960
Czerniakow wrote daily entries
in his diary mentioning the filming.
482
01:03:29,739 --> 01:03:34,506
The diary of the Chairman
of the Judenrat survived?
483
01:03:35,545 --> 01:03:41,609
Yes. I'll read you the following entry
from May 1942.
484
01:03:41,684 --> 01:03:45,711
You may interrupt and add details.
485
01:03:45,788 --> 01:03:48,052
Czerniakow writes:
486
01:03:49,725 --> 01:03:54,128
May 12, 1942...
487
01:03:56,933 --> 01:04:01,063
Yesterday, they filmeda demonstration of a circumcision.
488
01:04:05,508 --> 01:04:09,137
They insisted that the circumcisiontake place...
489
01:04:09,212 --> 01:04:12,238
in a private apartmentinstead of a hospital.
490
01:04:17,787 --> 01:04:21,484
Since the "actor"weighs less than 2 kgs,
491
01:04:22,491 --> 01:04:26,655
there is a dangerthat he might not live very long.
492
01:04:33,836 --> 01:04:36,600
I cannot recall this event.
493
01:04:36,672 --> 01:04:41,006
It may have been filmed
by other members of the crew.
494
01:04:59,629 --> 01:05:03,565
Babies were born. Woe to those babies.
495
01:05:03,633 --> 01:05:07,535
It was the end for them
and the end for their families.
496
01:05:09,538 --> 01:05:13,030
Apparently, my mother also got pregnant.
497
01:05:13,109 --> 01:05:17,512
I remember my mother
coming back from somewhere...
498
01:05:17,580 --> 01:05:20,344
and lying down in bed for two days.
499
01:05:20,416 --> 01:05:23,112
I guessed that...
500
01:05:25,388 --> 01:05:27,686
she must have had an abortion.
501
01:05:27,757 --> 01:05:30,521
And I think to myself how lucky we were...
502
01:05:30,593 --> 01:05:35,428
that this happened in the spring of'42.
503
01:05:36,098 --> 01:05:41,798
If it had been three months later,
when the deportation started,
504
01:05:42,939 --> 01:05:48,138
we might have all been sent
to our death because of that baby.
505
01:06:02,925 --> 01:06:06,486
This week they inventeda new way to torture us.
506
01:06:07,129 --> 01:06:11,088
First, they rounded up dozensof pretty young women...
507
01:06:11,167 --> 01:06:14,796
and brought them to a Jewish ritual bath.
508
01:06:14,870 --> 01:06:20,570
Then, men were rounded upand brought to the same ritual bath.
509
01:06:27,550 --> 01:06:34,080
While one Nazi whipped the headsof those who were captured,
510
01:06:34,156 --> 01:06:39,560
his colleague stood in a cornerwith film equipment.
511
01:06:40,596 --> 01:06:45,693
This is not slander. Here is the film.
512
01:07:06,288 --> 01:07:08,017
I now recall...
513
01:07:09,792 --> 01:07:16,254
that one day we were told
to shoot inside a ritual bath.
514
01:07:19,168 --> 01:07:23,229
We were then brought
to a rather old building...
515
01:07:23,873 --> 01:07:29,971
which had a bath
on the ground floor or in the cellar.
516
01:07:41,724 --> 01:07:46,593
Several naked women
hesitantly stepped into the bath.
517
01:07:47,663 --> 01:07:50,461
There were about 8 of them,
518
01:07:52,401 --> 01:07:59,933
standing up to their hips in water.
519
01:08:01,777 --> 01:08:07,647
One was an old Jewish woman,
who I believe was also in the water.
520
01:08:08,484 --> 01:08:13,285
She murmured something
which I understood to be prayers.
521
01:08:18,561 --> 01:08:25,490
These were women
who were somewhat better fed.
522
01:08:27,203 --> 01:08:33,005
It was difficult to film in the bath
because we didn't have enough light.
523
01:09:24,226 --> 01:09:27,627
Today the Germans set upan original film scene...
524
01:09:27,696 --> 01:09:30,790
at the corner of Nowolipkiand Smocza Streets.
525
01:09:31,600 --> 01:09:36,333
They used the finest hearse we have,
526
01:09:40,643 --> 01:09:44,875
which was taken by the Germansfor the purpose of the film.
527
01:09:49,618 --> 01:09:53,987
They want to prove that Jewsnot only live a comfortable life,
528
01:09:54,056 --> 01:09:59,289
but also die with dignityand even get a luxurious burial.
529
01:10:01,297 --> 01:10:05,791
No good will come to usfrom this film craziness.
530
01:10:15,744 --> 01:10:19,612
But Jews don't bury their dead
in a coffin!
531
01:10:59,788 --> 01:11:02,780
In the spring of'42,
532
01:11:02,858 --> 01:11:09,127
there were corpses on the sidewalks.
533
01:11:09,198 --> 01:11:13,100
Someone like me, who could still walk,
534
01:11:13,168 --> 01:11:17,036
had to make her way between the corpses.
535
01:11:18,207 --> 01:11:25,511
I hurried along the walls like a mouse,
536
01:11:25,581 --> 01:11:29,244
and suddenly a car pulled up.
537
01:11:29,318 --> 01:11:33,049
Two Germans stepped out...
538
01:11:33,122 --> 01:11:42,429
and a third pointed a camera
at the corpses.
539
01:11:42,498 --> 01:11:44,625
I hid.
540
01:11:52,041 --> 01:11:58,310
People who still looked
more or less human...
541
01:11:58,380 --> 01:12:05,786
were kindly asked to walk by the corpses
with their heads held high.
542
01:12:15,798 --> 01:12:18,631
They walked by and came back,
543
01:12:18,701 --> 01:12:21,602
and walked by again and came back again.
544
01:13:36,211 --> 01:13:39,078
It's true that we had to walk by.
545
01:13:39,148 --> 01:13:43,812
No one looked, it was impossible.
546
01:13:45,954 --> 01:13:49,981
We became indifferent
to the suffering of others...
547
01:13:50,058 --> 01:13:52,822
because otherwise,
it was impossible to live.
548
01:13:55,397 --> 01:13:59,333
It was so terrifying because
I could be the next in line.
549
01:14:18,854 --> 01:14:21,254
When it was already dark...
550
01:14:21,990 --> 01:14:25,153
and I was walking down Karmelitzka street,
551
01:14:25,227 --> 01:14:28,890
which was crowded with people,
552
01:14:29,631 --> 01:14:33,226
I tripped on something...
553
01:14:36,004 --> 01:14:39,804
and lost my balance.
554
01:14:43,145 --> 01:14:48,742
When I opened my eyes,
I saw that I had fallen on a corpse.
555
01:14:51,620 --> 01:14:55,215
My face was nearly touching his,
556
01:14:58,527 --> 01:15:00,825
and I was shaking.
557
01:15:01,997 --> 01:15:03,760
Then suddenly,
558
01:15:03,832 --> 01:15:09,031
it was as if all the corpses which
I had previously avoided looking at,
559
01:15:09,972 --> 01:15:16,434
were there, in the face of this one man.
560
01:15:17,546 --> 01:15:19,776
It was a human being.
561
01:15:22,184 --> 01:15:27,486
I got home and I told my mother
what had happened.
562
01:15:28,824 --> 01:15:31,554
It was only then that I started to cry,
563
01:15:32,628 --> 01:15:34,960
I cried a lot.
564
01:15:37,032 --> 01:15:39,523
I had always been
so optimistic and strong,
565
01:15:39,601 --> 01:15:43,332
but suddenly it all broke down.
566
01:15:45,641 --> 01:15:50,840
My mother took out some bread
and spread some jam on it for me.
567
01:15:51,446 --> 01:15:56,179
She gave me a slice of bread.
568
01:15:58,353 --> 01:16:00,321
A slice of comfort.
569
01:16:46,868 --> 01:16:49,336
May 1942.
570
01:16:49,404 --> 01:16:51,201
The Warsaw Ghetto.
571
01:16:53,542 --> 01:16:56,511
This was filmed by oneof Willy Wist's colleagues,
572
01:16:56,578 --> 01:16:58,512
who had new film stock in color,
573
01:16:58,580 --> 01:17:00,912
as well as his own personal camera.
574
01:17:05,454 --> 01:17:09,891
It seems that he found timeto record personal memento of Ghetto life,
575
01:17:09,958 --> 01:17:12,222
as well as of the making of the film,
576
01:17:12,294 --> 01:17:16,128
including the large crowd scenesstaged by the film crew.
577
01:17:20,235 --> 01:17:22,635
Here is the funeral procession.
578
01:17:41,023 --> 01:17:43,287
And here, the market.
579
01:17:57,973 --> 01:18:00,908
And for a brief second,one of the cameramen...
580
01:18:00,976 --> 01:18:03,137
can be seen caught in the frame.
581
01:18:19,027 --> 01:18:23,054
Can you recall anything else
about the filming in the Ghetto?
582
01:18:23,965 --> 01:18:32,600
In the Warsaw Ghetto,
I remember seeing...
583
01:18:32,674 --> 01:18:38,112
a Jew going around
with a handcart carrying corpses.
584
01:18:38,180 --> 01:18:42,947
I saw how he picked up a corpse
in front of one of the houses...
585
01:18:43,018 --> 01:18:47,955
and continued to the cemetery.
586
01:18:58,800 --> 01:19:03,931
I remember seeing an arm
and a leg hanging down.
587
01:19:12,547 --> 01:19:17,416
At the entrance to the cemetery,
there was some sort of shack...
588
01:19:18,320 --> 01:19:22,051
in which corpses were piled up.
589
01:19:22,557 --> 01:19:30,054
There were some 40 or 50 corpses
which still had to be buried.
590
01:19:31,433 --> 01:19:36,097
I filmed this shack from the outside.
591
01:20:03,598 --> 01:20:06,726
Today, I cannot watch this.
592
01:20:06,802 --> 01:20:09,362
I am no longer immune.
593
01:20:09,938 --> 01:20:13,601
Today I am human, today I can cry.
594
01:20:15,043 --> 01:20:18,137
I am so happy that I can cry...
595
01:20:20,348 --> 01:20:22,282
now that I'm human.
596
01:20:53,048 --> 01:20:59,612
I recall that I had to film
a mass grave...
597
01:21:00,622 --> 01:21:09,462
with many layers of corpses.
598
01:21:11,233 --> 01:21:16,466
I cannot say how many
layers there were...
599
01:21:16,538 --> 01:21:20,941
beneath the layer which I could see.
600
01:21:28,950 --> 01:21:34,354
I remember the corpses being eased
into the grave on a slide.
601
01:22:23,638 --> 01:22:28,098
Two Jewish workers
were standing inside the grave,
602
01:22:28,176 --> 01:22:32,169
arranging the corpses next to one another.
603
01:22:35,750 --> 01:22:42,246
I have a vague memory that the corpses
were strewn with chloride.
604
01:22:43,058 --> 01:22:49,930
Although I believe
that the corpses were naked,
605
01:22:49,998 --> 01:22:52,762
I am not certain about this.
606
01:22:54,336 --> 01:22:57,169
The people were all skin and bones.
607
01:22:59,607 --> 01:23:06,945
At the time, my impression was that
the people had died of starvation.
608
01:23:41,216 --> 01:23:45,550
These impressions in Warsaw
had a profound impact on me,
609
01:23:45,620 --> 01:23:48,521
although later,
610
01:23:49,591 --> 01:23:52,025
I got to see quite a lot.
611
01:23:54,629 --> 01:23:58,429
They preoccupied my thoughts
for quite some time.
612
01:24:11,546 --> 01:24:13,070
Herr Wist, during the filming,
613
01:24:13,148 --> 01:24:17,141
you were really unaware of the plans
to resettle and physically annihilate...
614
01:24:17,218 --> 01:24:19,209
thewish population in the near future?
615
01:24:19,287 --> 01:24:23,883
I can only say that at the time,
I definitely knew nothing...
616
01:24:23,958 --> 01:24:29,453
of the horrible fate
awaiting thews of Warsaw.
617
01:24:30,465 --> 01:24:33,832
It was only after the war
that I learned...
618
01:24:33,902 --> 01:24:38,202
about the planned extermination
of thews in the Treblinka death camp.
619
01:25:03,929 --> 01:25:06,159
During the filming in the Warsaw Ghetto,
620
01:25:06,232 --> 01:25:11,226
I often had the opportunity
to talk to thews...
621
01:25:11,304 --> 01:25:16,173
who had been sent there from Germany.
622
01:25:16,242 --> 01:25:20,178
From these conversations,
623
01:25:21,347 --> 01:25:26,410
my impression was
that they were full of hope...
624
01:25:27,620 --> 01:25:29,747
and that they expected...
625
01:25:29,822 --> 01:25:34,759
to be resettled
in Madagascar or elsewhere.
626
01:25:36,762 --> 01:25:40,926
They regarded their stay
in Warsaw as temporary.
627
01:25:41,000 --> 01:25:46,438
I am absolutely convinced
that at the time they had no idea...
628
01:25:47,773 --> 01:25:50,970
what their real fate would be.
629
01:26:30,683 --> 01:26:36,178
Although at the time,
the malnourishment of the population...
630
01:26:36,889 --> 01:26:39,858
in Warsaw was appalling,
631
01:26:42,061 --> 01:26:47,397
I never thought that these people...
632
01:26:48,434 --> 01:26:53,428
would be systematically murdered.
633
01:27:29,241 --> 01:27:31,300
After 30 days of shooting,
634
01:27:31,377 --> 01:27:36,178
the film crew packed up its camerasand lighting equipment and was gone.
635
01:27:39,752 --> 01:27:41,549
Less than two months later,
636
01:27:41,620 --> 01:27:44,521
S.S. Officers appearedin the office of Czerniakow,
637
01:27:44,590 --> 01:27:48,151
the head of the Judenrat,
instructing him to draw up a list...
638
01:27:48,227 --> 01:27:52,220
of many thousands Jewsfor immediate deportation to Treblinka.
639
01:27:54,166 --> 01:28:00,662
Czerniakow was most likely aware thatTreblinka was no more than a mass grave.
640
01:28:00,739 --> 01:28:04,732
The following day, when the quotas oewswere significantly raised,
641
01:28:04,810 --> 01:28:09,270
he swallowed the cyanide capsule he hadkept since the start of the war,
642
01:28:09,348 --> 01:28:14,251
and in the silence of his death,signaled his people: "This is the end."
643
01:28:17,857 --> 01:28:22,726
These were also the days during whichthe propaganda film was being edited.
644
01:28:22,795 --> 01:28:26,390
Soon it would be buriedin the stacks of the archive.
645
01:28:26,465 --> 01:28:28,899
On its box, a single title:
646
01:28:28,968 --> 01:28:30,902
The Ghetto.
58809
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