Original subtitles

The Gleiwitz Case

We have had peace for 20 years.

The lull will soon be over.

The climax of the joint maneuver

was a fleet review by the F�hrer.

We have the best weapons.

We have the F�hrer

and the nation is behind him.

Air and naval games in Italy.

Italian bombers hit ships with pinpoint precision.

Demonstrating Axis strength and readiness.

The Reich Forester-in-Chief,

Field Marshal G�ring hosted rangers for a day of competition and pageantry.

The German Grand Prix drew 250,000 spectators to the N�rburgring.

German racers were superior to all other makes

Rudolf Caracciola, National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK),

took the checkered flag

and the F�hrer's Cup.

NSKK's Hermann M�ller, Auto Union, was second.

Here's the plan.

Tomorrow you go to the Spandau Wehrmacht base.

They are expecting you You will be issued 14 Polish uniforms.

Have them logged out.

Go to the Bernau Fencing School.

Study the records of repatriates from Poland.

Carefully select six men.

People we've been screening for years.

They must know Polish as well as German.

Go to Sachsenhausen at once.

Take custody of a prisoner.

Escort him to our Oppeln facility.

He will not be transferred but struck from the list.

Listen, Naujocks.

The F�hrer, SS Commander, and Heydrich

have given you an extremely important mission.

I am in charge of its execution in my capacity as Gestapo chief.

Top leadership has made a final decision.

The Polish issue will be resolved militarily.

It will be necessary to convince world opinion

that a serious incident provoked us into launching a war.

The night before the outbreak

Poles will raid a German installation, the Reich radio station in Gleiwitz.

To implicate them,

a corpse will be found outside the Gleiwitz station.

A body easily identifiable as that of a Polish sharpshooter.

Attention. Pallbearers report to gate.

Halt! In there on the right!

- Pallbearers reporting as ordered. - Come in.

Ready. Come on out!

"OUR PLEDGE IS LOYALTY"

Franz K�hnel, book dealer, German Books, Posen.

Basic training in Polish Army. Last four years SS Command.

Light weapons. Excused for temporary duty.

Hans-Wilhelm Kraweit. Self-defense. No trade.

Combat training with General Wiestenberg.

Heinrich Bieratzki, Electrician. Signal Corps training in Kattowitz.

Fled to Reich when arrest threatened.

Franz Wyczorek, Teacher. German east leader.

Eight month course in Germany. Returned to Poland.

When Storm Troop arms cache was uncovered

smuggled young Germans over the border.

Dismissed once more.

Oskar Tutzauer, German descent.

Upper Silesia Hiking leader since 1936. Fled from Poland after dismissal.

Franz Sitte, Grocer. Freikorps, Bielitz Storm Troop.

Trained as Rifleman and Paratrooper at Dachstein Farm Camp.

Transferred to Breslau six weeks ago.

Countrymen, you served loyally as Germans of the Eastern Frontier.

In clubs building ties to the Homeland.

You are being assigned to a special task force.

Yesterday's rules in our struggle for a German East

must yield to a tougher code.

Whatever you are asked to do in the future, remember one thing.

Do it like a German, loyally, bravely, honestly.

- What's that? - Polish paraphernalia. Originals.

Here you go.

"The Earth is mine"

"Lilac is blooming"

"May as well be May."

"No need for glooming."

"Heaven's on the way."

"Lilac makes the slope white."

"The slope is on the Rhine."

"My flame will get tight."

"Soon we'll be entwined."

I've been at it for eight years now.

War will accelerate promotions.

"No need for glooming."

"Heaven's on the way."

"The sun is on the upswing."

"The stars are in her eyes."

"Let all the bells ring."

"The world's full of sighs."

A bumper crop.

We'll finish Poland off in four weeks.

Whatever gets in my way gets plowed over.

I'll mow the pigs down.

GERMAN POSTAL SERVICE REICH RADIO STATION GLEIWITZ

Let her roll.

- May I? - Be my guest.

Outside line.

Gleiwitz Amplifier?

Extension 14.

Who's there?

118.

Time to prepare the line for Birke.

Roger.

Out.

Gleiwitz Amplifier.

What?

1,000 Hertz in our transmission?

One moment. I'll tune in.

Hello.

Everything is alright here.

I'll have it checked.

Heil Hitler!

I got you. Over and out.

The transmitter is the troublemaker.

Okay.

The connections are marked.

Clearly legible over the console at eye level

Clear.

The cable enters through the basement, also clear...

That's all set too.

ID card... All set.

[Polish] "The regular man is on vacation."

Here goes nothing. See you.

Get out!

Fall in!

Pick up gear!

Right face!

No cadence. Proceed!

Troubleshooter.

- Heil Hitler! - Heil Hitler!

I'm a substitute.

The regular went somewhere else.

Our studio is in perfect order. I checked all parameters

1,000 Hertz loud and clear.

I can't figure out where the problem is.

Not a gauging signal.

Corrosion sounds different.

The cable can't be damaged.

I'm completely stumped.

Where do you plug the backup mic?

Right here, Jack 2.

I'll start by checking the basement segment.

Anything wrong?

Troubleshooting. Where does the overhead enter?

Back there on the left.

"I am the one who adores you."

"I remember those flowers."

"and count all the hours."

"So just take a moment."

"And think of me too."

Find anything?

- Can I make a telephone call? - Go ahead.

- To whom? - VST.

- There you go. - Thanks.

Extension 14.

This is Birke.

Right, Birke

I'm in the studio.

Yes.

They fixed the bug already.

Comrades,

the job we're doing is part of a master plan.

We need not know everything.

But the time will come, comrades,

when you'll see the light.

Let's drink to that hour.

Cheers!

Cigarettes!

Be seated.

Can anybody play it?

- I can Hauptsturmf�hrer. - Stay seated.

We were stationed across from the Sudetenland.

Last Fall, before we annexed the Czechs.

We had a harmonica player.

A German song in the evening.

You sit there and peer over the border.

You don't know what itches more.

Your heart...

or your trigger finger?

But 'wait' is the watchword.

Preparedness is the mission.

Munich was appeasing.

Adolf gave the suckers a reprieve.

Like now, buddies.

You sit and wait.

You know for sure

when the time is ripe

the F�hrer will push the button.

When it finally happened

it went off without much of a bang but we saw commando action.

We had addresses.

Reds, Jews, �migr�s, Masons, and sundry riffraff.

Some asses were still in bed when we nabbed them.

They didn't write that into the Versailles Treaty of Shame.

Man, that was exhilarating.

You think of Great War pals who didn't get it done.

This time we'll finish the job.

We were at war, my friends.

And we are still at war.

Although things seem peaceful at times.

We need patience and iron discipline.

The showdown is looming, friends.

In fact, it's looming large.

We'll take what we need.

We'll make mincemeat of the adversary.

We'll show no mercy. The world can count on it.

I baptize you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

the child named, Alfred Helmut Naujocks.

Every hit kills a Brit.

Every flog kills a Frog.

The new Reichstag bows to Black, Red, and Gold.

Our Stormer hearts throb to the Black, White, and Red.

Son, I thought you'd go to the colonies.

You should study regularly, Alfred Naujocks.

Wasn't the man a Jew?

You see, Naujocks...

Wasn't your father a druggist?

You're a spy, Naujocks.

Your knowledge of Analytical Geometry...

I pledge to you,

Adolf Hitler,

Imperial Leader and Chancellor,

Lash the pig, Naujocks, until he oinks.

He lives in a hotel near Prague. Fix things with no fuss.

Arrange surveillance of all ships leaving Amsterdam.

You will be assigned officially to the German Embassy.

The F�hrer, SS Commander, and Heydrich

have given you an extremely important mission.

Yes?

Hauptsturmf�hrer, Oberf�hrer M�ller in Oppeln called. He's expecting you.

This spot,

is really beautiful at any time of day.

We have sun all day long.

Sunrise on my right. Sundown on my left.

This summer is lovelier than most.

It was nice last year too.

Another piece of cake?

No, thanks.

How late in the year did we go swimming last fall?

That was in October.

Not in October.

You were in the Sudetenland invasion.

It was the end of September.

The tail end of the month.

Excuse me.

Poor dear, you never get a break.

Thank you for the charming reception.

Duty calls.

- Is the Gleiwitz affair in progress? - Yes Sir, Oberf�hrer!

- Our people on the scene? - Yes Sir!

- Cased the station? - Yes Sir!

Beautiful.

And now for the details...

The radio station raid is more than an incident.

It's an incident with a very large audience.

You'll seize this opportunity and broadcast an appeal.

Let's go this way.

Here's my idea.

You have people who speak Polish.

Get one of them to draft an appropriate appeal.

The appeal must

contain a vile defamation of the Reich.

It should ring in the hour of vengeance on the Germans.

It should state that Polish arms now have the floor.

The reader must be agitated.

Part of the text should be in German so the people get the message.

In broken German, naturally.

Don't forget to raise a racket during the proclamation.

Did you make a mental note of that?

I'm depending on you, Naujocks.

Yes Sir, Oberf�hrer!

Good.

Oberf�hrer, you said something about a casualty.

Have you specified any particular person?

Yes, indeed. Here's the plan.

I'll deliver a man from Oppeln.

I have a pool of prisoners from Buchenwald and Dachau.

You get custody at the last minute.

Obergruppenf�hrer Heydrich will call you from Berlin.

In the course of the conversation he'll

utter a cue phrase.

'Order canned goods from M�ller. Open them at hour X.'

The cue is 'canned goods'.

Yes Sir, Oberf�hrer! I understand.

You call me and I'll deliver the goods.

He'll be unconscious,

The man will be found outside the station, shot to death.

Beautiful.

Isn't it?

What weapons would you expect Gleiwitz police to carry?

Single action pistols, and bolt action short rifles.

I'll get them to send you a rifle along with the victim.

And five rounds of ammunition.

Foreign opinion is scrupulous.

Every detail must be planned.

What if Poland backs down?

What do you mean?

Let's say...

A proposal? To avoid slaughter at the last-minute.

Not this time. The case is closed.

No need to stall.

We have ultramodern arms.

Germany's morale is at its peak.

We have the F�hrer.

But the F�hrer could drop dead

or be knocked off. Naujocks.

Morale might sag. Guns could become obsolete.

What is the sense of negotiating?

No, Sir, the time is ripe.

Attention!

The bunker is occupied by 13 prisoners.

Well?

Good, Oberf�hrer.

Over here, Oberf�hrer.

This is the room that I propose using.

Doctor, here is your task.

I need the men stunned at the border.

One of them in Gleiwitz.

We must rule out flight and resistance.

I was thinking

of administering an injection. Dosed for at least 3-4 hours.

That shouldn't be a problem, Oberf�hrer.

The deaths...

must irrefutably occur after the bullet's impact, mind you.

That must stand up in court.

In other words,

it goes like this:

(1) Injection,

(2) Stunning,

(3) Shot,

(4) Death.

Medication is the key.

I guarantee the medical part of the mission.

Are these facilities adequate?

No doubt about it, Oberf�hrer.

Need anything else?

Chairs and a table, perhaps,

or a bench.

And 3-4 men.

- Get him what he wants. - Yes Sir, Oberf�hrer!

Further questions? No, Oberf�hrer.

Then we can go.

Extra rations, as ordered.

Attention!

Carry on.

Chow time.

Gulp it down, you filthy pigs.

- What's that? - Polish pistols.

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

Here are some more.

'Struck by starry radiance,'

'I really must admit'

'That love and pain together go.'

'In joy and in sorrow flow.'

'You have to gaze into the maze'

'of stars as lovers do.'

'Kick up your heels! Dance is our chance'

'for a swoon to a Danube tune.'

'Out in the park, life is a lark'

'when you whirl with your girl.'

'A waltz keeps a couple eternally supple'

'by the light of the Danube moon.'

'Hilarious laughter is all we're after when waltzing all through the night.'

'When waltzing, when waltzing, to heart's content and delight.'

'Whispering fiddles give me the twiddles.'

'Early we start, don't want to part'

'when we're waltzing heart to heart.'

'Many a soul has gone on a roll.'

'The bliss of yore is here once more.'

'A gleam in the eyes of all girls and guys'

'who dream of the Danube shore.'

Shut the door!

Yes Sir, Obergruppenf�hrer!

Yes Sir!

Yes Sir!

Yes Sir!

I understand. Tonight at 8:00 p.m.

Yes Sir! Canned goods.

I understand, Obergruppenf�hrer!

Out!

I'm giving you a Paratyphoid shot.

It's an injection in the arm.

I repeat.

The Police will appear 15 minutes after the appeal.

The Police will come down Tarnowitz Road, they'll fire rifles at the station gate.

I'm going with you.

Good.

Let's go. Everyone in!

Come on! Come on!

Comrades, you know the mission.

You take the secret to the grave.

Nevertheless, I require each man's signature to that effect.

Kraweit!

Hauptsturmf�hrer.

Read it aloud.

I, the undersigned,

for as long as I shall live,

pledge never to reveal any information related to the mission in Gleiwitz.

I understand, that any betrayal will be punishable by the deaths

of all participants and their extended families.

Signature.

'This is Radio Gleiwitz.'

'Here's the evening political review. Breslau Radio's choice of editorials.'

'The iron resolve and composure'

'of the leadership of Greater Germany'

'characterizes its campaign to enforce inalienable tenets'

'of German popular will, without bloodshed.'

'World opinion is rallying to our glorious crusade.'

V�lkischer Beobachter states.

'The past 48 hours have'

' severely tried our renowned patience and self-discipline.'

'We ignore all provocations from Polish-occupied territory.'

'These fateful hours fray'

'the harassed German people to their last shreds of patience.'

'Astute observers are bound to ask why we manifest such stoic restraint.'

'Here is the answer.'

'The F�hrer asks us to hold our horses.

'because he wants to exhaust all avenues'

'to achieve peaceful realization of all unconditional German demands.'

'Twenty years of injustice must be ended.'

'This applies to territories'

'which shameful treaties banished from their Fatherland.'

'The editorial concludes ominously.'

'Whatever the outcome of these fateful hours may be.'

'One fact is obvious today.'

'We will never recognize borders'

'dictated arbitrarily by the victors in Germany's most humiliating hour.'

'Let it be known in Warsaw, London, and Paris that...'

'All demands ever announced by the F�hrer'

'are vital interests of the nation he leads.'

We will leave no stone unturned in our unswerving pursuit...'

'Cherished Reich borders'

'were violated by shameful treaties'

'in Germany's hour of humiliation.'

'We will never recognize them.'

'Justice'

'must finally be restored.'

'Time for you to relax and enjoy:'

"Music When Work is Done".

- Ready? - Yes Sir!

The extras? Inside.

Lock them in the cellar. One loads. Yes Sir!

Afterward, a quick getaway.

Dump him on the ramp.

Face the wall!

Keep your hands up!

Where is Wyczorek?

We've unloaded.

Well, well...

All set, Wyczorek.

Pipe down, everybody.

Attention! Attention!

This is the Polish Insurrection Force.

[Polish] Attention! Attention! This is the Polish Insurrection Force.

Using Radio Gleiwitz facilities.

Gleiwitz Radio and the city are in our hands.

The hour to fight has arrived.

The hour to fight has arrived.

Poles, take up arms!

Poles, take up arms!

All resistance is futile.

It will be crushed at once.

Whoever gets in our way

will be mowed down.

Germans, resistance is futile. It will be crushed at once.

Whoever gets in our way

will be mowed down.

We'll fix Germany.

Break it up.

Everybody out.

'Last night Poland opened fire from invaded German soil.'

'The adversaries went so far'

'as to deploy regular troops.'

'We have been returning their fire since 5:45 a.m.'

'Heil!'

'Germany's our highest deity.'

'Highest value in our world.'

43,000,000 DEAD

'Germany's our highest deity.'

'Highest value in our world...'

43,000,000 DEAD