Original subtitles

My friends, a drink first to the happy couple.

To Inga Helms Weiss, the newest member of our family

and my son, Karl.

To the happy couple!

I propose a toast to my in-laws Frau Helms and Herr Helms...

Frau and Herr Helms.

Their son Hans,

and all their friends and relatives.

And to my wife's dear parents, Frau and Herr Palitz.

Less introduction, more champagne!

Listen... they're good Jews.

Physician, the old man, a war hero...

It's a pity you couldn't have postponed the wedding

for a few months. What do you mean?

There's a rumor that the Party

may soon forbid mixed marriages.

Dorf, Erik, age 24, born in Berlin.

Graduate of the university law school,

no party affiliation.

Well, not until this moment.

Why the sudden interest?

I need a job.

What do you feel about Jews?

Neutral.

We'll solve a multitude of problems:

economic, military, governmental,

simply by attacking Jews.

Do you know a woman named Elka Gutmann?

Yes. She used to be our maid. Dr. Weiss,

you know it's illegal to treat Aryan patients.

I did it out of... out of habit.

I... I used to have a great many Gentile patients,

you and your wife included.

Why haven't you left Germany?

But we should have left three years ago,

after Karl was married.

This is my country as much as theirs.

I do not fear those barbarians.

You amaze me, Dorf.

Put out the order.

I'm beginning to appreciate what a fine legal mind can do.

Thank you, sir.

It's a marvelous notion.

Tell them to put on business suits.

And mind you, Dorf, no damage to German property.

And all resisters must be shot.

Yes, sir.

You are Dr. Josef Weiss, Groningstrasse 22,

born in Warsaw, Poland.

You are here on a special visa.

Yes.

You are ordered deported to Poland.

You are to be at the Anhalter Station tomorrow at 6:00 a.m.

with food for one day and one bag.

My wife and children...

The order applies only to you.

Give this to the officer in charge tomorrow.

And what crime did you commit to be assigned to Buchenwald?

I did nothing. Try again!

What crime did you commit?

I have done nothing.

Let us pray, in silence, for the children of Abraham.

Outside, the synagogue is burning.

And that, like this church, is a house of God.

In many homes, an inflammatory newspaper is being distributed

warning us that if we show any sentimentality

toward the Jews, we commit treason.

This church and this priest will pray for the Jews.

They can never defeat us as long as we love each other.

Remember your Latin, Berta:

Amor vincit omnia. "Love conquers all."

Special deportation train for the Polish border

will depart immediately.

All passes must be stamped at the main gate.

Papers will be checked on train.

Those without deportation orders will be removed

from the train.

Families of deportees must remain behind the main gate.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

I'm only a sergeant.

I can't go poking my nose into SS headquarters.

But just to find out where Karl is.

That isn't too much to ask.

Inga, Muller can't stick his neck out

for, for...

Say it.

For my Jewish husband.

I'm pretty sure he went to Buchenwald.

Buchenwald?

A civilian prison near Weimar.

It isn't so bad.

At least, that's what I hear.

Can I get to see him?

Can I write?

Write, maybe.

Don't say I told you.

Inga, I like your parents.

I like you.

So far, there's nothing in the regulations

against you for marrying a Jew,

but my advice is... leave him alone.

Good advice.

Yes, Muller's right.

Ah, when I think of all that fancy family of his:

a doctor, that wife...

all your marriage did was bring trouble!

Stop it!

I won't let you talk that way.

We have a right to be mad!

Taking this family in!

Stop it!

It's a bad business hiding Jews.

Herr Muller, I beg of you, can I get a letter to him?

Could he buy his way out?

Rich Jews, sometimes,

but a poor artist like your man, no.

Please, help me.

Muller, don't get yourself into trouble over one of them.

It's bad enough we've got them living next door!

I'm disgusted with all of you!

I want that Jew bitch and her kids out!

No! They are my family!

We warned her.

A beautiful Aryan girl like that mixed up with... Jews.

Muller, you are an old friend.

You will say nothing about...

About your Hebrew in-laws?

Not a word.

Threats from England and France...

That they will intervene on Poland's behalf...

Are regarded by the Führer as bluffs,

creations of the international Jewish conspiracy.

The Poles, of course, must come to their senses

and agree to the reasonable request of the German people

for the restoration of land stolen from them.

At the same time, informed sources in Warsaw

said they see no prospect of war,

and that the negotiations over Danzig

and other boundary disputes can be resumed.

There is strong sentiment in Poland,

it is said, to accommodate...

Poland, you're next.

Mama, why doesn't anyone believe him when he says

he's going to do those things?

People deceive themselves when they're frightened.

Like us.

We're no different than those dumb governments!

That pig Muller thinks Karl is in Buchenwald.

I'm going there.

They won't let you near him.

Yeah, well, I'm going to try.

I must see him.

Any chance of us getting out?

Muller gave me no hope, but I'm going anyway.

I'm leaving Berlin.

Where are you going?

I don't know.

I won't let them grab me off the street.

But your mama and Anna.

I can't do them any good here.

Inga, you'll have to look after them.

You think I'm a coward to run away?

No, Rudi.

No, never a coward.

What were you two talking about?

Did I hear you mention Karl?

No, Mama.

I wish Karl was here.

It wouldn't be so bad if we were all together.

And Papa.

Papa is fine.

He's working in the hospital in Warsaw.

Rudi, test me on dates.

Sure, Anna.

New regulations have been published today

concerning activities of the Jews.

They apply to all Jews in all areas of Germany and Austria.

Go to hell!

That won't help, Rudi.

It'll help me.

Are you gonna test me on dates or not?

Okay, okay.

1521. Diet of Worms.

Jews who were

formally government employees are canceled.

Synagogues are... 1618.

The start of the 30-Year War.

All Jewish documents and passes must be sent and delivered... 1776.

American Revolution.

Failure to comply will mean immediate arrest.

1814. Defeat of Napoleon.

By a Jew will deemed a capital offense.

It's good that you keep up your lessons, Anna.

In spite of everything, you must prepare yourself for life.

Do you know where you're going?

Anyplace they can't find me.

Well, how will you live?

Here, take this.

It may help you.

Will you write to me and tell me where you are?

Maybe.

Tell Mama not to worry about me.

Take care of her.

And be nice to Anna.

She's a fresh kid, but she's okay.

Oh, Rudi.

If you see Karl... tell him I'll see him, too, someday.

Bye, Inga.

Good-bye, Rudi.

Good-bye, little brother.

No!

Hey, what's going on?

Spies.

No! No!

No! No! No...!

No plan. No pattern.

The Poles gave up too quickly.

We overran that bloody country so fast, we can't establish procedures.

If the goal were clearer, perhaps we could.

Can you tell me what the goal is?

The elimination of Jewish influence from Europe.

The depopulization of large areas now occupied by Slavs.

The use of Poles and Russians

and others Slavs as labor.

Yes, but what does that really mean?

Impoverishment? Banishment?

Transportation?

Sterilization?

Extermination?

Come on, you've read The Führer.

Annihilation of millions of people

is obviously out of the question.

Obviously.

Some form of containment, perhaps.

Quarantine.

Do the Jews serve a purpose?

Purpose?

Tell me, Dorf, how much is conviction

and how much opportunism?

I'm no psychologist, sir.

Do I believe the Jews have to be removed from society?

Of course.

But supposing this racial stuff were nonsense.

Jews have intermarried with Aryans for centuries.

Then why are we so adamant on eliminating Jews?

The practical side.

Anti-Semitism is the cement that binds us together.

Christians may disagree on a number of things,

but as men of conscience, they can unite in the hatred of Jews.

Yes, but haven't the Jews earned that hatred?

Of course.

Christ killers.

Well poisoners.

Agents of Satan.

Murderers of Christian children.

Well, Himmler might believe that garbage,

but you and I know it's medieval crap.

Lies... but politically useful lies.

In a way, the ground has been prepared for us.

So... ideology or the old traditions go hand-in-hand

with practical modern policies.

Precisely.

Why do you think we've had no opposition?

Why do you think the French and English barely protest?

Because, deep down, they have a sneaking admiration

for the way we're handling the Jews.

What was that word you used before?

Quarantine.

Isolate the germ carriers.

Why don't we start, um...

eastward movement.

Create vast ghettos.

Let the Jews run them.

The word "ghettos" may be misunderstood.

And what do you suggest?

Autonomous Jewish Territories.

Autonomous Jewish territories.

Marvelous.

Will these be permanent communities?

Let's just say...

steps towards regulating the Jewish problem.

Oh, my God, Dorf, I'm getting like you.

Using language to say what I don't mean.

Trust Heydrich to find the most beautiful woman.

Who is she?

She happens to be my wife!

Why, for goodness sake! Uncle Kurt!

Ah! What a marvelous surprise!

I didn't know you were in Berlin. I'm in and out.

My brother Clarence's little boy, the studious one.

Look at you now,

an SS Officer.

I'm impressed.

A very minor officer, Uncle.

Why are you here tonight?

I'm under contract to the army.

The generals consider these affairs a sort of bonus

for my keeping up with the timetables.

I wish Papa was alive to see us now.

I'm sure he'd be proud.

But Marta is dazzling, Erik.

I love her more every day.

And it's more than love.

It's admiration. Respect.

She seems to have won the respect of your chief, as well.

He hardly looks the "Blonde Beast."

The "Blonde Beast"?

Oh, just a street expression.

That was a great honor to me, General.

Not at all, Frau Dorf. The honor was mine.

Dorf, your wife is charming.

We must arrange an evening at the opera.

Uncle Kurt!

Erik...

Oh, yes, forgive me.

General, my uncle, Kurt Dorf.

It's a great honor to meet you, sir.

Dorf, Kurt.

Let me see...

hired by General Van Brauhich.

Civil engineer.

In charge of road building in the occupied territories.

I had no idea how well-informed you are

concerning humble road builders.

Excuse me.

Erik, don't you think you should ask

Major Eichmann's wife to dance?

Remember how nice he was to us in Vienna?

Hmm?

Yes, dear.

Uncle Kurt, please dance with Marta.

Forgive me, Marta, but I'd rather not dance.

I'm so stiff after wandering about those dusty roads.

But we'll have champagne.

To you and Erik and the children.

Affection and good wishes from...

the bachelor uncle.

Thank you, Uncle Kurt.

He's a charming man, that Heydrich.

Not at all what I expected.

What did somebody call him...?

"The Young God of Death."

Oh, that's dreadful.

Who'd dare to say anything like that?

Political enemies, I suppose.

Uncle Kurt, he's a refined and sensitive man.

He could have been a concert violinist,

if he hadn't chosen to serve Germany.

I'm quite sure he's a very fine man but...

policemen tend to make enemies.

He's no policeman.

And neither is Erik.

I'm sorry, Marta.

I really shouldn't go into politics.

That's why I'm still a civilian, I suppose.

But how lovely you are and how lucky Erik is.

A wife, children, career...

We're simple.

We became part of the new Germany.

And so you did.

Well, you could sound a little more convincing.

But I'm part of it, too.

I know what a good job the Führer has done.

Everybody working again.

No strikes.

Stable currency.

And as soon as France and England offer peace,

we can get on with the job.

Then you and Erik are in agreement.

The only difference is he wears a uniform and...

you don't.

My dear Marta!

How marvelously you simplify things.

But you know... you could be right.

In spite of my age and those dusty roads,

I'm going to ask you to dance.

That would be lovely, Uncle Kurt.

Give your baggage to Mr. Lowy over here, please.

He'll see about living quarters.

There'll be eight and ten to a room.

Give your baggage to Mr. Lowy over there, please.

He'll give you your assignment.

Go down to the end of the platform.

I'm Rabbi Kosh.

Hi.

It's a miracle any of us survived.

Mm. I'm Dr. Weiss.

My brother, Moses.

We're on the Jewish Council of Warsaw.

How is it here?

Well, it's not exactly

the Garden of Eden but, uh, it'll get better.

There's a dead infant in that car.

The mother won't leave it.

Mrs. Lowy...

We need your help.

Mr. Lowy will take you to the city.

Here, come...

Come on, you can trust me.

I'll take care of you and the baby, hmm?

Okay... now, come on.

A blessing on you for helping us.

I'm not sure I like this business

of being on the Jewish Council,

deciding who gets how much to eat,

who gets a place to sleep, who will live, who will die.

Well, somebody has to do it.

And people respect you, Josef.

- And they trust you. - Do they?

Ever since we were children

playing across these very same tracks,

I've always trusted you.

You were the clever one.

Do you... do you remember the day

you won the chemistry prize?

Mm... and the principal wouldn't let me accept it in the auditorium.

That's right.

Because you were of the Hebrew persuasion.

But you stole it from his office...

The certificate...

You remember! Yeah.

Oh, yes, and Papa...

with that run-down drugstore.

He made me take it over because I was the stupid son.

You had no choice, Moses.

No, no choice.

Then or now.

That really hurt you...

a long time ago.

No, I-I didn't mean that.

Pampered son, medical school.

I never called you, I never wrote to you.

Well, you were a busy man... Wife, family, career.

I'm sorry, Moses.

That kid was in the first invasion.

He doesn't talk much about it, but he saw plenty.

Those 88's really gave the Polacks a good scare, eh, Hans?

They're good guns.

Me, I guess I'm too old... A behind-the-lines soldier.

I've been transferred to Buchenwald.

Buchenwald? Guard duty... administration.

I'd rather be up-front like Hans,

but they need guards in these prisons.

Buchenwald... You said Karl was there.

Did I?

Yes. Right after he was arrested,

you said most of them were sent to Buchenwald.

Maybe he was.

Muller... will you try to find him for me?

Find out how he is?

Inga,

there are 10,000, maybe 20,000 prisoners there.

Well, surely you can find him.

Karl Weiss of Berlin, an artist.

I'm sure he's all right.

Better inside than in Poland, eh?

Hans, you can tell her what happens to Jews in Poland.

I heard it gets pretty rough.

The old ones with the beards go first.

They string 'em up in the town square.

I'm telling you,

it's going to get worse for Jews.

Here in Germany, also.

Now that the damned English and the French are fighting us.

And everybody knows it's the Jews that got them into this.

He's right.

Inga, those two next-door, they are a danger to us.

Inga, darling, Muller knows what he's talking about.

Maybe your mother-in-law and her daughter should leave.

No. They are my family as much as you are.

But you can get us all in trouble!

Yeah, harboring criminals,

protecting fugitives... It's a... bad business.

And you should stop trying to see Karl.

He brought this on you.

I can't believe this is my family.

Look who's talking.

Look who brought Jews here

in the first place.

Damn you!

Damn you!

Mama...

do you think anyone plays our piano anymore?

Papa? Mm.

There's no harm in trying.

Soon it will be a new year.

Let us hope it will be a better one.

Mama, we must never give up hope. Mm.

Ooh! You're very cold.

Oh, I'm always cold.

Josef says it's my blue blood.

What were they yelling about?

Nothing important.

Your parents want to throw us out.

Anna.

Perhaps if Anna and I found...

a place with one of Josef's patients.

Papa's patients are gone...

In prison or just gone.

Anna, please.

There is no hope.

Karl is in prison, and Rudi ran away!

Never a word from him!

And Papa, in Poland, where it's like they came after him!

Mama, you're acting as if this is a play,

writing letters, talking about Papa's patients.

It does no harm.

You always had that notion

that you were someone special, so fine,

so educated,

the Nazis would never hurt you or your children!

And look! Look what's happened to us!

Anna, your mother can't be blamed.

New Year's Eve, and who knows if any one of us

will be alive for the next New Year!

Anna.

No...!

Anna...

Please, please, my baby, don't...

don't cry.

Rudi wouldn't like it, hmm?

Rudi...

Yes, we'll soon hear from Rudi.

No. Rudi will get us out, I know...

No! No, I... No, I won't listen to any more lies!

Anna!

No! I'm running away, too!

Inga, stop her!

No, wait a minute.

You don't have any money, you don't have anyplace to go.

Rudi was strong and tough.

Oh, leave me alone! I know I can't go anywhere!

Anna? Please!

She'll be all right.

Streets are full of police... They'll send her right home.

Please...

Please?

Oh, please let me go.

Let me go to my house.

Oh, please...

Please?

Please... please...

Please...

Oh, please, don't...

No, no...

No, stop...

Anna!

Anna, Anna...

Anna...

Mama...

Oh... Mama!

Mama...

Oh, Mama...

Oh...

With the surrender of France,

the Führer has announced

he has no more territorial claims in Europe.

France thus joins Holland, Belgium, Norway, Denmark,

Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the greater part of Poland

in forming the New Order of Europe.

Regarding the occupation of France,

French citizens who do not resist

and are not part of the Bolshevik-Jewish apparatus

will be decently treated.

And the Führer has reaffirmed

his friendly and fraternal relations

with the people of the Soviet Union.

Wait, wait, it'll come the Russian's turn.

When will our turn come, Weinberg?

Don't ask me, Weiss.

Maybe I'd be better off in the quarry,

where they'd kill me in a hurry.

Don't say that.

I hear some rich guy bought his way out.

50,000 Swiss francs.

His wife got it to the SS Commandant.

His wife.

I haven't heard from my wife in over a year.

Why should you be different?

We're talking about wives.

Like that, huh?

Don't tease me, Weinberg.

Business, Weiss, not sex.

One of the SS sergeants pays me for it...

Presents for his mistress.

Good rye bread.

A bonus for lace drawers I made for his girl.

Take half.

I shouldn't, Weinberg.

All I ever do is complain. Take it.

Thank you.

Mmm...

Swallow fast, hide the bread.

Aw, the hell with him.

Hey, Weiss.

Eating in the barracks is forbidden!

Lay off, Mellneck... you kapos are worse than the SS.

You're a Jew, aren't you? You're one of us... give us a break!

Shut up. I do what I do because they tell me to.

Like bother us over a lousy bit of bread?

Doctor's son from Berlin, eh, Weiss?

Learning to be a tough guy.

Give me that bread! No!

Mellneck, lay off!

Weiss, give it to him! It's mine! It's mine! I won't!

Give me that bread! Cut it out! For God's sake,

Jews don't fight Jews!

Give me back that bread! Give it to me!

Give me that bread! Give me that bread!

Give me the bread, you... you...

Give me... give me the bread!

Give me...!

Fighting in barracks!

You're both on report! Call the guard!

Weiss didn't mean anything!

I'm the one who sneaked the bread in.

Shut up!

Inga... Inga...

Easy, Weiss, don't waste breath.

I want to tell him... "You win.

"You can do anything you want to me.

Kill me."

Listen, Weiss...

I'm no religious man but...

I heard a rabbi say, the day before we were arrested,

every one of us who lives...

is a sanctification.

I don't want to live.

Sure you do.

Groan if it'll help.

Don't be ashamed.

So you're Heydrich's new boy.

Sit down.

Heydrich's eyes and ears.

I guess they sent you to Warsaw to check up on me.

I know what they think of me:

Hans Frank,

loudmouthed governor- general of Poland.

By no means. You're highly regarded.

Like hell.

I'm here because I'm a smart lawyer.

Bailed Hitler and Göring out of jail

a hundred of times in the old days.

I'm aware of your legal services to the Party.

It gives us something in common.

I'm a lawyer, too.

Are you?

Heydrich's hiring a better class of clerk?

Oh, don't be insulted.

I've heard a lot about you...

A master of terminology.

I try to follow up on Heydrich's requests.

Less modesty, Captain.

This stinking Warsaw, for example:

"Autonomous Jewish Territory."

Your phrase for a walled-in sewer full of Jews.

We asked you to build a wall around a ghetto.

Our directives...

Our directives?!

You don't issue directives! You carry them!

That damn wall!

So Heydrich can keep shoving Jews at me!

Disease! Filth! Corruption!

The Jew dregs of Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria!

Autonomous Jewish Territory!

These Jews are going to have to disappear.

Disappear?

I can see through that baby face.

You know what I mean.

No such plan is contemplated.

You'll ask me to do your bloody work for you.

Well, don't be surprised if I start without your permission!

What the hell do you know?

I was head of the Party's legal office

when you were in short pants.

Yes, Heydrich has a file on your legal career.

Does he?

Interesting details.

Your passion for justice.

Objecting to the murder of Ernst Röhm...

Not at all what the Führer had in mind

for the government of Poland.

I heard you were just another boot-licker.

Apparently you're not.

How many streets are they going to close?

Seems they do intend to wall us in.

11 miles of it.

Some wall.

Keep us in and the Poles out.

It's a damn prison.

It seems to me they're trying to make Warsaw the supreme ghetto.

At the least a ghetto is something we can understand!

We'll be allowed our schools, our hospitals...

An administration.

They need us.

For how long?

I beg your pardon?

How long will they need us?

What do several million poor Jews mean to them?

Dr. Weiss, we have no option but to cooperate.

To provide the work details, coordinate housing.

I've seen those work details.

People taken away, worked to death, shot, beaten.

That's right.

I've been on them.

In the ghetto of Razuk, the Jewish Council

failed to deliver the work quota.

The council members were hanged.

We must cooperate with them.

Poland's been conquered.

We are what we have always have been...

victims.

And why all this attention if we're no threat to them?

We must obey orders.

We must crack down on smugglers

and resistors.

Resistance is foolish.

Foolish!

We can only pray for things to get better.

At first, she was not so bad,

but in the last few months,

she doesn't speak, Doctor.

She recognizes no one.

Since the incident.

Yes.

What can I do to help?

Well, is there no, uh, special therapy or, um, a sanatorium

that could help her?

Perhaps I can help.

Nurse, we have a patient for Hadamar.

Inform them.

Yes, Doctor.

Hadamar?

A hospital for mental problems.

Will she be treated very well there?

Within the limitations of a wartime economy.

Your sister-in-law can stay here

for the rest of the day.

We'll arrange transportation.

You can bring her things here tomorrow.

Anna...

you know me.

Listen, darling, when you feel better,

your mama and I will come visit you.

I promise you that.

Oh, no, wait.

Am I doing the right thing?

These problems are best handled by professionals.

Yeah.

Give my regards to your mother-in-law.

Oh...

Thank you.

Good-bye, Anna.

"It is with much regret

"that we must inform you

"of the death of your daughter,

Fraulein Anna Weiss."

Mama, you don't have to read this again.

"Although we did all we could to help, we gave her every care,

"she refused to take nourishment,

"did not respond to medication,

"and on June the third, died of pneumonia and malnutrition.

"In view...

"of the unsettled conditions now prevailing,

"we have taken the liberty of cremating her remains

"and providing burial...

near the sanatorium."

Mama, perhaps it's better.

We don't know if Anna would ever have been well again.

She loved everyone.

Oh, Mama...

Oh, God...

"No more clothing vouchers to be issued to Jews.

"All Jews failing to have registered with the police

"must do so at once.

"All Jews must be in possession

"of their yellow identification cards

"at all times.

"Jews may not use public transportation.

"Jews may not use

"public libraries.

"it is forbidden for Jewish children

"to attend public schools.

"It is forbidden to sell luggage, knapsacks, valises

"or leather to Jews.

"Jews may not carry knapsacks or valises

"without police permits.

"It is strictly forbidden for Aryans

to trade or do any business whatsoever with Jews."

Hey, you with the knapsack.

Let's see your papers. Give us the sack.

He will not.

You...

Give me that knapsack!

Huh?

It's mine!

He never paid me for it.

I want it back!

You sold it to him?

Yes, I sold it to him,

before you put up those... those new rules!

Look, don't try to get away with anything.

You owe me for it.

And if they confiscate it, who's out the money?

Quick, in the back room.

Why did you do that?

Because you were in trouble.

You're not a Czech.

I'm a German.

Mm-hmm.

A Jew.

What are you doing here?

I ran away.

Ah.

I'm Rudi Weiss.

My name is Helena Slomova.

It's been a long time since I held a girl's hand.

Too busy running.

Where will you go now?

I don't know.

I'm sorry.

That's all right.

I didn't mind.

Is this shop yours?

No, it's my father's.

But my parents were sent to Poland.

I don't know where.

I haven't heard from them.

Why were they arrested?

They said my father was a Zionist agent.

Zionist.

People who want to go to Palestine.

What's so funny?

It's just that there weren't very many in Berlin.

Old men with beards, kids with ear locks,

rattling cans for coins.

Better close up, Helena.

Gestapo is checking the shops.

Thank you.

I will.

Come.

Come with me.

I've been alone too long.

I'm glad I found you.

All because of your knapsack.

Don't you have a boyfriend,

relatives who will come here, wonder who I am?

That doesn't matter anymore.

I used to be a proper girl, but, uh...

I live from day to day now.

Helena Slomova,

who rescued me in a luggage shop.

It's going to get worse, you know.

You saw those regulations the Germans put up.

More people will be sent away

like my mother and father.

What will you do?

I don't know.

I wish I could go somewhere.

Palestine.

There are ways of getting out.

Come with me.

With no money? No papers?

I got this far.

Yes, but I would be a hindrance to you.

You'd be surprised what a diet of turnips can do.

Helena, the worst thing is to be alone.

My father's gone.

My brother's in prison.

My mother and my sister might

just as well be in a prison in Berlin.

I need someone to hold;

to talk to.

I'll teach you to sleep in haystacks

and steal from farmers.

It sounds awful.

Better than staying here,

waiting for them to come and get you.

When I was a little girl in Hebrew school,

we learned the story of Ruth.

Who was she?

You only have to know one part:

"Whither thou goest...

I will go."

Keep moving.

Doctor!

Without enough food, they can't resist the diseases.

We got the rations today?

They're late again.

I'll speak to the council.

Feed only those that have a chance to survive.

Doctor!

Doctor! Doctor. Dr. Weiss.

Dr. Weiss... your wife.

I just saw her.

My wife?

She just came in on the transport.

I'd recognize her anywhere.

Berta?!

Frau Berta Weiss?

Berta Weiss... do you know her?

Frau Berta Weiss... do you know, do you know her?

Berta Weiss?

Keep moving.

Berta!

Berta! Oh, Berta! Oh, Berta!

My love, my darling, how I missed you!

But where...? No, don't talk.

Just hold me! Okay.

Come, I'll show you where we live.

But shouldn't I register?

My law-abiding wife.

It can wait.

Even in this ghetto, bureaucracy is inept.

Can you believe we have a café?

It's not quite the Adlunge Hotel.

Where there are Jews, there must be a place to talk.

We ran out of coffee a long time ago.

We can sit and hold hands.

The way we did when you were a student.

Please, something for my baby.

Now, we will pretend this is the Kurfürstendamm.

Josef, you mustn't try to hide anything from me.

I will hide nothing from you.

Oh, later, later.

We manage here.

As a physician, there's work.

There's a community...

You needn't deceive me.

I've seen the beggars in the streets

and I've heard of the shootings.

But it will end.

I'm told Göring himself will end it.

No need to humor me any longer, Josef.

I've seen too much.

I suppose we all have.

Tell me about the children.

Anna...?

Josef...

Anna is dead.

Anna?

Anna?!

Well, how...?

Pneumonia.

It was quick and painless.

Must... How? Where?

In the apartment.

She fell ill one day.

We... we couldn't get her medicine.

She died painlessly, in her sleep.

Josef, cry. It will help.

But... but she's gone and perhaps it's better.

Better?

Life is always better than death.

Mm... No, I'm not sure anymore.

And the boys?

Rudi ran away.

I had a letter from him from Prague.

He told us not to worry.

You know Rudi... The indestructible one.

My street fighter.

I should have spent more time with him.

And Karl?

Karl still is in Buchenwald.

Inga has learned that he is...

as well as can be expected.

Josef, it is wrong for us to dwell on our misfortunes.

Agreed.

I'll, uh, I'll speak to them about letting you teach school.

Me?

Of course.

Wait'll you see the children of Warsaw.

Nothing in their stomachs half the time,

but those kids give concerts and plays...

Oh, Josef...

I have never loved you more.

Nor I you.

Oh, dear God...

I look at you and I see Anna.

We mustn't.

Come...

show me these elegant quarters, hmm?

Halt.

Sergeant Muller.

This is Private Richter, East Gate.

There's a woman here to see you, sir.

Frau Weiss.

Yes. Yes, Sergeant.

Guard, open up.

Herr Muller.

I received your letter.

How are you, Inga?

You know why I came here.

Walk your post.

Go.

Please come inside.

We have a visitors' room.

I want to see my husband.

We can discuss it inside, Inga.

You said in the letter you would arrange it.

Security is stricter now.

I was only transferred here two months ago.

I thought, as a favor, for old friends...

I want to see my husband.

Are you afraid of me?

No, I don't fear you.

This is not a visitors' room.

This is your room.

Please...

sit down.

Uh...

cigarette?

Cognac?

Coffee?

The real stuff, not ersatz.

Nothing but the best for the boys in the service.

I want to see Karl.

Ah... the Helms single-mindedness.

How is he?

Is he still in the tailor shop?

I'm afraid not.

He got into a fight of some sort.

They had to string him up for a while.

They put him to work in the quarry...

Hard work; pick and shovel.

You lied to me.

I can't see him, can I?

He's being worked to death, isn't he?

I've heard stories of what goes on.

You heard nonsense.

They work and they are fed.

Don't cry.

Don't cry.

I'll help you.

Can you get a letter to him?

Why not?

And can you get one out for me?

And mail it to Berlin?

It can be managed.

We're not monsters, you know.

There's a job to be done.

It's more than a job, Muller.

For me, that's all it is.

You've known me a long time.

I was there at your wedding.

I've been through hard times, no work for years.

I had no father to send me to art school.

I'm a plain Berliner; a mechanic.

Why'd you look down on me for that?

That's not what I meant.

Oh, what's the difference?

Promise me you'll get my letters to him

and send his out to me.

Done.

So...

I'll leave.

Karl doesn't look well.

That outdoor work may finish him.

What?

What are you saying?

Well, I'm sticking my neck out,

but I have influence with the commandant.

What can you do?

I could have him transferred

to the art studio.

Oh, please...

please, would you do that?

I would be very grateful to you.

Good.

Of course, you'll have to bring the letters by hand.

Mail in and out of here is, uh... uncertain.

One more week of hacking at rocks

and he'll be another dead Jew.

Papers.

We haven't any.

Give us a chance.

We want to get to Yugoslavia.

We just want to cross Hungary.

Start moving.

Please. We can pay.

I said move!

Rudi!

Rudi, stop it! Stop it!

Run.

I ca... Helena, you'll die.

I can't.

Rudi, no more.

No more.

Helena, we have to.

There's no place safe for us here.

Rudi, it is useless.

We're... we are finished.

No.

They're going to have to kill us first.

You know, I...

I haven't the vaguest idea where we are right now.

Does it really matter?

Yes.

I'm not ready to die yet.

"The brotherhood of love"?!

Bilberstein, what the devil was "the brotherhood of love"?

I don't believe a word of it.

There's no such organization. Oh, it's true.

When I left the Lutheran ministry, I wanted to, um...

encourage human love through Christian faith.

And how did your brotherhood of love work out? Oh, badly,

I'm afraid, so I, uh, joined the SS.

Spreading the gospel amongst us, eh, Bilberstein?

No, no, we're all converts to a new faith... eh, Dorf?

A new faith? Yes, and we're the apostles.

Ah, listen to Dorf.

Which one of us is Peter?

Just call me Doubting Thomas.

So long as there is no Judas.

Dorf!

Watch out for that one.

Heydrich's classroom monitor.

Gentlemen,

you've all been chosen

for a very difficult job,

and you'll be watched.

Captain Dorf here is to be assigned

to the Russian front as a sort of traveling representative.

Selling what? Extermination?

You be careful with your choice of words, Blobel.

All of you tell Dorf what you've done

and put as little as possible on paper.

Gentlemen, the Führer himself

hasn't put any of this in writing,

so don't go blabbing about it.

"Blabbing."

Little squirt.

This will be no easy job.

You'll have a thousand miles

of the Russian front to manage,

from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

With less than 3,000 men?

Yes, sir.

The plan includes recruiting local militia...

Ukrainians, Lithuanians.

Permit me to say, Captain,

this new program, these action commandos,

will be engaged in something more...

comprehensive... than resettlement.

Ohlendorf, we are aware of that.

Gentlemen, the key is mobility.

Once an area is secure,

find your Jews, move in,

and deal with them accordingly.

Don't worry about the regular army.

The generals are as afraid of us as the Jews are.

Dorf, read them that army order.

"General instructions for dealing with political leaders

"following the Führer's orders

"of March 30, 1941:

"11 categories of persons in the Soviet Union

are listed as subject to our jurisdiction."

"Jurisdiction." I like that.

A ditch and a machine gun.

"These categories include criminal elements, Gypsies,

"officials of the Soviet state

and party agitators, Communists and all Jews."

The army issued this list?

That's right.

When the Führer issued his commissar order,

making it clear what he wanted, they obliged.

The army, gentlemen, will be our willing servants.

The Führer went to great lengths

to insist that the war in Russia will be unlike any other,

and these are his exact words:

"It will be conducted with unprecedented,

merciless and unrelenting harshness."

End quote.

The Russians are to be regarded as subhuman,

born to slavery, a notch above Jews.

Will there be exceptions?

Special cases?

Yes. We might exclude certain trustworthy Russian elements...

Balts, Ukrainians who wish to work with us.

What about Jews?

Any exceptions?

None.

Well, that's clear enough.

I thought that's what this meeting was about.

About two years ago,

the Italian ambassador raised objections

to the Führer's Jewish policies.

Mussolini was offended, and so on.

The Führer told him that in 500 years

the name of Adolf Hitler will be honored for one thing:

Having wiped the Jews from the face of the earth.

Mmm.

Ahh.

What's going on?

I told him that we are Czechs

and that I studied at the Lenin School.

I know what that means.

Go on, tell him we're Jews.

He wants to send us back.

We're dead if we go back.

I know, but he says he has no quarrel with the Germans.

Tell him the roads are full of German tanks

and artillery, moving east.

I told him that my father was a good Communist.

Kiss him if you have to.

Rudi, he's asking if you are a good Communist.

Oh. Oh, yes, sure.

If it'll save my neck, yeah.

He's sending us to Kiev!

Ask him what kind of place Kiev is.

He says it is beautiful, a big city.

Where'd you get all that stuff about Lenin School?

It was really the Herzl Institute,

but I did not think it hurt to change the name.

He says they are Russian guns.

Weinberg, I'm finished.

No, Weiss, keep moving.

I can't.

Hey, you two!

Shut up! Work!

Gypsy friends.

I admire their nerve.

I question their judgment.

Maybe it's better to die for a last cigarette.

Hey, you put out the cigarette!

You, scum! You filth! Put it out!

Put it out!

Kapo, gather them!

Out! Kapo, get the hell out of there!

What happened?

Trying to escape.

A couple of Gypsies.

You two!

Go down and get the bodies!

Move!

Take them to the crematorium!

Hold it.

I want that one.

Move! You!

Help him!

Your wife's a faithful correspondent.

Is she here?

Right on schedule.

Muller, can I see Inga?

She's gone.

Can you get one of my letters out to her?

Don't I always?

Read yours. Now.

Later, when I'm alone.

You miss her, don't you?

Muller...

Muller, can't you get me out?

You're a friend of Inga's family.

You know how much she's suffering.

If you hate me because I'm a Jew,

at least have pity on her.

Who hates you?

And how can you be so certain she's suffering?

What do you mean?

Women manage.

Has she said something to you?

This is a business, Weiss.

Jews understand business.

You don't think I'd risk my neck playing mailman

without getting paid.

Muller, you're lying.

Why do you think she comes here in person?

She could mail the letters.

Money doesn't change hands.

I think you understand what I mean.

The trouble with you people is

you always expect something for nothing.

That's why you're so despised.

I don't want her letter.

And I won't send any out.

Oh, no, Weiss.

Things can get much tougher for you, if you refuse.

I don't care.

Of course you care.

You won't be in here forever.

And you won't even notice

any difference in her when you do get out.

Be smart, Weiss!

Write her tonight.

I'll read it and send it on.

I don't want to write her or see her again.

Don't be a fool!

You saw what happened to those gypsies.

I don't care.

Or perhaps you'd rather be one of Engleman's little boys.

He has his own private stock of young men.

But then, maybe you're too old for him.

Muller...

enough.

I can have you transferred to the artists' studio.

No.

Have the letter here tomorrow.

No.

I think you'll change your mind.

Go easy with my friend Weiss.

He's been requisitioned to the artists' studio.

He's a sensitive fellow.

Move! Come on, move!

A handful arrested today, sir,

from some farming villages.

Yes, sir, we will hold them till you get here.

Mannhiem! Go down to the pits

and tell them to wait until Colonel Blobel gets here.

VIP guests.

And button your tunic!

Put a cap on! This is a military outfit!

Yeah, yeah.

Five million Jews in Russia

and there's 3,000 of us assigned to shoot them.

What do you want?!

Transferred.

C Company, isn't it?

And then to chaplain's office.

Damn it, I told them to hold it up!

"Helms, Hans. Corporal.

72nd infantry regiment. B Company."

Transferred in. Great.

How did you foul up, Helms?

I'm a combat soldier.

Two years in Poland and the Ukraine.

Nobody asks to get into this outfit.

How'd you screw up?

I fell asleep on sentry.

You get plenty of sleep here.

We keep regular hours.

They gave me a choice.

Either do time in the guard house

or transfer to the action commandos.

Welcome to the SS.

Keep your mouth shut, you'll work out, Helms.

Go back to the quartermaster and draw new patches.

Remember one thing, Helms.

What's that?

After the officers get theirs, we split the loot.

What the hell are you talking about?

Pens, watches, clothing, eh?

Dumb infantryman.

Hey, you guys, get into uniform!

Officers!

This damned army major says,

"These daytime killings are a non-German concept."

Language, Blobel, language. It's not killings.

I'm quoting him. I know the rules, Dorf.

"Special handling." "Special action."

"Resettlement executive action against Jews."

I said to him, "I'm German, you tin soldier.

Regular army's up to its neck in Jew blood."

Field Marshal von Reichenau himself

told me to shoot Jews with two rounds of ammunition, not five.

Un-German.

I wish I could make you understand

we sympathize with you.

Then stop making impossible demands.

A million and a half Jews run east.

We can't catch them all.

But you must, Blobel.

Sergeant.

Not much today, sir.

The villages have been cleaned out.

Sergeant, are those civilians?

Who are they, Foltz?

Ukrainians, sir.

They like to watch.

And the photographer and the man taking motion pictures?

Who are they?

For the battalion archives.

And the man taking notes?

I don't know. Who is he, Foltz?

War correspondent, sir... an Italian.

He got clearance from divisional headquarters.

I don't like this, any of it.

You don't like it?

What the hell do you think this is, a ballet?

You're getting a Jew-free Russia, aren't you?

It isn't tidy.

"It isn't tidy."

I'll show you what's tidy.

Line them up!

I don't want those civilians watching.

Blobel, this is no way to carry out my orders!

Fire!

No protest, no fight, nothing.

Himmler was right.

The bastards are subhuman.

Colonel Blobel,

I am submitting a negative report on you.

You're what?

The orders were for secrecy

and orderliness in these matters,

and you're running a carnival.

You damn little bureaucrat.

There will be no civilian guests at these actions.

There will be no journalists prowling around.

No smoking, no drinking.

And what are they doing?

Spoils of war.

That will stop.

All valuables left by Jews are property of the state.

All right, paper-pusher.

Tell them they can't have their cognac.

Chain of command, Blobel,

That would be your job.

Heydrich has assigned me to the Eastern Front

to see that these actions are carried out efficiently

and with secrecy.

You fail on all counts.

Well, let me tell you, boy...

Those of us in the field have our eye on you.

Ohlendorf and Nebe and the others...

They know a spy when they see one.

Don't try to undercut me, Blobel.

I talk to Heydrich every day.

Colonel, next group?

No.

Hold it; get the civilians out of here.

Tell the photographer and the cameraman to stop.

Sergeant, tell them I want their film.

Hey, you, out, out!

All of you, out!

Come on, out, all of you!

You, hold it!

So you talk to Heydrich every day, do you?

Blobel, give me my gun.

Desk soldier.

Paper captain.

Go on down there and finish a few off yourself.

They all seem to be dead.

Can't be too sure.

Go on.

This is ridiculous.

Crap in your blood, Dorf?

Or in your pants, maybe?

You want to make a negative report on that drunk Blobel,

who can't run a tidy operation?

Damn you.

Go down there and you tidy it up!

It's like eating noodles, Dorf.

Once you start, you can't stop.

Ask the men what it's like, Captain.

You shoot ten Jews, the next hundred are easier.

Shoot a hundred, you'll learn to shoot a thousand.

That one, sir.

Good, good.

Two shots are plenty, von Reichenau says.

Captain Dorf.

The Zulu warriors say,

"A man is not a man until he's washed his spear in blood."