Original subtitles

[bell tolling]

[breathes heavily]

[whistling]

[♪ upbeat music]

GERMAN HOUSE RESTAURANT

[breathes heavily]

[parent 1] Eva, put your coat on!

You'll catch pneumonia!

Mark my words.

GERMAN HOUSE RESTAURANT

[bicycle bell rings]

FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT

Arrivals

Mr. DYLKA Mr. WOJCIK

[PA] Passengers on flight SR 43 to Berlin, please proceed to boarding gate 4.

ARRIVALS

[parent 2] He's late.

His name is Jürgen.

You're going to put on your good jacket, right?

Don't blame me if the goose is dry later.

[♪ upbeat music]

-[child] Where's your groom, huh? -Stefan!

Have you lost your mind? I just got this dress!

Does he not want you?

[Eva] I'm going to get you!

[Stefan] Can I have his dessert, then?

[Eva grunts]

A Karmann Ghia! Is that him?

[Eva clears throat]

♪ Schoormann's got it, Schoormann's will get it to you! ♪

-♪ Ding-dong, dong-ding ♪ -Get lost!

[PA] Passengers of flight Pan Am 53, please check in at the gate.

ARRIVALS

[in Polish] Good morning.

[in German] Hello.

Well... Mr. Dylka?

Where is Mr. Wójcik?

Wójcik.

[sighs]

[in Polish] They arrested him at the airport.

[in German] Hello, Eva.

[Eva] Hello.

That's a pretty dress.

Mm-hmm. [sniffles]

[Jürgen] We're being watched. [chuckles]

My family is a curse. Thank you.

These are for your mother.

[Eva] Then why are you giving them to me?

[pants]

I'm terribly nervous. Wait.

[Eva] And my heart rate is at 200 or something. Feel it.

[♪ gentle music]

[exhales heavily]

-[Jürgen] Oh... -[Eva] It will all be fine.

-[caller] He came alone. -[prosecutor] What do you mean, alone?

Right, without a translator.

We'll need a replacement. I'll call the Körting agency.

And what am I supposed to do now?

I don't understand a single word.

[PA] ...please report to the information desk.

THE INTERPRETER OF SILENCE

The ENGAGEMENT

[♪ soft lively music playing on radio]

[knife screeching]

[parent 1] Be careful, it's hot.

-Mm-hmm... -[Stefan] Yuck!

[parent 1 sighs]

[Stefan] Stop it!

If you continue to refuse to go to the hairdresser's,

I'll do this eight times a day.

[reporter on TV] ...the Turkish state authorities, we...

[parent 2] Oh, who could be ringing us while we're having goose?

-[Stefan] It's Tommi! -We're eating, Stefan!

[phone ringing]

[Eva] You've garnished yourself again, Dad.

Uh-huh.

[chuckles]

♪ Schoormann's got it ♪

♪ Schoormann's will get it to you ♪

♪ Ding-dong, dong-ding ♪

-[chuckles] -Uh, do you sell washing machines as well?

[indistinct TV chatter in background]

Uh, unfortunately, we don't... Stefan.

Do you need one?

-I don't, but Mom needs one. -[Eva] Hush!

[Stefan] Why? You wanted one for Christmas!

[chuckles]

[parent 2] Good, this one does have a decent amount of meat.

Bieler's skinny chickens don't compare.

[host on TV] Listen up, Elsterwerda! Mrs. Ingrid Waldhorst.

"Dear Grandma Ingrid. All the best for your 72nd birthday from Charlottenburg."

[Jürgen] That's a nice painting.

"Warm regards from Monika, Helga, Eva, and Katharina."

[door opens, closes]

The apartment comes with the restaurant. You can only lease them together.

[Stefan] I'd like a drumstick.

My little snuggle bunny!

[Eva's mom] Guests are served first.

[phone ringing]

[knock on door]

[phone clangs, thuds]

Hi, everyone.

You're just in time.

Mr. Schoormann?

[Jürgen] My pleasure.

I'm the older sister. The one who can't find a husband.

No sympathy, please. It would be uncalled for because I'm jolly glad about it.

[parent 2] Right...

Breast or drumstick, Mr. Schoormann?

I'm sorry, Wilhelm. It's not really hot anymore.

Well, at least I won't burn my mouth.

[chuckles]

[Wilhelm] Yes.

If the trial goes by quickly, I'll be back home in six weeks' time.

Right, we always...

-Come out on top. -Come out on top.

Then we can also finally go back to Berchtesgaden to go skiing.

-[door closes] -[Wilhelm] Aren't you excited at all?

Of course I am!

Is there something you have to confess to me, my daughter?

[Wilhelm groans]

You crashed my car.

Women shouldn't be driving in any case.

How bad is it?

It wasn't my fault.

Someone crashed into my rear end at a traffic light.

-And he had a whiff of alcohol. -Mm-hmm.

Hm.

[Wilhelm] Is that all?

It's already perfectly un-dented and repainted.

Really?

[loud clang]

[Eva's mom] So what?

Right, so what?

[dishes clatter]

He'll only tip six percent at the most.

Mom, you don't like him?

[sighs]

And he avoids eye contact.

He's hiding something.

[Eva's sister] And he has a few illegitimate children.

Nonsense! At one point, he even wanted to become a priest.

Priests have more illegitimate children

-than anyone else. -[Eva] Keep your voice down!

No, he only dropped out of university because his father got ill.

What does he have?

Some sort of calcification. The doctors aren't quite sure.

His mind keeps going blank. But don't tell anyone, please.

[Eva's mom sighs]

What do you like about him, Eva?

Mom, that's a silly question.

Eva has landed herself an heir worth millions.

[phone ringing]

[Stefan] It's a gentleman from the agency.

[dishes clattering]

Eva, your boss!

[plate clinks]

[parent 2] Well, and I completed the apprenticeship...

This is Eva Bruhns speaking. Hello, Mr. Körting.

Right, and my wife, you would never guess, she really wanted to become an actress.

[chuckles]

[slurps]

But her parents strictly forbade it, even though they were both musicians.

The two of us met at the hotel management school.

Well, and then... uh... there was the war.

[parent 2] I was in the field kitchen at the Western Front, very far west.

It was my boss.

They need me.

[radio chatter] Yes!

On a Sunday?

[Eva] Yes, it's an emergency. There's a trial starting on Thursday,

and I was the only one they could get a hold of.

What must be, must be.

You really want to leave me alone here?

It's probably just because of those faulty machine parts from Poland.

Siemens sued them for damages.

It's a twist of fate. You're presented with a window of opportunity, as it were.

Right.

[♪ romantic music]

Wait, wait!

What if your father sees us?

He likes you. And he's in a good mood.

He'll say yes.

See you in one hour then.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[door opens]

[door closes]

How do you take your coffee, Mr. Schoormann?

-Sugar, no milk. -Sugar, no milk.

STATE SUPREME COURT

[♪ cheerful music]

-Hello. -Miss Bruhns? Please come with me.

[elevator dings]

May I ask you something? Did you buy your shoes at Hertie's?

No. At Leffers'.

[Eva breathes heavily]

[secretary] Are you claustrophobic?

Don't you worry. The elevator has never got stuck.

Gosh, I had such a hard time getting hold of your boss.

[Eva chuckles]

-On a Sunday. -Yes.

When this trial is over, then I will definitely work as a freelancer again.

Here, you only see the same faces. Not enough choice!

-[sighs] -[knocks on door]

The prosecutor is mine.

-Sure. -[chuckles]

Hello.

[Eva clears throat]

This is Miss Bruhns.

Here's the deal... Uh, we need this man's statement.

Take a seat over here, Miss Bruhn.

Bruhns.

They were supposed to send an interpreter from Poland,

but apparently, he was denied permission to leave the country.

Mr. Dylka.

[prosecutor] Please tell us what exactly happened on September 3rd, 1941.

The year 1941?

[prosecutor] Yes.

[in Polish] Mr. Dylka, please tell us exactly

what happened on September 3rd, 1941.

[breathes heavily]

On that day...

It was a warm day, almost muggy. We were supposed to seal the windows.

All windows of Block 11.

[in German] On that day, it was warm, humid even,

and we were asked to... decorate all the windows.

All of the windows of the lodging house 11.

[in Polish] Then... 850 Russian prisoners were brought into the basement.

[exhales]

They waited until dark.

And then they let gas in through the ventilation ducts

and closed the doors. They opened them the next day.

We had to go inside first. Most prisoners

had died from gas poisoning.

[in German] Then they took the 850 Soviet guests

down to the basement of the lodging house.

They waited until it was dark so they had a better view of the light.

Then, they threw the light into the basement, through the air ducts

and closed the doors.

The doors were only opened the following morning. We had to go in first.

Most of the guests were illuminated.

[prosecutor clears throat]

Are you sure you understood that correctly, Miss Bruhn?

I'm not sure. I'm not too familiar with the vocabulary.

Look it up, then.

[Eva] I apologize.

I usually translate in contract disputes regarding business matters

or in negotiations for damage settlements.

[sighs]

[paper rustling]

Yes, it's not "guests," but "prisoners." Not a "lodging house", but a "block."

And, um... No "light," no "illumination."

[zipper rasps]

I'm sorry. I mistranslated. It...

It means: "We found most of the prisoners had suffocated on the gas."

This is pointless.

[prosecutor] We should be glad that we found a replacement at all.

At such short notice.

It's better than nothing.

Let's try and continue, right?

[in Polish] Let's try again.

So... When we got inside

some men were still alive. They must've used too little gas.

[sobbing] So they repeated the whole procedure.

[in German] When we went inside, some of the men were still alive.

It hadn't been enough gas. They repeated the procedure.

[in Polish] This time no one survived.

[in German] This time, they were all dead.

STATE SUPREME COURT

-[Eva] May I ask a question? -[associate] Hm...

What was that incident Mr. Dylka was talking about?

Did it happen during the war?

[associate laughs]

You are all so ignorant!

Excuse me?

[associate snickers]

What?

For you, in 1933, the little brown men came to Germany in a spaceship, or what?

[associate] And in 1945, they just vanished?

After imposing fascism on you poor Germans? Miss Bruhns.

You're also just one of a million stupid little women.

[grunts]

I'd rather walk.

[car door opens]

[in English] You know what the Germans have done? Huh? You know what you've done?

Yeah. Run away. Run away!

Kiss my ass.

[in German] May you choke on your German gemütlichkeit!

[indistinct singing indoor]

GERMAN HOUSE RESTAURANT

Two orders of goose, Mrs. Lenze.

[background chatter]

Right...

One order of goose with dumplings and red cabbage. Enjoy.

Thank you.

Bon appétit.

Good evening.

[Eva's mom] What's that look on your face? You're as pale as a ghost.

-I don't know. I was in this office... -Yes.

...and there was a man talking about horrible things...

What man?

[Eva's mom] I'll be with you shortly. Just a second.

What was it?

[Eva] When did Jürgen leave?

Ask your father.

Oh, Miss Eva. You're getting prettier by the day.

-Good evening. -Are you still up for grabs?

Yeah. Don't burn your fingers.

[Eva's mom] Also...

Dad?

My dear Eva!

-Did he ask you? -[Mrs. Lenze] Lamb!

Huh?

Did he ask you?

[Eva's dad sighs]

He had to go, all of a sudden.

-[Eva] Why? -[Eva's dad exhales]

[Eva] Where did he go?

Dad!

-[Eva's dad] Let's see... -Dad

[Eva] Huh?

[Eva's dad sighs]

He said his father was sick.

[exhales]

I'm sure he'll ask at some point, Eva.

But if he doesn't make you happy, then I'll have to give that boy

-a good talking to. -Ouch, Dad!

-Now I've got goose fat all over me. -It's good for your skin.

I need two orders of...

two orders of egg noodles. One of them with salad.

[assistant] Coming right up.

Dear Jürgen, I know that I can't force you to marry me, but we had...

come to an agreement.

[distant chatter]

We had discussed this.

[sighs]

You promised!

My dearest Jürgen, if you don't want me, just be honest and tell me.

[Eva's sister] Dinner!

I'm not hungry.

[Eva's sister groans]

Aren't you working tonight?

No, I did a double shift yesterday.

We had this boy,

two weeks old, who nearly died. He was severely dehydrated.

Again?

[thumps]

[Eva sighs]

[thumping]

[Eva sighs]

You're pretty distraught, huh?

-I'm in love. It's a natural phenomenon. -Hm...

-There's no way to control it. -Mm-hmm...

Yes, your neuroses are a perfect match.

Just because this has never happened to you...

I only really love potatoes.

With cheese curd.

You're scared that I'll move out.

Me? No. [chuckles]

Hm...

You should play hard to get.

Give him the cold shoulder.

Show that you have better things to do than walking down the aisle with him.

But I don't!

Oh, Eva.

He doesn't need to know that.

[scoffs]

[both munching]

Are you going to eat this or not?

-Mm-hmm. -Then I'll eat it.

The Frankfurt Daily The Perpetrator of Auschwitz

Truth and Justice in the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial

[sighs]

[breathes heavily]

[sighs]

[clock ticking]

[♪ lively music]

This is for sorting.

[indistinct chatter]

-Yes, yes, yes... -Mr. Kübler has been looking for you.

Mr. Nabel, of course the German justice system has been denazified. Huh?

I'm not being cynical.

The witness compensation approval for Rachel Cohen. Here.

We most certainly won't file a motion of bias against the judge.

There is no reason to do that.

And I'll steer clear of making any assumptions about him.

Have a nice day.

Nabel from the Frankfurter Allgemeine.

He seriously wanted to coax me into giving him an assessment about Hofmeyer.

-He's called Nebel. -Ah...

I went to the painters' workshop and put a bit of pressure on them.

They'll complete the overview maps today.

[prosecutor] Right.

Uhm... the young woman who was here yesterday.

What was her name?

Who are you talking about?

[associate] Do you mean that amateur translator or what?

[background chatter]

♪ Verliebt, verlobt, verheiratet ♪

[Eva singing]

[Eva's father] Are you sweeping properly?

♪ Verliebt, verlobt, verheiratet ♪

[Eva's father] My dear Eva, he's going to get back to you.

[door opens]

[door closes]

[radio chatter]

[sighs]

We're closed today.

I was sent by the chief prosecutor.

The Polish interpreter was judged to be...

politically unsound.

He isn't allowed to leave the country for now.

And the trial starts in three days.

-[Eva's father sings] -You're saying you want me to translate?

I was sent here.

[Eva] Um... How long would it take? A week? Two?

[associate chuckles]

[associate breathes deeply]

The opening of the trial will be tomorrow.

Starting next week, the interpreters will be sworn in.

[indistinct radio chatter]

If you accept, you should start learning the relevant vocabulary.

What do you mean? Military terminology?

All the words you can come up with for ways of killing people.

[door opens, closes]

[Eva's father] Who was it? What did he want?

Another suitor?

[Eva] No, it was about a job. Working as a court interpreter.

SS officers who worked in a camp are being put on trial.

Did you hear about it?

Yes. I saw something in the newspaper. Yes.

[Eva] Apparently, people were killed there.

I see.

[Eva's father] There was a war going on.

The camp is called Auschwitz.

[thuds]

[dish clangs]

[doctor] You're my hero.

[Eva's sister] I only did my duty.

[child's mother] You deserve so much more.

Oh, well. All I did was nurse him a little.

[child's mother] You saved his life.

[doctor] Accept it, Nurse Annegret.

All right then, thank you very much. I do love eating and drinking a lot.

-[in Greek] God bless you. -Huh?

[in German] Merry Christmas. All the best! [chuckles]

[child's mother exclaims]

[Annegret mutters]

[baby cooing]

-[doctor] And? -It's okay.

Would you treat me to a glass of...

Ouzo?

[Annegret] I still have to go out and get Christmas presents.

Or an olive? Or two?

[footsteps]

Have you already bought any Christmas presents for your wife?

[toy whirring]

How much is this one?

[employee] The procurement price is 5.80. "Made in Germany," though.

5.80?

Well, if we outsource the production to VEB Tin Toys,

we'll get it for half the price.

I'll make preliminary inquiries in Halle.

Wait, I have to discuss the Easter supplement with my father.

[employee] Mm.

That sounds like fun.

Should I have him placed under guardianship?

[employee] That's your suggestion, not mine.

When will you come back to the office?

When my father doesn't need me anymore.

[scoffs]

Let's move on. This is very useful for ladies who are traveling.

Always freshly ironed...

Hang on a moment. I need to make a brief phone call.

[employee] Mm-hmm.

[line dial tone]

[phone keys clanking]

Six.

[phone ringing]

[footsteps approaching]

Hello.

[Jürgen] Eva? It's me. Hello.

I'll come and pick you up in about an hour. Okay?

Sorry, I'm busy.

[♪ dramatic music]

Uh...

But we had agreed to meet.

We wanted to go to the Christmas market and...

[Eva] I've accepted a job offer.

What kind of job?

And this job will keep me very busy for the foreseeable future.

Eva, what kind of job?

I demand you tell me about it!

You're not in a position to demand anything from me.

[Jürgen] Of course, I am! I have shared my point of view with you. You agreed.

Once we're married, you won't be working anymore.

Well, once we are...

Have a nice day.

[phone clangs]

-[breathes heavily] -[line busy tone]

[phone clangs]

[line busy tone]

[employee] Well, the young ladies these days.

They're no longer what they used to be.

Where were we, "always freshly ironed"?

[employee clears throat]

I feel sorry for Jürgen.

[passerby] Johannes!

By the way, should I accept this job or not?

Nonsense! Why would you?

Just let him stew for a few days. That's what he needs.

Shall we have a bratwurst at Schipper's?

If Dad finds out...

[Annegret laughs]

"Schipper puts sawdust in his bratwurst. I'm sure of it!"

-Yes! -"Especially at the Christmas market."

"Yes! How else would he be able to afford a house on the slopes of the Taunus?"

We just won't tell him.

-Hello. -Hello.

Could we have three bratwursts with mustard, please?

-Three? -Yes.

-Sure. -That's what you need

to soothe a guilty conscience.

Okay. We'll have four, then.

-[server] Four? -And two cups of mulled wine.

Yes, ma'am. There you go.

-Thank you. -Let me go first...

-[crowd chatter] -[festive music]

This is where the press representatives will be seated.

-[staff 1] Good, good. -Make sure the one from Bild

sits at the very back.

[attorney general] Photography and filming are only allowed until the judges enter.

[staff 2] Right, Mr. Bauer.

[associate] Come on, be careful! We'll have to do it together.

-[staff 1] I am being careful. -This young man is quite nervous, huh?

He's passionate.

Miller has been working like a dog for three years.

It would be a shame to lose him.

[Mr. Bauer] "Lose him"? Why? Is that a possibility?

Um...

[Miller] It looks good like this.

A couple days ago, Miss Lehmkuhl told me

that his brother was supposed to have died in the camp.

But I thought his family had emigrated to the US in 1939?

She had heard it from Miss Imrecke. I'm sure it's just a rumor.

[Mr. Bauer] Let's hope so.

Look into it. If there's some truth to it, then...

Then we'll need to replace him.

[Miller grunts]

That's a good illustration.

[door opens]

[bystander] And these two...

[passerby in Polish] I'm looking for this guesthouse.

[bystander in German] Let's go. Come on. Let's go.

Get lost!

Go back to Israel!

[indistinct background chatter]

[♪ faint festive music playing]

[in Polish] I'm looking for this guesthouse.

[Eva in German] When is Dad going to buy a new armchair?

[Annegret] No, he loves his old one far too much.

The two of them hardly ever talk.

By the way, Mom wants to have a theater subscription for Christmas again.

No. Get lost!

[Annegret] I really don't get it.

She's always in such a bad mood when she comes back from the theater.

[Eva] Well, she'd rather like to be on stage herself.

Yes, but in that case, a theater subscription is pure masochism.

This doesn't make any sense.

[indistinct background chatter]

Are you even listening to me? Eva!

Yes, a theater subscription is masochism.

[Annegret] Yes, that's what it is.

[officer] Cover that.

-That's inappropriate. -Hey!

[Annegret] Who's that crazy lady?

[officer] Hello.

Oh, I think she's heading our way. Eva, let's go.

We can continue drinking somewhere else.

[passerby in Polish] I'm looking for this guesthouse.

It's not far from here.

[in German] She's looking for a guesthouse called Old Frankfurt.

-Yes. -[vendor] Next, please.

[Eva in Polish] Um, please go this way,

first left and then left again.

[passerby] Uh...

[in German] I'll just go and show her the way.

No! We were going to buy a washing machine.

[Eva] Yes, here's the 400 marks from Dad...

-Eva! -You go and buy the washing machine.

-No, not on my own! -The front loader with a pre-wash cycle.

-And it has to be delivered by Christmas. -You're just too lazy!

[Annegret] Eva!

[floor creaking]

-Hello. -[receptionist] Hello.

[door closes]

This is Dr. Rachel Cohen from Łódź in Poland.

She has booked a room.

[receptionist clears throat]

I can't find any reservation under that name.

[in Polish] I'm paying for four weeks up front.

[in German] She'll pay for four weeks in advance.

I'll also need your passport.

Your passport.

Room number eight.

Second floor on the right. Breakfast is from 6:30 a.m. until 9:00 a.m.

Room number eight. First floor, on the right.

[in Polish] Bring me

a bottle of milk

every morning at 7:00.

[in German] She says she'd like to have

a bottle of milk every morning at 7:00 a.m.

[Eva in Polish] You could at least say thank you.

[in German] Do excuse me. I cannot thank you.

You speak German?

Only when I really have to.

[♪ tense music]

I hope you'll find everything to your liking, Mr. Mulka.

Living room, bedroom. Mrs. Mulka, we have a bathtub and a shower.

[hotel staff] The cosmetics are on the house, of course.

There's no view.

It's quiet.

We had booked a room with a view of the Main River.

I'm afraid none of our suites are available, ma'am.

[keys jingle]

This means we'll have to rely on our imagination. Right?

Welcome to Frankfurt.

-[door opens] -[keys clang]

[♪ pensive music]

[blows smoke]

[Eva] Good evening.

[door closes]

Is anyone in?

[screeches]

[clattering]

[Eva sighs]

-[Annegret] Hello. -[door closes]

Washing machine salesmen are a special breed of people, huh?

Almost as bad as insurance agents.

Dry as dust, no sex appeal whatsoever.

[Annegret] One does wonder how people like that manage to reproduce.

Have you ever heard of Auschwitz in Poland?

Nope.

[Eva] "An infamous concentration camp of the Nazis during World War II."

Mm.

Yes. In that case, there may not be much else to say about it.

-The woman at the Christmas market... -Oh, Eva.

Don't be offended, but I'm going to bed. I've got an early shift tomorrow.

[footsteps receding]

Do I like this cheese?

It's Esrom. You like it.

[parent 1] Mm.

The rest of us, however, less so.

[phone ringing]

[parent 2 sighs]

[footsteps]

[parent 1 exhales]

I can no longer taste anything.

[distant chatter]

You could cut up the tablecloth for me to eat.

It makes no difference to me.

[parent 1 clears throat]

[sniffles]

[breathes deeply]

I would like to tell you something. I met a woman.

Eva.

Her parents own a restaurant on Berger Straße.

[parent 1] Upper or lower?

Upper. They're a good family.

[parent 1] Mm.

Eva is a secretary.

Foreign-language secretary. She specializes in Polish.

I had hired her in October because of the factory in Krakow.

And, since then, we've been dating.

By the way, do I smoke?

[parent 2] You quit smoking.

[groans]

[Jürgen] She's a fine woman.

I'd like to make her happy.

[scoffs]

Nobody can make anybody else happy.

That's just a pipe dream.

But you can! You're making me happy, for example.

[parent 1] Mm.

But I'm slowly fading away.

Before your very eyes.

[imitates whooshing sound]

[splutters]

[♪ ominous music]

[journalist] Against muchopposition, for more than 10 years now,

prosecutor Fritz Bauer has been preparing the trial

against former members of the SS.

It'll start in half an hour.

More than 200 witnesses are expected to testify.

Our reporter Hajo Kaskers is on site.

-[radio clangs] -I'd like to listen to that.

We have work to do.

Well...

[Mrs. Lenze] I don't want to hear that either.

Oh, why do they always have to dig up the old stuff?

My husband was killed in action. That's bad enough.

-Dad? -[Eva's father] Yeah?

We've done most of the work now. I have to go into town.

[Eva] Now.

What's so urgent, huh?

[Mrs. Lenze] It's Christmas, Mr. Bruhns.

Right, yes. Why am I asking such stupid questions?

All right, leave your poor, old, sick father...

-Abandon him. All right? -Thanks.

You heartless child!

[exhales]

Right, who would have thought?

I must say, I am a little tense.

But that's only human, Mr. Boger.

I've known you for more than three years now.

You'll get through this with your head held high.

[Wilhelm clears throat]

[chuckles]

[♪ tense music]

[background chatter]

Clear the doors!

-[bystander 1] May I come inside? -Sorry, Miss. We're full.

Six jury members, two substitute judges...

Step back, or you'll get caught in the door.

[bystander 2] Excuse me, young lady! I've been waiting in line for much longer!

[Eva] Excuse me. I was in your office on Sunday as...

Because of the translation. I was there as a replacement.

Initially, I got everything wrong...

[Mr. Bauer] We'll need the interpreters starting next week.

[Eva] Yes, but I'd like to hear the opening statement.

[officer] Move aside!

[Mr. Bauer] It's all right.

[Eva] Thank you.

[crowd clamoring]

-[Eva] Excuse me? -Yes, sure.

[Eva] Thank you.

[clears throat]

[indistinct chattering]

-Thank you. -[Eva] Do we know each other?

-I don't think so. -[Eva] Maybe from the German House.

My parents own the restaurant.

We're from Hamburg.

[chair screeches]

[bailiff] The high court. All rise, please.

[footsteps]

The only thing that's missing is the incense.

[door closes]

I hereby declare the trial in the criminal case against Mulka and others open.

[judge] The court's opening statement will now be read.

[assessor clears throat]

"First. Export trader Robert Mulka,

born April 12, 1895, in Hamburg, married, German national.

Second. Chief cashier of the Regional Savings Bank in Lübbecke, Karl Höcker.

Third. Agricultural surveyor Hans Stark.

Fourth. Commercial clerk Friedrich Wilhelm Boger.

Klaus Hubert Hermann Dylewski, Pery Broad, Bruno Schlage,

Franz Johann Hofmann, Oswald Kaduk, Josef Klehr, Stefan Baretzki,

Heinrich Bischoff, gynecologist Franz Bernhard Lucas M.D.,

dentist Dr. Willy Frank and pharmacist Dr. Josef Hartlieb

are accused of having killed people

on the grounds of the concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland,

during the period from 1940 to 1945 through several independent actions,

partly alone and partly in collusion with others,

out of murderous and other base motives, in an insidious and cruel manner,

and partly in a way that constituted a danger to public safety.

They are accused of implementing

the National Socialist extermination program

in an unspecified number of cases

by selecting prisoners from the Auschwitz concentration camp

and people who had been brought to Auschwitz

from different European countries for the purpose of mass extermination

on the ramp, and of participating in the transport of people

selected for gassing to the gas chambers.

They are accused

of having participated in mass shootings of prisoners at the "Black Wall"

between Blocks 10 and 11,

of having shot dead 94 men and women in the fenced area

next to the crematorium in the summer of 1943 who had been sentenced to death

in a sham trial by the court martial,

of having, in an unspecified number of cases,

subjected inmates to cruel interrogations and of having severely abused prisoners

who died immediately thereafter from the consequences,

of having stretched out prisoners over a metal bar with their hands

tied above their knees for the purpose of extorting confessions,

of attaching a prisoner to a rack, called the "Boger Swing" by the prisoners,

and abusing him so severely that he died the following day,

of killing the 22-year-old Slovak prisoner secretary Lili Tofler

with two gunshots in the washroom on the first floor of Detention Block 11,

of pushing the head of a Polish clergyman, aged about 60, underwater

in the prison kitchen in October 1942, until he was dead,

of hanging two Polish girls

and releasing the poison gas Zyklon B

into the gas chamber through a purpose-built ventilation duct

in the fall of 1941.

The defendant Pery Broad assisted in the shooting of several prisoners

in the fall of 1943,

among them a Mrs. Strowak, who had been imprisoned

for having given food to prisoners and having helped them escape,

of having, in an unspecified number of cases,

selected all 40 to 50 children between the ages of 6 and 12

who were detained in the children's camp

of the main camp in the basement of Block 18

for gassing at the ramp by having them perform punitive physical exercises,

of selecting five to six prisoners for gassing in the early morning hours

in Block 16 whilst drunk,

forcing the prisoners to march past him naked, of beating them up

and then strangling them by placing a mountaineering pole

over their necks and standing on it,

of deliberately running over a Jewish prisoner from France

with his motorcycle, killing him in the process,

of beating people with a slat for no apparent reason,

of shooting a Jewish prisoner in the Birkenau camp

with a gun for no reason,

of assisting, in an unspecified number

of cases, in the segregation for gassing...

[clears throat]

Of having driven, in August 1944, in collusion with camp doctor Dr. Mengele,

a number of Jewish boys from Hungary, who were housed in Children's Barrack 2

and who had tried to escape, back into the barrack by beating them.

All children from this barrack,

about 1,200, were taken away to the gas chambers four days later.

Of having selected for gassing on October 13, 1944, all-female prisoners

who were in the women's camp and of having supervised their march

to the gas chambers,

of having conducted experiments on prisoners,

of having selected numerous prisoners for killing

by means of phenol injections into the heart muscle,

of having prisoners killed in an unspecified number of cases,

either by forcing other prisoners to inject phenol into their hearts

and by supervising and monitoring the procedure,

or by administering the lethal injections himself,

of selecting, out of his own volition, about 200 prisoners...

from the camp's infirmary on Christmas Eve of 1942 and later killing them

by means of phenol injections,

of having tortured the prisoner Rudek by so-called "physical exercise"

for so long that he died of heart failure,

of selecting two groups of 119 Polish boys in total, aged between...

[clears throat]

...13 and 17, for gassing or killing

by phenol injections into the heart muscle,

of having killed newborn children by administering injections into their hearts

in the prisoners' infirmary of the Birkenau camp in the summer of 1943,

and of having assisted, in an unspecified number of cases,

-in the selection of people for gassing…" -"A carpenter, a cash messenger,

a weaver, a farmer,

an export trader, a chief cashier at a regional savings bank,

two commercial clerks, an agricultural surveyor...

A chartered engineer, two merchants...

A gynecologist, two dentists, a pharmacist,

a carpenter, two butchers, a cash messenger, a weaver,

a piano maker..."

[judge] You have heard the accusations made against you...

-[defendant 1] Yes! Outrageous! -[defendant 2] This is unbelievable!

[crowd clamoring]

[judge] I would ask you to stand when making your statement.

Defendant Robert Mulka.

-[Robert] I plead not guilty. -Not guilty.

[crowd clamoring]

[public member 1] Bravo!

[judge] Defendant Josef Klehr.

[Josef] Not guilty as charged.

[judge] Defendant Franz Lucas.

-[Franz] Not guilty. -[judge] Defendant Wilhelm Boger.

-[Wilhelm] I'm not guilty. -[public member 2] Criminal!

[crowd clamoring]

This is outrageous!

I'm popular with my patients.

They call me "Daddy Kaduk." Anyone will tell you that. Right?

[Oswald] These accusations are based on mistaken identity or lies!

-[bailiff] Silence in the courtroom! -[Oswald] Lies!

[gavel thudding]

-[Oswald] Lies! -[bailiff] Silence!

[♪ ominous music]

[muffled background chatter]

[camera shutter clicks]

[background chatter]

[Robert] I'm ready, gentlemen.

[indistinct chattering]

Why are they just walking around at large here? Why can they just leave?

Well, things are done in accordance with German law and regulations.

The evidence is not sufficient for an arrest warrant.

Have you given it some thought? Can we count you in?

[prosecutor] Miss Bruhns?

-[bystander 1] You're on duty again? -[bystander 2] Yes, tomorrow, I've got...

[Eva's father] Are they attached properly?

[visitor] Yes, they're screwed in tightly.

[Eva's father] Well...

This really is the most pathetic bouquet of flowers...

Where were you all this time?

[Eva] Do we have a visitor?

[Eva's father] I'm telling you, if it isn't straight, then...

Yes, you could say that.

-[visitor] We'll manage. -[Eva] Mom?

[Eva's father] Yes, yes, in marriage, the devil's in the detail.

Remember that, boy.

[visitor] Thanks for the advice, Ludwig.

[Ludwig] And now screw it tightly.

-[visitor] Yes. Better? -[Ludwig] Yes, better. Screw!

-[visitor] Like this? -What are you doing?

We're pureeing a deer. Isn't that obvious?

Good evening, Eva.

I said yes, Eva.

[Ludwig chuckles]

Yes, so did I.

What do you mean?

[children muttering]

[loud clanging]

[Stefan] You'll break them!

Yes. Sorry. I apologize. Bye, Stefan.

[♪ dramatic piano music]

[Stefan] That was Mr. Schoormann. Ding-dong.

[breathes heavily]

[♪ music continues]

[Eva's mom] These pajamas...

Soon, they'll fall off your body, and then you'll look stupid.

Well, they're my favorite,

Right. And they've been your favorite for 20 years now, unfortunately.

[Ludwig chuckles]

[exhales]

[Eva's mom chuckles]

Do we finally need to talk to her?

No, Ludwig.

Let's go to bed.

[footsteps receding]

[switch clicks]

[♪ closing theme music]

Translated by Danjela Brückner