Original subtitles

Central Film Studio of Children's and Youth Films

named after M. GORKY

By commission of the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR

on Television and Radio Broadcasting

Mr. Bolzen.

Do you hear me, Mr. Bolzen?

I need to tell you something.

I don't know about you,

but I'm already fed up with this awful city air.

What do you say, Mr. Bolzen? Isn't it time we headed home?

I think it is.

Oh, Mr. Bolzen!

Mr. Bolzen.

Please, Mr. Bolzen, be a gentleman to the end and help me.

I can't step over this.

-Please, Frau Saurich. -Thank you.

For several years now, Mr. Bolzen,

you've been bringing me here in the early spring.

I must say, this outing will last me

almost a whole year.

You know,

I really don't feel like going back into town.

How about you?

That's what I mean. I'm fed up with the institution.

You know what I mean - that damn place and,

if you'll excuse me, my profession.

Hold this, please.

Of course, if it weren't for the war and if my kids were still alive...

You know what herb this is? It's a wonderful medicinal herb.

If you dry it, you can make a decoction from it.

Take a whiff. If your kidneys are bad, you should drink it.

-Do you have bad kidneys? -No.

It's a pity, because that decoction helps a lot if your kidneys are weak.

Think these rubber boots will last me another season?

-Of course they will. -I think so too.

The birds are singing so beautifully! It's so good that spring has come!

You know, spring means victory over hunger, over winter.

And maybe, if you want, a victory over death too.

-You think so? -Don't you?

-Well, I think you're right. -Yes, I'm right.

We're going to tell you about some events

of the last spring of the war.

The last spring of the war.

In three months, fascism will be crushed,

but now fierce fighting is going on on the Oder,

near Budapest and Pomerania.

We'll only tell you about 17 days of that spring.

SEVENTEEN MOMENTS OF SPRING

Starring Vyacheslav TIKHONOV

Also starring

Krüger - Yevgeniy KUZNETSOV

Kaltenbrunner - Mikhail ZHARKOVSKY

Hitler - Fritz DIEZ (GDR)

Göring - Wilhelm BURMEIER (GDR)

Himmler - Nikolai PROKOPOVICH

Bormann - Yuriy VIZBOR

Schellenberg - Oleg TABAKOV

Holthoff - Konstantin ZHELDIN

Frau Saurich - Emiliya MILTON

Pastor Schlag - Rostislav PLYATT

Astronomer - Yuriy KATIN-YARTSEV

Kaltenbrunner's aide-de-camp - Stanislav KORENEV

Don't look down on time in terms of seconds

Time will come, perhaps, you'll realize

They whistle by like bullets next to temple

Those moments, those moments...

Moments

12 Feb 1945 4:30 p.m.

HITLER'S BUNKER

Transcript of a meeting at the Führer's.

Those present were:

Reichmarshal GÖRING

Field Marshal KEITEL

Chief of Land Forces JODL

Reichsleiter BORMANN

Reich Minister of Armaments and Munitions SPEER

Chief of the Reich Security Main Office KALTENBRUNNER

SS-Brigadeführer SCHELLENBERG

Foreign Ministry envoy HAVEL

Admiral FOSSE Admiral von PUTTKAMER

Captain NEURATH aides-de-camp, stenographers.

"We only have hours,

just hours left to seize victory," said Hitler.

"Everyone who can observe, analyze, and draw conclusions,

"must answer only one question: Is victory in sight?

"I'm not asking for a blindly categorical answer.

"I will not tolerate blind faith.

"The world has never seen such a paradoxical union

"as the Allied coalition, with all its contradictions.

"While the aims of Russia, England, and America

"are diametrically opposed,

"and while they move under different ideological guidance,

"and are driven by differing ideologies,

"we are driven by a single goal - our whole life is devoted to it.

"As their contradictions grow and continue to grow,

"our unity has become stronger than ever before,

"and has gained the solidity I have striven for through the years

"of this arduous and noble campaign.

"Trying to break the enemy coalition

"through diplomacy or other means would be utopian,

"if not sheer panic and a loss of perspective.

"Only by striking them militarily,

"by showing our unyielding spirit

"and our boundless might,

"can we hasten the collapse of that coalition,

"which will crumble under the thunder of our guns.

"I turn my eyes toward the Germans.

"Only our nation can, and will, achieve victory.

"Right now the entire country has become one military camp.

"I mean Germany,

"Austria, Norway, parts of Hungary and Italy,

"the greater parts of the Czech and Bohemian protectorates,

"Denmark, the Netherlands.

"This is the heart of European civilization.

"We hold in our hands the means of victory.

"Now it depends on us, the military, how effectively

"we can use these resources to secure our victory.

"Believe me, the first devastating strikes of our armies

will cause the Allied coalition to fall apart."

REICH SECURITY MAIN OFFICE

12 Feb 1945 7:45 p.m.

Reichsführer-SS HIMMLER

You may leave.

-May we begin? -Yes.

Please, begin.

-Won't the light be a problem? -It's getting dark quickly now.

Or would it be better to pull down the blackout shades?

All right.

TOP SECRET

Personnel File Schellenberg, Walter

SS-Brigadeführer, Chief of Department VI, Reich Security Office.

Character Report: Member of the Nazi Party since 1933,

Schellenberg, Walter, SS-Brigadeführer,

Chief of Department VI, Reich Security Office -

Political intelligence.

A true Aryan.

Character: Nordic, brave and firm.

Open, sociable and friendly with friends and colleagues.

Relentless toward the Reich's enemies.

Exemplary family man.

His wife's application was approved by the Reichsführer-SS.

No improper associations reported.

Excellent athlete.

Proven to be an outstanding organizer...

February of 1945, the eve of victory over Nazism.

The events of the past week give us full grounds for this statement.

The advance of the Russian armies,

which have broken the Nazi defenses along the Oder,

their determination, shown in Hungary and Czechoslovakia,

has earned eternal glory for the Red Army.

The fierce battles on the sea attest to

the Allies' absolute superiority.

The armies of Eisenhower and Montgomery are mounting a successful offensive.

A complete victory

in the air and at sea is final and indisputable.

The propaganda hype. You may not translate.

Tell them to show our newsreels.

Run the latest reel of "Die Deutsche Wochenschau," please.

A disgusting propaganda stunt.

-But it's true, Reichsführer. -Don't give in to panic.

And you said we couldn't fight.

You're right, we still can fight.

But we should have started talks with the West already.

The delay means death.

It's spring of 1945, not autumn of 1941, Reichsführer.

Thank you for reminding me.

But truth be told, every morning I check the calendar.

What else?

Russian newsreel, their special edition on the Yalta Conference.

Interesting.

It came through John's channel.

Interesting. Keep going.

Please, continue.

The news of the historic Yalta Conference, which began

on February 4, 1945, spread across the world.

In the air was the plane of U.S. President, Mr. Roosevelt.

President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt.

In the air was the plane of the Prime Minister of Great Britain,

Winston Churchill.

Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill.

Here, in Livadia,

the talks of the heads

of the anti-Hitler coalition - Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill -

lasted for eight days.

For eight days, the leaders of the three great powers

met around the table

to discuss the final defeat of Nazi Germany

and the establishment of a lasting peace.

The conference agenda included and decided on the following issues:

The defeat of Germany,

the occupation of Germany and the control over it,

the reparations of Germany,

and the question of a conference of the United Nations.

He's gotten old, hasn't he?

-Who? -Stalin.

The issue of Poland has been thoroughly discussed...

I don't think so.

The principles and terms

of the Foreign Ministers' meeting have been finalized.

It has also been decided at the conference that

the Allies' land, sea, and air forces,

coordinated more closely than ever before,

would deliver military strikes

on fully agreed dates,

even more powerful blows at the heart of Germany.

What an idyll.

Blows from the east, west, north and south.

That's what has been decided at the conference.

He did get old.

What is it, Walter?

If I were him, I wouldn't so openly show

his total misunderstanding and open dislike of his ally.

Though that should work in our favor.

Reichsführer, it's spring of 1945.

Yes?

-May I come in? -Yes, please.

I'm listening.

Yes.

In Lisbon.

Five out of eleven.

I've reported.

I've reported it.

Yes.

This is not a matter to discuss over the phone.

No.

Not now.

TOP SECRET

Personnel File Holthoff, Wilhelm Ferdinand

SS-Obersturmbannführer, Department IV, Reich Security Office.

Character Report: Member of the Nazi Party since 1938,

Holthoff, Wilhelm Ferdinand, SS-Obersturmbannführer.

A true Aryan.

Character: close to Nordic, firm.

Maintains good relationships with co-workers.

Demonstrates excellent work ethic. Athlete.

Relentless toward the Reich's enemies.

Unmarried. No improper associations reported.

Decorated by the Führer and cited by the Reichsführer-SS.

Yet much remains unclear. Yes.

I agree. Heil Hitler.

I've been ordered by my superiors to consult with you.

I have a very complicated case.

Either my prisoner is mentally unstable,

or he should be handed over to you, to intelligence.

He talks like those English swine you hear on the radio.

Sit down.

I can't keep going like this! I just can't! Do you understand?!

I just want to live, to live under anyone's rule,

under fascism, under capitalism, with Hitler, without Hitler.

I can't keep going like this!

Your blindness, stupidity, insanity - it's suffocating me!

Who told you to write those proclamations?

You couldn't have come up with that filth yourself.

Who gave you that text? Your hand was guided by the enemy.

With whom among the enemy did you collude? Where and when?

I colluded with no one and no place.

I'm even afraid to talk to myself.

I'm afraid of everything. Don't you see?

Don't you realize this is the end? We're finished!

Don't you understand that every new victim now is senseless destruction?

You keep saying you live for the nation's sake.

Then leave and save the rest of the nation!

You're condemning innocent children to death!

You're fanatics grabbing at power!

You eat well, you smoke fine cigarettes,

you drink coffee and cognac.

Let us live like human beings too, not like dumb slaves.

Or kill me now, so I don't lose my mind

from the feeling of my own helplessness, and the stupidity of the nation

you've turned into a mindless flock.

Wait. Shouting isn't an argument.

Got any suggestions?

What?

I'm asking: What specific suggestions do you have?

How do we save our children, women, and the elderly?

What must we do to make that happen?

It's always easier to criticize and hold grudges.

It's much harder to come up with a reasonable plan of action.

I don't believe in astrology.

I respect astronomy.

I was denied an academic chair in Kiel.

That's why you're being so spiteful!

Wait.

Stop shouting.

Please continue.

Everything is connected

among all living beings on Earth,

and with the sky and the sun.

That connection helps me

to see more clearly, more soberly,

everything that's happening on the ground of my homeland.

I'd like to discuss this subject with you more deeply.

But now, I believe my colleague will allow you to return to your cell,

where you'll rest for a couple of days, then we'll continue our conversation.

You may take him away.

You may go too.

He's a little crazy, don't you see?

All scientists, writers, actors are a little crazy in their own way.

They require special handling, because they live lives

they've invented for themselves.

Send this eccentric to our hospital for a professional evaluation.

If this were peacetime, we would have sent him to a camp.

He would have quickly been reformed and made useful to the Reich,

working at some institute, but now...

He talks like a Brit on the London Radio,

or like a Social Democrat collaborating with Moscow.

People invented the radio to listen, and he has listened a lot.

No, it's not serious.

Our intelligence doesn't care about that.

But I want to meet him in a few days

to see if he's really a scientist or just neurotic.

If he's serious, we'll go to Müller or Kaltenbrunner

and ask them to ration him well and evacuate him to the mountains,

where the cream of our scientists are kept now.

Let him work.

He'll stop blabbering as soon as there's no bombing,

and plenty of bread and butter, and a mountain cottage in the woods.

-Don't you agree? -I do.

No one would be blabbering

if everyone had a cottage in the woods,

plenty of bread and butter, and no bombing.

-I mean... -Sorry, pal.

On Schellenberg's orders, I have to meet in 20 minutes

with the chief of Prison 123.

-Heil Hitler. -Heil Hitler!

TOP SECRET

Personnel File Von Stierlitz, Max Otto

SS-Standartenführer, Department IV, Reich Security Office.

Character Report: Member of Nazi Party since 1933,

von Stierlitz, Max Otto, SS-Standartenführer.

A true Aryan.

Character: Nordic, disciplined.

Maintains good relations with colleagues.

Impeccable in the performance of his duties.

Relentless toward the Reich's enemies.

Excellent athlete. Berlin tennis champion.

Unmarried. No improper associations reported.

Decorated by the Führer and cited by the Reichsführer-SS.

Bring him here.

Schranke speaking. Call Block 5 duty guard to me.

He's been in prison six months already.

Yes, Standartenführer. To be precise, six months and 15 days.

Why do you call the doctor so often? Is he ill?

He's on a hunger strike.

How long has he been on this last hunger strike?

A week.

Heil Hitler.

Prisoner No. 524 for interrogation by Standartenführer Stierlitz.

May I go and carry out the order?

Blackjack. I won.

Christ!

Psalm 8.

More.

...seven, eight.

-Who's banking? -I am.

What's your bet?

His leg. Higher, higher.

That's it.

He'll hold out for half an hour.

What if you lose?

-I'll knock his tooth out. -It's against regulations.

I'll loosen it with a finger. Are we betting?

Kurt, bring No. 524 for interrogation.

-524? -Yes.

Number 524 for interrogation,

Understood. Number 524 for interrogation.

-Has he been in solitary? -Yes.

-Twice? -Twice.

Who ordered he be placed with criminals?

That was the investigator's directive.

-And the result? -Same as before.

-Did you apply the deterrent method? -Yes.

And the result?

Prisoner 524 will arrive shortly.

Good.

I'm taking your pastor with me until 10 p.m.

Sorry, Standartenführer, but...

Here is Brigadeführer Schellenberg's order.

No convoy?

It's all written there.

Put him in order.

I'll return to pick him up in half an hour.

You'll get him back at 10 p.m.

At 10:15, he should be in solitary.

Good afternoon.

I've lived... in Berlin...

for 52 years,

but I've never been here before.

Come on in. Have a seat.

Beer, please.

I'm glad to see you're alive and well. Given our times, that's something.

-Please. -Thank you.

Beer to this table.

Yes, it's strange.

What's strange?

Strange...

that you've lived in Berlin for 52 years and never been here.

Though you've been to London, Paris, Prague, Bern.

Yes.

I've been to...

Paris, London, Prague and Bern.

You forgot to name three more cities.

Antwerp and Budapest.

I was already asked that during interrogations.

The interrogations when I was...

beaten, deprived of sleep...

and food.

Forget Antwerp, the English have it now anyway.

But Berlin... I deliberately misled you about it.

Did you see what happened to Berlin?

I did.

Well? Go on, eat.

-It's terrible. -What's terrible?

It's terrible that you, a pastor,

aren't a patriot of the German state.

Tell me, the fact that I, a pastor,

have been tortured for six months in prison -

is that an inevitable result of your state system?

Prisons are meant to reform the stray.

Obviously, those who haven't strayed but are enemies,

are to be eliminated.

Is it you who decides who is right

and who is guilty?

Of course.

So you know everything about everyone?

Who has erred and who hasn't.

So you know absolutely everything about each of us?

-We know what the nation wants. -The nation...

The nation is made up of people.

So you eliminate people

in the name of the nation.

Waiter!

-What would you like? -Coffee.

Three cognacs and cigarettes.

Tell me, how often in the history of Christianity

have heterodox people been destroyed

in the name of the welfare of the rest of the flock?

They destroyed heretics.

All right. But in fighting heresy, did the church allow violence?

It did.

Violence against heresy was carried out over eight centuries.

We came to power in 1933. What do you expect from us?

In those 11 years,

we eliminated unemployment, we fed the Germans.

Yes, while committing violence against heterodox.

If you're such a convinced opponent...

perhaps you should have focused more on material things rather than spiritual?

Excuse me, I don't understand you.

Why didn't you try to organize

an anti-government group among your parishioners?

You see, if I started using your own methods

against you, I would have...

...ended up becoming someone like you.

So if a man comes to you...

What man?

A young man from your parish.

And he'll say, "Father, I do not agree with the regime

and I want to fight it."

I won't stand in his way.

All right, but suppose he says he wants to kill the Gauleiter.

And the Gauleiter has three daughters.

Two, five, and nine years old.

And a paraplegic wife.

What would you do?

I don't know.

And if I asked you about that young man, what would you say?

I would say nothing to you.

Well done, Stierlitz.

Frankly, I didn't expect it.

I didn't expect him to agree so quickly.

Didn't expect he would so quickly agree to collaborate with us.

Very good job, Stierlitz.

-He didn't agree because of... -Fear.

Mediation comes naturally to him.

He has nothing to fear. He plays openly.

I wouldn't jump to such definitive conclusions, Stierlitz.

Put him to a serious test.

In his cell? Planting our man there?

All right, arrange a thorough test on the loose.

I'll try to persuade the Reichsführer

to grant the pastor some freedom for our purposes.

RECEPTION ROOM The Chief

of the Reich Security Main Office, KALTENBRUNNER

13 Feb 1945 6:23 p.m.

Sit down.

TOP SECRET

Personnel File Krüger, Friedrich-Wilhelm

SS-Gruppenführer.

Character Report: Member of the Nazi Party since 1929,

Krüger, Friedrich-Wilhelm, SS-Gruppenführer.

A true Aryan, fully devoted to the Führer.

Character: Nordic, firm.

Even-tempered and sociable with friends.

Relentless toward the Reich's enemies.

Exemplary family man. No improper associations reported.

Proven indispensable and highly competent in his field.

Do you have any excuse,

an excuse credible enough that the Führer would believe?

In fact, you, and only you, Krüger,

were responsible for the punitive operation in Cracow.

Here, see the reports

about how Cracow was not blown up.

And after you read them, answer me.

No.

There are no excuses.

None whatsoever.

I'm a soldier - war is war.

I don't expect any special treatment.

This failure must be analyzed so it never happens again.

Obergruppenführer, I fully acknowledge my guilt.

But I want you to hear what Standartenführer Stierlitz has to say.

He was fully briefed on the operation, and can confirm

that everything was planned with the utmost care and attention.

What's Stierlitz's role in this operation?

He's part of Schellenberg's intelligence unit.

He handled several issues in Cracow.

Yes, I know.

He was involved in the Runge case, about the missing V-2 rocket.

But I felt it was my duty

to fill him in on our operation's details,

believing that when he returned,

he would report to the Reichsführer or to you on our preparations.

I'd been waiting for further orders from you

but I never got any.

Was Stierlitz among those

who were briefed on this operation?

I don't know.

Please check

whether Stierlitz from Department VI was on the cleared list

for the destruction operation in Cracow.

Obergruppenführer, I'm...

the only one responsible,

and I'd be deeply troubled if you punished Stierlitz.

I have great respect for him as a dedicated fighter.

I can only atone for my guilt with blood on the battlefield.

But who'll fight the enemy here?

Me? Alone?

It's easy to die for the Fatherland and our Führer at the front lines.

It's far harder to work here under constant bombardment,

cleaning up the mess.

Bravery alone won't suffice - you need brains, Krüger.

A lot of brains.

Find out, please,

if Stierlitz met any senior officers after returning from Cracow.

If so, who?

And what did they discuss?

I already checked. He hasn't reported to anyone.

Upon arrival, Stierlitz immediately began

selecting people fit to infiltrate the Southern group.

Thank you. You may go.

Get some rest today.

Tomorrow, write a detailed report on the operation.

Then we'll decide where to assign you next.

We have few men and a lot to do - a great deal, Krüger.

Heil!

Heil!

Get me all of Stierlitz's files from the past 1-3 years.

But make sure Schellenberg doesn't find out - no need to stir up a panic.

Stierlitz is a valuable agent and a brave man.

We must not question his loyalty.

Also, prepare transfer orders for Krüger.

We're appointing him Deputy Chief of the Gestapo in Prague.

Send the car.

I need to be at the crematorium in 20 minutes.

Yes, sir.

13 Feb 1945 6:30 p.m.

This is Budapest.

Today, February 13,

after many days of bloody fighting,

after shattering the fierce resistance of Hitler's forces,

the Soviet Army has liberated

the capital of Hungary from fascist control.

The armies of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, with help from the 3rd,

have completed the defeat of an encircled enemy force in Budapest,

and now fully control Hungary's capital.

During fighting in the western part of the city on February 11-12,

preliminary estimates suggest that more than 30,000

enemy soldiers and officers were taken prisoner.

The liberating soldiers were welcomed by the people of Warsaw,

Sofia, Bucharest, Belgrade, Vienna -

all freed thanks to the heroism of the Soviet soldier.

Today, it's the people of Budapest welcoming them.

Soviet tanks have entered German territory.

The armies of the 1st Belarusian Front, led by Marshal Zhukov,

have broken through enemy defenses and reached the Oder River -

the last natural barrier before the capital of Hitler's Germany.

The assault on the Nazi stronghold has begun.

Stierlitz arrived home as dusk was settling.

He loved this time of year. There was hardly any snow.

In the mornings, the sun would shine on the tall pine trees,

making it feel almost like summer.

Here in Babelsberg, close to Potsdam,

he lived alone in a cottage.

By some strange coincidence, Babelsberg

was untouched by the bombings.

Only the sound of cannon fire could be heard, growing louder each day.

Few people remained, just like in Berlin.

People fled to mountain villages, escaping the air raids.

-Good evening, Mr. Stierlitz. -Good evening.

You can go home for tonight.

Thank you. Here's your mail. I'll fix your supper head out.

Alright.

-What time is it? -About seven, Mr. Stierlitz.

-And exactly? -Quarter to seven.

Alright.

"Lucky girl... she can almost make it to seven,"

Stierlitz thought to himself.

"The happiest people on earth are those

"who can be so casual about time,

without worrying of the consequences."

Moscow calling, North-1 to Taiga-5.

Calling Taiga-5, Taiga-5.

Informing geological teams 12, 16, 21

of the analysis results for the batches

dispatched on January 1, 3, 7, respectively.

38, 977, 35, 610,

97, 653...

It's a coded message for him.

He's been waiting for it six days now.

He gets such coded messages once a month.

There are lots of numbers.

The announcer reads them out in her usual dry, precise tone.

To her, they're just digits.

On the 21st, pay special attention to the Lower Jurassic deposits

in Quadrant AC-5

around Mound 2569.

When packing rock samples, please follow our standards.

Congrats to Nikolayev on his new son.

Weight 3.5 kg, height 49 cm.

Over. Will repeat in an hour.

The instructions Stierlitz received over Moscow Radio read:

"Central Committee to Justas.

"We've learned some high-ranking officers

"from the SD and SS Security have been active in Sweden and Switzerland,

"trying to contact aides of Allen Dulles.

"You need to find out whether these contacts are:

"1. misinformation,

"2. personal initiatives by high-ranking SD and SS officers,

"3. or orders from Central Command.

"If these SD and SS officers act

"under Berlin's orders,

"find out who sent them on the mission.

"Which Reich leader, in particular,

"is seeking contacts with the West.

Alex."

Alex was the chief of Soviet intelligence.

And Justas was...

him - Standartenführer Stierlitz,

known in Moscow as Colonel Maxim Maximovich Isaev,

only to top officials.

Don't look down on time in terms of seconds

Time will come, perhaps, you'll realize

They whistle by like bullets next to temple

Moment, moments...

Every moment has its reason

Its own toll, its own mark

To some, moments deal disgrace

To some infamy, to others immortality

From tiny moments woven is the rain

Flows from the heavens ordinary water

And at times it seems you wait for half of life

When it should come your own moment

It will come as as large as a sip

A sip of water midst the heat of summer

And basically one must his duty meet

From the first moment to the last one

Don't look down on the seconds of time

Time will come, perhaps, you'll realize

They whistle by like bullets next to temple

Those moments, those moments...

Moments