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

SEVENTEEN MOMENTS OF SPRING

Part 9

Starring

Stierlitz - Vyacheslav TIKHONOV

Pastor Schlag - Rostislav PLYATT

Pleischner - Evgeniy EVSTIGNEEV

Kät - Ekaterina GRADOVA

Helmuth - Otto MELLIES (GDR)

Rolf - Alexei SAFONOV

Barbara - Olga SOSHNIKOVA

Müller - Leonid BRONEVOY

Scholz - Lavrenti MASOKHA

Schellenberg - Oleg TABAKOV

Eismann - Leonid KURAVLYOV

Himmler - Nikolai PROKOPOVICH

Bormann - Yuriy VIZBOR

Kaltenbrunner - Mikhail ZHARKOVSKY

Owner of Safe House - Vladimir SMIRNOV

Aide of Dulles - Vladlen DAVYDOV

Cure - Vladimir KOZEL

Owner of Bird Shop - Yevgeny GUROV

Bittner - Yuri ZAYEV

Narrated by Yefim KOPELYAN

Switzerland BERN

Two... key factors...

separate the living from the dead:

volume and motion.

A living man occupies space far larger than any coffin,

and now and then he can step out of it or return to it,

to a place he might call home, a family hearth,

a mental institution, a brothel, or a parliament.

That's the only real difference.

I'm not afraid of sounding cynical to you.

I'm asking you to be frank,

and frankness always starts with a touch of cynicism.

Openness is the sharpest,

and most deliberate form of cynicism.

It pains me to hear you,

because right now starving women are dying in Germany,

and defenseless children are perishing under the bombs.

In peacetime you can afford to argue illogically,

but in a war like this it's downright cruel.

And here I disagree with you again.

I disagree with you again.

Every day of peace carries the weight of war,

and vice versa - every terrible minute of war

foretells the coming peace.

We're living along a strange curve.

History veers off course when we ignore simple geometry.

Even diplomacy, that slippery business,

draws me in

with its peculiar sense of mathematical balance,

if viewed from a certain distance.

I'd rather discuss business with you

than chase abstractions.

The gentlemen who promised to help me said

you're in a position to put me in touch with those

on whom the fate of millions in Germany depends.

If we can bring about peace even a day sooner,

much would be forgiven us in the future.

As you wish.

I'm ready to answer all your questions.

It won't be necessary to answer all of them.

I wouldn't believe you if you claimed you would.

You've got a point there.

I'm not a diplomat. I came here on behalf of some people.

Yes, I know. I have some information about you.

First question. Who do you represent?

Excuse me, first I need to hear your answer.

Who are you?

I'll speak of the people still with Hitler.

They're under sentence of death, they and their families.

You're safe here - this is neutral ground.

You think the Gestapo doesn't work in neutral countries?

Well, that's beside the point - not what we're here to talk about.

I'm not American. Nor English.

I guessed that from your accent.

Did you say something?

I said I recognized right away from your accent

that you were neither English nor American.

-You're Italian, aren't you? -Yes, by birth.

But I'm a U.S. citizen - you can speak frankly with me,

as long as you trust the gentlemen who set up our meeting.

My friends back home believe,

and I share their view,

that the quickest surrender of all German forces

and the dismantling of every SS unit

will save millions of lives.

My friends want to know

which Allied representatives they should approach.

You mean a simultaneous capitulation of all Reich forces

in the East and in the West,

in the North and South?

Would you suggest any other way?

Our conversation is taking a strange turn.

The ones eager to negotiate...

are the Germans, not us.

Yes.

So we should be the ones to set the terms.

Isn't that so?

To be able to talk to your friends,

we must know, as the ancients taught us,

who,

when, how many, and with whose help.

Otherwise we might take you for a Gestapo double agent.

Or a man with no real authority.

Or someone being used to feed us misinformation.

I'm not a politician. Perhaps you're right.

But I want you to believe in my sincerity.

I don't know everyone behind the group that sent me,

but the man speaking for them is highly influential.

Are we playing cat and mouse?

In politics, everything has to be set from the start.

-Everybody knows it. -I don't know a thing.

Seriously, I don't know anything.

In politics, everything must be set from the start.

I'd advise you to tell your friends

that we won't deal with them unless we know whom they represent,

what their program is, particularly their ideological platform,

and what they intend to do in Germany

with our help.

Their platform is clear - it's built on anti-Nazism.

Yes, that's the first stage of ideology.

But how do your friends see the future of Germany?

What direction will it take?

What message will you offer the German people?

If you can't answer for your friends,

then perhaps you'd share your own view?

My point of view would be subjective.

Still, if you're afraid it'll lean Communist,

you're mistaken.

Equally monstrous to me is the idea

of preserving, even softened,

any system now grinding down the German people

that is existing today.

All right, a counter question, then.

Who can keep the Germany

in order once Hitler's gone?

The Church people, those now in concentration camps,

or the real commanders of police units,

who decided to break with Hitlerism?

The police in Germany answer to the Reichsführer-SS, Himmler.

I've heard as much.

So we're talking about keeping the SS in place,

which, as you believe, is in power

to keep people from anarchy, within the bounds of order?

And who's putting forward such a proposal?

I don't think anyone has discussed that question yet.

The pastor froze. He realized he'd slipped.

That shrewd Italian will seize on it and squeeze him dry.

He knows about the talks between the Americans and the SS.

The pastor knew he couldn't lie - his face would give him away.

And the Italian, one of the officials on Dulles' staff,

thought long and hard on the way back

before writing his report on the conversation

"Either he's a complete nobody," the Italian mused -

"a nonentity in Germany,

"or he's a sharp intelligence man.

He can't bargain, yet he gave me nothing."

"It may even be that he understands better what we want

"than I understand what they can offer.

"Though his last words show

that they know something about our talks with Wolff."

I've represented the Church and His Holiness here for less than two months,

but I can say I've already fully settled in.

So if you need my help, how...

Thanks, I'm fine for now.

I'm glad to see you here, Pastor,

safe and well.

And I'm glad you never sit still,

always seeking new troubles to bring peace to your flock.

If I get news from the Vatican tomorrow, may I stop by?

I'd be happy.

-The Savoy Hotel? -Yes, the Savoy.

What are your plans for today?

Tonight I'm invited to the cathedral pastor's.

A remarkable man - sharp and brave.

When the Nazis drove him out of Hamburg, he nearly died,

Yes, each takes a sip of that bitter cup.

Good luck to you.

Giovanni, take down a dispatch.

Cipher it and send it immediately.

To Monsignor Cadicelli, Vatican.

General Wolff has succeeded in his mission

when he met here, in Bern, with Mr. Dulles.

The information we have allows us to draw the following conclusion:

The Wolff-Dulles negotiations

are progressing successfully.

You must understand my position.

Should I once again warn

Mr. Dulles against further contact with General Wolff,

our American friends might form

the wrong impression of our motives.

Statesmen do not always understand

the policy of God's servants.

The situation seemed grave and hopeless

until Pastor Schlag arrived here in Bern.

You probably remember that noble man

who had always stood up for peace

on his trips to Switzerland, the Vatican, and Britain

before 1933, when leaving Germany didn't yet mean

running into problems with the police

that began with Hitler's rise to power.

According to Pastor Schlag, he came here

to halt the further progress of the talks

between Wolff and Dulles,

because he's absolutely convinced that Wolff

is nowhere near seeking a peaceful solution -

he's simply testing the waters

to keep the Nazi regime alive.

I would like your sanction

for conducting more confidential talks with Pastor Schlag.

Perhaps

we should brief him in more detail

about the negotiations going on in Bern.

Unless I can give Pastor Schlag

real proof of our sincerity,

it would be hard to have an open discussion

in which he could fully inform us

who sent him here from Germany.

Schlag has never been a politician - he's always been a conscientious pastor.

But looking ahead, I can see

a big advantage in the fact that a pastor,

a servant of God, proved to be that pure and lofty person

who sought peace at the risk of his life, yet...

without ever compromising with Nazism.

This noble example of civic courage

a son and servant of God

will help us when the tormented people of Germany

return, one way or another, to the Holy Church,

and Pastor Schlag,

or his pure image...

or his pure image

will help our clergy in the future

bring their light to where Nazi darkness once lay,

and where the Bolshevik leaders

now cast their eyes.

That's why...

That's why I asked your permission

to familiarize Pastor Schlag

with the materials the Holy Church managed to get with the help of

Monsignor Staute, former Bishop of Hamburg.

16 Mar 1945 7:25 a.m.

Obersturmbannführer Rolf has arrived.

-Continue the surveillance. -Yes, sir.

What time is it? My watch has stopped.

How about 7:25?

Leave us alone.

Leave us alone!

Will you allow me to feed the boy? I'm afraid he'll disrupt our work.

The boy can wait.

He can't. He has to be fed on schedule.

You'll feed him as soon as you answer my question.

We're busy.

It's time to feed the baby.

He can wait.

Do not disturb us!

So...

We've been informed that you know the resident.

-I've already explained. -I know what you explained.

I read it and listened to the tapes.

I believed it until this morning.

But as of this morning, I don't believe your story.

-What happened this morning? -Something did.

We expected it to happen.

We needed evidence, and we got it.

We can't arrest a man without proof -

facts, evidence, or at least two witnesses.

So we've got the evidence.

I don't know what you're talking about. May I feed my child now?

First, you'll tell me where and when you met with the resident,

then you'll go feed your child.

I've told the man who arrested me that I don't know

either the resident or his address or who he is.

Stop playing dumb.

All the cards are on the table - your ace has been beaten.

This is the guard on duty speaking.

As soon as Stierlitz shows up, report to me immediately.

All right, writing it down.

Müller decided to play a game with Stierlitz.

It wouldn't have been interesting

after Stierlitz's call to Bormann and their meeting.

The circle had closed - Stierlitz, the Bern code, the Russian radio girl.

And that circle rested on one solid foundation - Bormann.

So, either by bringing about Bormann's downfall,

Müller would get access to the finances for an audit,

and he foresaw that possibility,

or, if the rules of the game allowed,

he would become indispensable to Bormann

as the man who exposed Stierlitz's plot

tied to the Russian radio operators.

Both paths could lead to either his ultimate rise

or to his final downfall.

I have nothing more to say.

I'll keep quiet until you let me feed the child.

Well, let's not waste time then.

I know what you know and what you're not saying.

We'll set up a face-to-face between you and the resident.

Sensing he'd been blown, he tried to flee abroad,

but he failed to do it.

He was counting on his car.

He has a very good car, but he miscalculated.

Our cars aren't worse - they're better.

In that whole mess, you don't matter to us - he does.

And you're going to tell us everything about him.

I got nothing to tell you.

It's freezing again.

Doesn't look like spring.

Your hands.

-What? -Your hands.

Your hands.

-What are you going to do? -Your hands!

Barbara! Helmuth!

Helmuth! Barbara!

Bring the child.

I didn't mention the frost for nothing.

It's enough to keep your child

naked on this table for three to five minutes...

and he'll be dead.

Either... or. Your choice.

You won't do it. You can't do it.

Yes, I'll feel terrible doing it.

I'm a human being too, not a beast. My mother gave birth to me too.

But in the name of all the Reich's mothers, I'll do it!

In the name of the Reich's children dying under the bombs, I'll do it!

Where's the child? Bring him here, damn it!

Helmuth!

Helmuth, do you hear? Bring the child!

Helmuth!

You're a mother, you must be reasonable.

Well?

Well?

You're no mother.

You're no mother.

You look great.

Just great.

You could at least have taken your coat off in the reception room.

But since you came in without taking your coat off,

I understand you haven't found the pastor's sister and her kids.

No, I haven't.

More details, please - how did it happen, where is she?

-A car came for her last night. -What car?

Who was in the car? Whose car was it?

We couldn't establish it.

The neighbors heard a car pull up.

Then they saw the light

shining through the blackout curtains.

Then the car pulled away again.

They haven't been seen there since.

And the photo of the woman and the kids... you have it?

-Yes. -Show me.

Well.

All right, we'll search for the woman and the kids.

She may still be of use to us.

Thanks for nothing, Eismann.

And what am I supposed to do with this?

What am I supposed to do with this?

What is it?

Go ahead and read it. That's your report.

I completely trust Standartenführer Stierlitz.

To hell with all of us!

That's better already.

It's a good lesson for you, pal.

Should I write you a new report?

Why? No.

But I consider it my duty

to withdraw my opinion.

But will it look good?

Taking it back doesn't sit right with me.

What am I supposed to do now?

Just believe

that I won't act on your report. That's all.

And continue to work.

You can go.

A counterintelligence officer should know better than anyone

that these days he can trust no one,

sometimes not even...

himself.

But you can trust me.

Well, enough of lyricism.

Send my order to Bern immediately

to stop further work on the contact man,

organize his kidnapping,

move him across the border to the Reich in an embassy car trunk,

and deliver him to Gruppenführer Müller -

to me, personally.

That's all.

Pleischner was on his way to the safe house.

He'd left deliberately an hour and a half early,

so he could stroll through the zoo along the Aare.

Pleischner was headed to a covert rendezvous.

Lately he'd been in a state of elation.

He'd carried out Stierlitz's assignment

and was ready for another.

He expected nothing but good to come now.

In fact, all last night and this morning he'd been working

on the draft of his new book.

He had very little money, but he didn't think about tomorrow.

Clean white sheets waited for him on the table.

And that alone made life orderly and meaningful.

Flower Street

He was pleased with his visual memory.

This time he found the street right away.

Straight ahead now, to house No. 9.

My God!

Suddenly he remembered exactly what Stierlitz had told him:

"You'll go to the street named Flower Street

"on the even-number side.

"As you pass No. 9, look at the window

"on the second floor, left of the entrance.

"Flower Street, No. 9.

"The window on the second floor, left side of the entrance.

"You'll go up to the apartment only

"if there's no potted plant in the window.

A plant means the cover's blown.

The day before yesterday he didn't do it.

My God!

It was the signal of failure.

The Russian agent, sensing he was being tailed,

had managed to trigger the alarm signal.

Now he understood everything.

He remembered entering the apartment the day before yesterday,

without even hearing the counter-password.

Now he knew it.

And still he couldn't see how he,

a seasoned man, could have overlooked two simple things

that Stierlitz had drilled into him again and again,

making life harder not just for him

but possibly for Stierlitz too.

Wrong address, my friend!

Wrong address.

You went wrong.

Yes.

I went wrong.

16 Mar 1945 9:00 a.m.

March 16.

The armies of the 1st Byelorussian Front,

fighting in the Stettin sector,

were pressing to eliminate the enemy bridgehead

on the east bank of the Oder

and destroy the enemy forces

trapped in the town of Altdamm.

Meanwhile, the right flank of the 3rd Ukrainian Front

and the left flank of the 2nd Ukrainian Front

had launched the Vienna offensive,

aimed at crushing the main forces

of the SS 6th Panzer Army.

Another strike was carried out on Dierre, aimed at destroying

the Estergom-Tavoros enemy forces.

Guard on duty speaking.

Yes, sir.

Copy that.

One moment.

Stierlitz is coming down the hall.

-Which hall? -Your hall.

Stierlitz is coming down your hall now.

Where is he headed?

Stierlitz was heading to Müller.

He knew that even though he'd exposed Müller and Holthoff's scheme,

the decisive confrontation lay ahead.

Holthoff had gotten extremely close to the weak points

in his operation with the physicists.

And if Runge's perspective had prevailed,

the Germans might have begun building an atomic bomb

as early as 1944.

The year was 1943.

Stierlitz got word

that one of the leading nuclear physicists, Runge, was at the Gestapo.

He'd wound up there after a clash between groups of physicists

working in laboratories over ammunition production,

at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute and the Medical Institute.

Stierlitz knew that Runge's group

had come closest to producing atomic weapons.

He received a mission from the Center to find a way to approach Runge.

Where'd you get this information?

You think it improbable?

Not at all.

There's excellent company there.

Fermi, Einstein...

And Oppenheimer.

Yes, he's in charge of it all.

We have enough sharp minds in this field

to be ready in time

for the looming nuclear threat.

Something's off.

There may well be a leak,

and maybe even...

a conspiracy among the physicists.

Stierlitz understood he meant Runge and his people.

If that's the case, exposing a conspiracy of intellectuals

would be possible only with the physicists' help.

And Müller's staff are nothing but muscle men.

No, they won't succeed.

What insight does the Standartenführer have...

on the latest trends in physics?

Right now I'm thinking about how, with physical chemistry,

we might slow the rate at which the masses get dumber.

It's getting harder and harder to work.

So many idiots are saying all the right things...

You'll end up in a concentration camp.

You think so?

No, Müller won't send you there.

You know too much.

You'll get a burial with honors after a convenient car crash.

Thank you.

But first I'd like to place a wreath on his grave.

Müller is immortal.

As is the sleuth profession.

Six weeks had passed since that conversation.

Stierlitz had never precipitated events.

Self-possession, he believed, is the opposite of rashness.

Everything is a matter of balance: art,

intelligence, love, politics.

The second conversation about physicist Runge came up entirely unexpectedly

during a party honoring the Führer's birthday.

That celebration, unlike those in earlier years,

was rather modest.

After Goebbels' speech there was a concert.

In the evening, a small reception was held at Himmler's Department.

45 days had passed.

Or, to be exact, 45 days and 6 hours.

And talking to Schellenberg, Stierlitz made a passing remark

about how clumsily Müller's men handled

with the physicist arrested three months earlier.

Anyway, I graduated from a physics-math department.

Back then, physics nearly drove me to physical collapse.

-Well? -Besides...

Runge has connections.

He had studied and worked overseas.

We'd be better off taking this case ourselves.

You were majoring in quantum mechanics.

-Did Müller tell you this? -No, I have my own sources.

Stierlitz had sold the idea to Schellenberg

and changed the subject, beginning to tell some jokes.

He deliberately steered away from the Runge case,

concentrating on discussion of other matters.

He knew that Schellenberg,

a shrewd chief and born intelligence man,

could let some details slip for the moment,

but never missed the main points of any conversation.

Stierlitz realized

that Schellenberg was a serious adversary

and very difficult to outdo in matters of strategy,

or perhaps impossible.

Watching him, he noticed something peculiar.

When hearing some interesting ideas from his staff,

Schellenberg seemed at first not to notice them,

and he changed the subject.

And only days, weeks, or even months later,

after framing the idea with his own vision,

apparently after checking with higher authorities,

he brought up the same idea,

but this time as his own, as a plan

conceived and developed entirely by himself.

And he could make even a casual thought sound brilliant,

expertly tying it to the entire web of problems

the Reich had to solve,

so that no one could suspect any primitive plagiarism.

In this case, Stierlitz had calculated everything carefully.

Three more weeks went by.

Schellenberg held a meeting on his agents' latest failures

in Sweden and Liberia,

and the betrayal of two agents he'd thought reliable.

Schellenberg took these failures very hard

and held endless meetings.

At each one he delivered long, irritated speeches.

Today he called in the staff of the European Department

and grilled them individually.

Stierlitz knew Schellenberg well and had planned for this,

but he hadn't expected the Runge case to surface precisely

when he needed it,

right after that meeting.

Stierlitz, please stay.

Well, Stierlitz...

Bring us coffee, please.

I want to tell you something, Stierlitz...

It seems...

that technological progress will determine future history.

Especially now that

scientists are about to uncover the secrets of the atomic nucleus.

I think scientists in the West and East already realize this,

but unfortunately, politicians are lagging behind.

You and I will witness

the degradation of a politician's profession

as we have known it

throughout the last 19 centuries.

To get a basic understanding...

of the motives...

of the people who reached the frontiers of science,

to understand what drives them,

not only for the near future,

but as a long-term and serious task.

Incidentally, what's the name of that physicist?

Stierlitz realized it was a test.

Schellenberg wanted to see whether that crafty Stierlitz understood

where this monologue originated, who had once put forward the idea.

Runge.

-Runge? -Runge.

In connection with that Runge, I have several interesting assignments for you.

That's how he got the Runge case.

That's how he did all he could

to undermine the Germans' real opportunity

to start developing the atomic bomb as early as 1944.

However, later, after many days spent with Runge,

he became convinced that fate had prevented Germany from getting the new weapon.

After the Stalingrad battle, Hitler

refused to finance fundamental research in defense,

unless the scientists promised him real, practical results

in three, at most six, months.

That was a squabble of petty ambitions.

The German physics geniuses were thus left outside

the leadership's range of vision.

Even more so since none of Germany's Führers

had any higher education,

except Speer and Schacht.

Stierlitz had reported all this to Moscow.

Plus, he added his own effort to stirring animosity

between the supporters and the opponents of Runge.

Everything that harmed the enemy,

automatically worked in favor of his country.

Now he had to win the next stage of the battle.

He had to prove he was right in this matter.

He had thought out his position well.

He had a strong position.

My friend, please report my apologies to your chief.

I promised to be here at nine, but I got back only at 9:12.

Will he see me now, or may I sleep for half an hour?

I'll do as you advise me.

He leaves it to your discretion.

The chief is ready to see you,

but you can postpone the meeting until this evening.

He wants to know where I'll go, thought Stierlitz.

I shouldn't delay it anyway. The game won't last more than two hours.

I'll do as you advise me.

I'm afraid he'll go see the command in the evening,

and I'll have to wait for him till dawn.

-Does it seem logical? -Quite logical.

-Now, then. -Please.

-Heil Hitler! -Good morning.

Frankly, I didn't expect you so early.

And I was afraid of getting chewed out for being late.

You're all afraid of getting chewed out by old Müller.

Have I ever in my life dressed down anyone?

I'm a kindly old man,

and yet they whisper stories about me.

Your handsome chief is a hundred times more vicious than I am.

It's just that he learned at university

how to smile and speak French.

And I still don't know whether you should cut an apple up

or eat it whole, seeds and all, like we do at home.

Let's go.

I've got a surprise for you. This way.

-We'll probably be back soon. -I haven't called for a car yet.

We're not driving anywhere.

Scholz speaking.

Go on!

Halt!

Go on!

The man's face was severely disfigured.

But Stierlitz recognized him. It was Bormann's driver.

It's not polite to come empty-handed.

16 Mar 1945 12:55 a.m.

Miracles only happen in the movies.

And in the movies they do it on the count of three. I'm not going to.

You do your duty for your side, I do mine.

Helmuth, take the boy.

Don't go away. She'll come to, and I'll continue.

Barbara, bring water for her and for me.

If you have heart drops, pour some into the glass.

-How many does she need? -Not for her. For me.

-All right. How many? -How do I know? 10 or 30.

How long does it take them?

How long would it take

your sister or your mother?

Yeah, my mother...

Those bastards want to stay clean, and make me do that filthy thing.

-Got a match? -I don't smoke.

Barbara, bring matches.

Look, she's come to, her eyelid's twitching.

I don't know anything about it.

No, no, no.

Barbara, what keeps you there?

It's disgusting.

Is she alive? Barbara, look.

Yes, she's breathing.

Do something to her. We got no time, they're waiting.

Do something for the boy! I can't listen to that!

I told you the child is hungry.

Stop saying that! You think only you have a heart?

Let me take the child away.

Hello? Yes.

Go away!

Yes.

Not yet.

You think it's so easy?

Why not swap places?

When did they start interrogating him?

Saying nothing?

Oh, they just talk like friends? Let him talk to this friend.

And I'll be able to laugh.

She seems to have come to.

Yes, she's conscious now.

Let's help her sit up.

Bring her some water.

You're hungry, poor little thing. They haven't fed you.

It's all right, your mother will come now and feed you.

You love eating, eh? Oh, don't tell me you don't.

Everything will be fine soon.

Your mother will come and you'll forget all about crying.

All right, enough of that! Enough!

When it was the truth, it was fine. You're playing your little woman's games.

You got mixed up in a man's affair. Your little tricks won't work here.

Raise your head. I said, raise your head!

All right.

I'll call Helmuth and open the window. She'll open her eyes, but too late.

You've made up your mind?

Will you talk?

-I have to think. -We don't have time for thinking.

I don't know what to say.

-You don't want me to lie, do you? -No.

I don't want you to lie. I want you to tell the truth.

I've told you everything I know.

All right.

I'll help you, so you won't feel like an apostate.

Here.

You see?

There's no point in staying silent. Will you talk?

Will you talk, bitch, or not?

Helmuth!

Helmuth!

Do I have to call you again and again?!

-But the boy's fallen asleep. -Never mind!

Barbara, open the door.

Here.

Here.

Here.

No, look! You wanted it!

Look!

Look.

Look! Eh?

Here!

Here!

Here! Here!

You see?!