All language subtitles for Dnevnik Diane Budisavljevic (2019)_en

HULAHOP
presents

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The knowledge of such immense suffering
could only be borne by throwing ourselves

even further into the demanding work
that lay ahead of us.

THE DIARY OF DIANA B.

My name is Živko.

I don't know when I was born.

I don't know where I was born.

Just as I don't know
who my parents were.

Zagreb, 1943

Could you please?

Diana Budisavljević Campaign.
Go ahead.

Thank you.

The orphanage. Three tonight.
I have their numbers.

I was very little, of course.

I don't remember the camp.

I remember...

...the orphanage.

But through a fog.
Just that I was somewhere...

But up until that moment
there's nothing.

I don't even remember
coming to Zagreb.

I don't remember it at all.

Dear Mrs. Diana, I've heard
you've done many favours

for those of us in Germany.

This is why I'm asking
you about my lost children.

Namely, my daughter,
Stojna Pejić. Born in 1936.

Son, Lazo Pejić. Born in 1940.

Lazo and Stojna were both last
seen in the Gradiška camp.

Pejić, Pejić, Pejić...

Sounds familiar. Pejić...

They could be from the village
Podgradci on Mount Kozara.

We almost know
them all by heart now.

You're right.
The Pejićs are from Podgradci.

Pejić Dušanka, Pejić Anka,

Pejić Borislavka, Pejić Bosa,

Pejić Gordana,
Pejić Gospava, Pejić Lepa,

Pejić Milovan,
Pejić Nada, Pejić Smilja...

Two years earlier

April 1941

Thank you for coming.

I just had to wait for the army to pass,
but otherwise it's fine out there.

I was unsettled by all these planes
flying around lately.

Let us pray.

In the name of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. -Amen.

Yes... Yes.

We'll take it in a bit here,

loosen it a bit here,

shorten it, and it'll be
as good as new.

Lovely fabric.
Did you buy it in Innsbruck?

Yes.

These fabrics
are always in fashion.

Unfortunately,
the shop is now closed.

The owner was a wonderful
gentleman. He knew my father.

He was Jewish?

I believe so.

Mrs. Reich,
I have to tell you

I was in Innsbruck just before
it all started up here as well.

I heard awful things
about the camps in Germany.

Camps for people of your faith.

There are camps here already.

Supposedly, more than a few.

The Jewish Community is
collecting relief for those poor people.

Thank you, Justina.
We'll help ourselves.

They're women, Julije.
Women!

Jewish and Orthodox.

Lobor-grad Castle is a nursing home.

It was founded by a colleague
of mine. That's how I know.

You've clearly
misunderstood something.

You know nothing
about what's happening.

It would seem news travels faster
in the country than it does here.

We simply need to be patient.

This situation can't last.

The Ustasha took...
-They're common criminals!

Pavelić and his lot
were in jail until yesterday.

Now all of a sudden,
they're great statesmen.

The Germans have brought
scum to power.

We're Orthodox, Julije.

To the Ustasha, we are no better
than the Jews or the Gypsies.

It all seemed a lot bigger then.

These arches stick out in my memory.
It was my first encounter with a castle.

Although it was a concentration camp,
at first sight we thought it magnificent.

Madam, you are not allowed to be here.
We're not open to the public today.

You are?

Diana Budisavljević.
Dr Budisavljević's wife.

Chief physician Budisavljević?
Come in, please.

Take a seat, please.

Excuse the mess. People bring
things they can't take with them.

Those fortunate enough to
have somewhere to go to.

I've come to make a donation.
Actually, to ask about Lobor-grad.

I've heard there are women
there. Jewish and Orthodox.

You're Orthodox?

My husband is.

And you?

I'm Austrian. Catholic.

The nursing home
has been turned into a camp

under German administration.
The Volksdeutsche are running it.

It was for Jewish women only,
but lately the Ustasha

have been bringing more
and more Orthodox women.

You're sending aid to them?

Only to Jewish women.
Government orders.

Who's helping the Orthodox?

As far as I'm aware of, no one.

May I donate this money for them?
-Madam, you don't understand.

I am not allowed to take
donations for the Orthodox.

This Community helps
only the interned Jews.

If you want, you can
start your own organization.

Without organized help,
no one there will survive the winter.

Especially the small children.

The police can issue you with a permit
to run a humanitarian organization.

Give me a call if you decide
to go through with it. I must go.

Yes?

(I beg your pardon...)

Excuse me, Julko.
I need to talk to you.

Come in then. Sit down.

I'm done for the day.

Your prescription.

I was at the Jewish Community.

When? -Just now.

And?

It is all true what Mira said.
Only worse.

There are no elderly people there.
Only women and children.

How is this possible?

Is sending relief
to camps even legal?

The Jewish Community has
a permit. The kind we'd request.

Everything has to be legal.

We just need someone
to head the campaign.

A name in which to register it.

Marko?

I was thinking it should be you,
Doctor. Your name carries weight.

I've heard stories about you saving
minister Budak's life before the war.

That may well be, but I...

I really couldn't. Doctors
are very busy in times of war.

Are you sure there isn't already
an organization we could join?

Not to my knowledge.
-Not even the Orthodox Church?

The Church will be of no use.
They've elected a new Patriarch

and founded
the Croatian Orthodox Church.

Makes no sense to even pray
in such a church...

I had my seventh
birthday in this castle.

This is where we played as children.
When we were allowed to go outside.

The place was heavily guarded.

My brother and I would fight over
five or six beans in a small cup.

If he got one more than
me, we'd fight about it.

October 1941

We're starting to collect relief
for Lobor-grad.

First from our personal supplies.

The most important thing
is to send food,

potatoes, carrots, sugar,
powdered milk.

The news of the Campaign
travels fast.

The first packages
start to arrive.

Mrs. Mira sent this, Madam.

That's right. Let me help you.
-Thank you.

I've decided to keep
a diary of the Campaign,

to keep track of items collected
and those still needed.

I arrange transportation of the aid
with the Jewish Community.

Thank you.

The truck makes deliveries
twice a month.

We are allowed to send our
packages together with theirs.

This room was much larger.

It's been partitioned since.
A lot of people could fit in here.

Against the window there were
three wooden platforms, one above the other.

So-called beds.

Where we used to sleep on hay,

with some thin blankets
to cover ourselves with.

Everyone wanted to
sleep next to the window,

to get some natural light and
see some of the world outside.

There was snow all around.
Mostly just snow.

It seems this winter
will be very cold.

The most important thing is to get
straw, blankets and warm clothes.

Despite all my daily efforts,
I still lack the necessary permit.

Yes? -I have
an appointment with Mr. Bresler.

Your ID card, please.

Here you go.

How can I help you?

Lobor-grad camp.

I've started a private relief campaign
for women and children held there.

I need a license for such
a humanitarian organization.

We have no jurisdiction over
camps. You'll have to go elsewhere.

I went to the police.
They sent me to you.

You're the head of the
Department for Child Protection.

Excuse me. Mađer?

Take this to the head office.

We oversee children's homes.
We have no access to camps.

May I take a lunch break
afterwards? -Yes.

Are you really sending relief
to Lobor-grad? -Yes, I am.

What's the situation there?
-Very bad.

Are there any children?

There are around 1000 Jewish
and 200 Orthodox women with children there.

I also work for the Red Cross.

Not even they have permission
to collaborate with the camps.

How do you manage it?
-Illegally so far, unfortunately.

I don't want my associates
to have problems.

That's why I need
an official work permit.

I'm afraid no one can
issue you with a permit

that will guarantee your safety.

Even if you acquire it
from one office,

another will still tell you
it's not valid.

That's how it is now.

We have some supplies of
powdered milk. I can give you that.

Mr. Vukosavljević, you shouldn't
be lifting such a heavy weight!

The number of women and children
at the camp keeps growing.

We now send packages
once a week.

This is from Mrs. Becić.
The painter's wife, you know.

It'll go towards the shoes.
They're the hardest to get.

People are happy to give
when they hear of the cause.

The Campaign has grown to include
a dozen permanent associates.

Everyone had informed
their acquaintances,

who in turn
spread the word.

Hello. -Hello.

I heard you were
collecting aid for the Orthodox.

For mothers and children.
-These are my daughters' clothes.

Thank you. I'll write down your
name. -I'd prefer it if you didn't.

The Jewish Community has been
having more and more problems

with the Ustasha authorities.

Several times now the relief
has ended up in the wrong hands.

Nevertheless,
we cannot give up.

This is still the only way to get
some of the aid into the camp.

All we saw was
hay, planks, bad food,

filth, lice, disease...

A lot of children
fell ill and died.

Those were my
first encounters with death.

What's the situation
with the donations? -Bad.

People were once glad to donate.
They have nothing now.

There's nothing left in
the stores either. -True.

Where's Julije?
-He's on a night shift.

Some of the children will
be released from the camp.

What'll happen to them?

I've been asking myself
the same question.

Perhaps...
I could take one.

It's not that simple.

Those children might be ill.

In any case, you'd need an official
permit. It could be dangerous.

They could come
for the child and for you.

It might be someone bringing
a donation. It happens.

The Budisavljević residence?
(-Yes. How can I help you?)

We have a search warrant.

Who are they?

Serbs, the lot of them.

Diana!

They were only trying
to scare us.

Look at this.

Serb 498.

That's me. Serb 498.

I had to register myself
with the police.

All Serbs must be registered.

It has become so...

It's dangerous.

Promise me you'll
stop the Campaign.

I can't make that promise.

Several months later,
they close down Lobor-grad.

More and more camps
keep appearing.

Our Campaign, however,
doesn't end.

May 1942

Dear Mrs Diana,

I'm writing to you deeply shaken
by events I have been witnessing

as a military doctor here in Kordun.

The entire Orthodox population
is being transported to the camp.

They are being
rounded up so swiftly

that even the bare
necessities get left behind.

Children mostly leave
wearing light clothes,

barefoot and half-naked.

What they plan to do
with these people, I do not know.

Presumably they are taking
them to Jasenovac camp.

Please help in any way you can.

At least save the children.

Mrs. Diana, I once
worked as a teacher there.

I know those parts well.
It's mainly Serbs who live there.

If they've decided to cleanse
the area, it'll be a blood bath.

Who runs Jasenovac, the Germans
or the Ustasha? -The Ustasha.

Under the command of Maks Luburić.
Perhaps you've heard of him.

I have. Nothing good.

Exactly.

It'll be a disaster.

I don't know...

It was morning. We were still asleep.

Mom came into the room and said,

'Get up, children!
We're going to the camp.'

Still half asleep, we got up
shaking our heads. What camp?

They would bring
cornmeal porridge in a barrel.

It had gone bad, turned bitter.

There'd be a few potatoes
or beans in the porridge.

That was all.
We'd get it once a day.

Awful food. Pigs wouldn't eat it.

If there were potatoes,
we'd take them out and eat them.

The beans were all wrinkled.
They weren't cooked properly.

The younger children would die.
They couldn't even speak.

Children my age
were somewhat stronger.

They'd manage somehow.

The young ones would
get severe diarrhoea.

They'd die from diarrhoea.

I used to run away
from those children.

The sacrifice you are making for
your husband's people and faith

commands utmost respect.

Your Grace...

people are being hoarded
into trains and sent off like cattle.

It simply isn't possible
that you know nothing of this.

No... I do not
approve of this savagery.

These Orthodox people
are converting to Catholicism,

hoping their lives will be spared.
That's what they were told.

This Christianisation
under the threat of arms...

I've protested it
strongly to Pavelić.

Which is why
I now face certain difficulties.

It is our duty as Christians
to stand up for innocent people,

especially children.

I humbly ask you...

to speak to someone...

to order the release of mothers
and children from the camps.

Who should let them go?

These camps are run
by the Ustasha.

And you are their confessor.

I would advise you
to plead with your own people.

To bring innocent people here,

children and mothers,
and keep them hungry.

Because of some
religion you'd inherited.

You lived that faith,
whether you wanted to or not.

And then you realized
that no one liked or respected it.

But it was your religion, and
because of it you had to be punished.

Orthodox, they called us. Not Serb.

And so it was...

I'm looking for
nurse Habazin. -That's me.

Kamilo Bresler said to...
-I know. I've been expecting you.

Transports are
becoming a lot more frequent.

As far as I know, the trains are
headed to Germany.

Carrying labourers.
That's why the Germans patrol them.

There are a few men,
but most of them are women.

Children?
-I haven't seen any.

Maybe the women on the
train know where the children are.

No one's allowed
to talk to the people in the trains.

It's strictly forbidden.

My plan is to put you in contact
with Sergeant Hecker.

Ladies, do we have everything?
-Yes. -Stay close to me.

The train will be here shortly.

We expect no problems.

If any women get hysterical,
a rifle butt to the stomach will do the trick.

Or across the legs.

We don't want any blood.

Those to my left, get on the
platform and take one group each.

Those to my right, stay here
in case anyone tries to escape.

Understood?

I'll come and get you.

I came here with my mum,
my sister and my three brothers.

They took my sister out first.
I've no idea where she ended up.

They said she was
going to Germany to work.

Healthy and young women -
to the left.

Pregnant and old women -
to the right.

They'd say where each one had to go.

They'd divide them up
into groups first.

So later on, they'd know
what to do with them.

Some would go to Germany,
some into the camp,

some straight into the river.

It was bad.

It's bad when a man stands in front
of another man deciding on a way to kill him.

See you tomorrow.

You're still here.

Yes.

We can talk on the way
home, I'll give you a lift.

Who do you work for?

I have a private organisation
helping mothers and children...

of Orthodox faith.

What did you want to know?

I wanted to find out
where they come from

and where their children are.

We only get transports of
women, no children.

Where do the children
end up then? -I don't know.

Do you have children?

This is it.

Gradiška Camp is where
the workers are selected.

They might be there.

Simply unbelievable...

that such tall trees have grown
in this place.

Then again...

more than 70 years have passed
since I was last here.

So it's no wonder really
to see such tall trees here now...

Tall and large.

Hecker introduced me
to Captain Von Koczian.

We arranged a meeting
at the Esplanade Hotel,

where German officers reside.

It's a campaign under my name to help
Orthodox mothers and their children.

Yes, I'm aware of that.

This situation with children
is definitely not in our interest.

You know how sensitive
the public is towards children.

I'll discuss this matter
with the General.

But I need a permit to take the
children out of the Gradiška camp.

And who is supposed to issue
such a permit?

The Chief of State Security Office.
Eugen Dido Kvaternik.

Little Kvaternik?
Well, yes, I know his father.

We served together in the
Austro-Hungarian army.

He's a bit ridiculous, walking around
with that little axe of his, isn't he?

I wouldn't know.

But his wife, Eugen's mother,
was Jewish, wasn't she? -Yes.

Sadly, she committed suicide recently.

Why are you talking about such
terrible things? -Because they're true.

Talk to General von Horstenau.
-I will.

There was a wire fence.

Lots of grass.

It was hot when we arrived,
but then it rained overnight.

We were here for 3 days.

We didn't get any food or water.

We drank rainwater from puddles
that had formed during the night.

As for food...

I'm not sure how, but
some women gave us food.

Corn.

Kernels of corn,

which we kept in our mouths,
then later chewed.

July 1942

After a month, we were finally
granted permission to rescue the children.

We entered the camp
at 7 in the morning.

There were a lot more children
than we had expected.

We first record the children whose mothers
have already been transported to Germany.

We put a name down
next to each number.

A tag with that same number
is placed around the child's neck.

We are assigned a doctor to assess
each child's fitness for transport.

Realizing that ours is a rescue mission,
he finds all the children fit for travel.

In the camp, the children
are separated from their parents.

Male and female children
are also kept apart.

The image remains
seared in my memory.

I think it will stay with me
for as long as I live.

I see it all before me.

Me, my brother
and my cousin got separated.

I was 10. My brother was 7
and my cousin was 8.

We didn't know what had
happened to our sisters.

One was 13,
the other was 8 years old.

Perhaps they ended up
with the rest of the girls...

The healthier boys had been
dressed in Ustasha uniforms

and we were not allowed
to register them.

They were about to take part
in a propaganda film.

The doctor took advantage
of the guards inattention

and led us to the
so-called childrens hospital.

We took those children as well,

although they could not be saved.

Most of them died that afternoon.

They were lying all
along the wall.

They had no underwear,

their large intestines
had fallen out,

flies all over them.
An awful sight.

Horrific.

If this wall and this paint could talk
about what happened here...

You'd hear such stories...

At 8 in the evening we were
forced to terminate the campaign

because there was
no more room on the train.

We took 700 children with us.

In two days, we return to the camp.

Women and children, not yet
separated are sitting on a large lawn.

The mothers are hoping
to return to their homes soon.

They dont want to hand
their children over to me.

And I know what awaits them.

I tell them that
I myself am a mother,

that my husband
is a doctor, an Orthodox,

that the children
will be accommodated

and taken care of
until they are set free.

This time we take only those children
capable of standing up on their own

as it proved the smallest ones
could not survive the transport.

My sister stayed here
and that's what hurts the most.

I've been thinking
about it for 70 years.

But I've never had the
strength to come here...

And look for her.

On the 70th anniversary
of my family's tragedy

we held a commemoration
at our family tomb.

We said,
'You are now among family.'

'It's been 70 years.'

'We haven't found your grave.'

'That's why we speak of you here...'

'So that you may
forever stay with your family.'

September 1942

You need to rest.

I am no longer
capable of field work,

so I focus all my efforts
on compiling a database.

I copy our transport lists
and complete them

with the Red Cross data.

Children's homes
and rescue centres are overflowing.

Families across Zagreb accommodate
over two thousand small children.

The Church finally gets involved...

With the help of local priests,
around five thousand children

are soon accommodated
by rural families.

Letters from parents in
German labour camps start to arrive.

They ask about their children.

Telling them that their child
is alive brings us great joy.

Occasionally, we have to
break the saddest news.

There are so many little, nameless
children we have no information about.

They cannot tell us
anything about themselves.

We have them photographed
and register them by number.

We keep a card index so as
not to lose track of the children.

I was chosen by a family.
Marija and Josip Sabolić.

For the first time
in my miserable life

I felt motherly love.

Auntie Marija was
the embodiment of a true mother.

I truly loved her.

And I also felt her love for me.

She would organize...

a trip to her vineyard.
She wouldn't take just me though.

She'd pick up as many
children as she could fit in the cart.

Children who were placed
with other families.

She'd even bake a special bread
with walnuts for the occasion.

Every time we'd go to the vineyard,
she'd break the bread into pieces,

give us one each, pick some
grapes for us, and we'd eat that.

Believe it or not,
I can still smell those grapes.

I had my own vineyards
and grew my own grapes

but I've never
smelt such a scent.

When I came back to my village,
a few kilometres from Petrinja,

the first thing I did
was look for our house.

There were only foundations there.
Everything had been destroyed.

I recognized a pear tree.

Early-season pears,
they were ripe.

I sat under the tree,
picked and ate a few pears.

And then I cried my heart out.

I walked around the courtyard,
where I used to play with my brothers.

No one came back.
Just me.

I was sitting under
that pear tree and crying.

Birds were singing,

the orchard was green,
the grass was tall...

Plums in full bloom...
Planted in a row.

Not a living soul
to look after it all.

It had all been... cleansed.

This number...

It's my camp number.

This is...

This number is the only thing

I have left from
my earliest childhood.

In fact, this was my last name.

Živko 1128.

But I had faith that someday,

in an archive or somewhere,
under that number...

I might find something about myself.

Where I'm from,
when I was born,

who my parents were...

That didn't happen.
This number is all that remains.

1128.

May 1945

It's very easy, Silvia.

Come on!

Now you spin it.

That's it!

One more time.

Let Granny see who's at the door.

Hello, Comrade Budisavljević.
-Mr. Mađer, what brings you here?

I'm here on behalf of
the Ministry of Social Policy.

Which ministry did you say?

Former Ministry of Social Welfare.

This must be a
misunderstanding. -It's not.

Professor Bresler sent you?
-Comrade Bresler has been suspended.

Please, warn them about
these three unmarked drawers.

The children listed
here haven't been identified yet.

Who will be in charge of the index?
I could help, or instruct them.

You need to make sure it
doesn't descend into chaos.

Sure, I'll inform the new head.
Someone will be in touch.

Step aside, please.

What if I refuse to hand it over?
-I would advise against that.

It'll look better if the report says
it was handed over willingly.

If I'm to be forced into willingness,
you might as well take everything.

There's no point in taking
one without the other.

Go ahead, please.

This is how we
went through life...

Some survived...

The lucky ones.

And many died, with only a number
where a name should have been.

Hold on, put it down!

To this day, the requisitioned
files have not been found.

More than 10,000 children were rescued
by the Diana Budisavljević Campaign.

Diana Budisavljevic 1891-1978

as Diana

Witnesses

In supporting roles

The film is based on the book
Diary of Diana Budisavljević 1941-1945

Original props from Diana Budisavljević's
estate were used in its making.

A special thanks to
Diana's granddaughter Silvia Szabo

who preserved the Diary
and her family archives.

Director

Screenwriters

Producers

Director of photography

Editor

Co-producers

First assistant director

Line producer

Set designers

Costume designer

Make-up artist

Sound department

Composers

Lead researcher