Original subtitles

What separates us from yesterday

is not a rift but a changed position.

Hang on.

Did he separate the daughter from the mother?

Did he separate the mother from the daughter?

Did he not set free a prisoner? Untie a prisoner?

Did he not show the incarcerated the light?

Did he say of a prisoner, "Catch him"?

YESTERDAY GIRL

"Anita G., born April 2, 1937, unemployed, no fixed abode,

single, with no prior convictions, appears before the Braunschweig Court

as she is duly suspected

of having had the intention to take and carry away movable property,

when she took a cardigan belonging to Angelika Hus

with everything in it from her locker.

A crime punishable under Sect. 242 of the Penal Code." Signed by the judge.

You are Anita G., aged 22? - Yes.

You have come over from East Germany?

You are originally from the Leipzig area? - My parents live there.

You haven't got a Leipzig accent.

When did you come over? - 1957.

According to the record you claim your grandparents suffered damages in 1938.

So you are Jewish? - Indeed.

Are you saying, something you couldn't have been aware of until 1943-44

has anything to do with your present situation? - No.

Then let's leave it. It's in the past.

What about your parents?

They went back in 1945. The factories they'd owned were returned to them.

Is that true? - I said so, didn't I?

What did you do? - I went to school.

Before 1945 you were partly expelled? - Yes, but now I went until 1952.

Did you get your A-levels? - No. - So what did you do?

I worked as a telephone operator in Zerbst. I wanted to study something.

Why did you give all that up? - I got scared and moved to the West.

Because of certain incidents? - Because of prior incidents.

You mean those from 1943-44? I don't believe that.

In my experience, they don't affect young people. - I felt unsafe.

Didn't you just think you'd improve your chances here?

Yes, I did.

Then you got a job in Braunschweig? - I became a nurse in Braunschweig.

There you committed said offence. Right. Please, approach the bench.

Just place your hands on the desk

and relax.

You said you were confused. What did you mean by that?

You must have known it'd come out.

Only you could've taken this cardigan or jacket.

Were you cold? - Yes.

But it was summer. - I'm cold even in the summer.

In my experience, that's unusual.

You must have realised you couldn't keep this cardigan.

I read here, when the item was found, it wasn't hidden.

Why didn't you hide it? Didn't you think it necessary?

Didn't you feel guilty of having taken a jacket from your colleague?

Didn't you have any scruples about it?

It just came over me.

Yes well, that can't be conclusively established.

In taking the cardigan to the flat, did she abandon safekeeping or not?

The injured party, I mean.

Safekeeping by a second party: A second party need not be the owner.

Safekeeping is the rule over an item which cannot be disputed by anyone.

This must be assessed according to daily life, not the Civil Code,

as this knows ownership without rule.

A possessor's agent, e.g. A servant, has safekeeping, no ownership,

an heir ownership, no safekeeping. If an item is taken by a second party,

it is fraud, never theft. Constructive owners have no safekeeping,

especially not when delivering negotiable instruments.

Daily life will establish whether rule over an item is applicable.

A mammoth in the ice Walter discovered

It awoke on finding itself uncovered And merrily cried out without a falter:

Good morning, my dear Walter!

Eduard with his fiddle came that way And a waltz he began to play

The mammoth danced one, two, three And Walter kept it company

Gaily they danced all night Until the mammoth cried

We are tired, this will suffice We'll all have vanilla ice

And giant primeval sponge cake That in the Ice-Age I did bake

The court may release a prisoner on probation with his consent.

The probation is not to be less than the remaining sentence.

Here judges usually give 2 years' probation for 6 months remaining.

Convicts with no fixed abode will be taken up into the community by us.

Unfortunately this doesn't happen everywhere. It requires idealism.

Good day, Anita.

I see you are well.

I'm glad to find you so happy.

I talked to your superior.

You may thank God we've managed to find you such a pleasant job.

Do you feel you deserve it?

Do you still pray as often as you did with me in prison?

I only want to do good. My heart rejoices when I do good.

Let us be thankful we found you a job, and a pretty good one at that.

What would you call a threat? - Being caught. - By whom?

The police. - Tell me what for. - Stealing.

Another word. - Dispossession. - Like in the GDR?

Thieves will be dispossessed. - You know that's not true. Another word.

Probation. - What does it mean to you?

To better yourself. - You see? That's good. Another word.

Do good. - What does that mean to you? - Do a good deed.

What is "good"? - Whatever feels good. - That's not quite right.

Won't you come down and have tea with us?

If you make it through this, then that's that. It'll all be behind you.

"We'll make it here.

Let's face the future full of confidence.

Let's be full of confidence!"

Dear child, just have yourself a wonderful evening.

Let's make ourselves comfortable.

What do you want freedom for? It's no use to anyone. - Peace and quiet...

You've stolen and therefore... - Not the freedom we mean in the West.

Tell me, the freedom that I mean...

Is the pronoun for "man" he or it?

And for "disgust"? - Nothing!

Look at us sitting here, talking and talking! It reminds me of the phrase:

"You be quiet!" ...The harbour of love for those full of remorse...

If you'd listen, you wouldn't need to interrupt. Is this at all Christian,

for God's sake?

...to become calm and gentle.

What is a "Schcher"? I used to think it meant "Czech".

But "Schcher" in the true sense of the word means something else.

You see nowadays when someone is pious, everyone thinks he's cuckoo.

But do visit us. At the vicarage you can play tennis, read a book,

play chess and watch TV.

You belong to me, only you,

the angels call out to you.

Never leave me alone again!

It's about gramophone records.

What's on them?

Foreign languages. - That's a good thing.

Certainly. It's a good thing for people.

Have them sign here. It's a bit complicated.

There? - No, down there. Fill it in during the interview. - Right.

You get a commission of 25 per cent. - And they pay in instalments?

I would say, "Spread over 36 instalments, it won't hurt you."

That's the way to say it! Let them learn. - And if they don't pay?

They'll get a default summons.

We market convenient boxed sets of 36 records

for learning foreign languages.

We don't usually employ women, but respectable salesmen.

Our best salesman drives an American car.

We target workers between 20 and 30.

"Lmprove your chances! It costs now,

but it'll pay off later," you tell them.

What we're dealing with here is...

What's your occupation? - I'm a trainee in the shipping trade.

This would improve your chances.

So are you interested? - Not in the English course, no.

We've also got Spanish, French, Japanese and Russian.

So will we send the first record along with the form? - No, no, not yet!

Any place where workers pass by.

It's often good to post yourself near restaurants and night-clubs.

You must ask for identification, if you suspect someone to be underage,

which means under 21. - Right.

Otherwise you're good.

Here are some brochures and leaflets about the advantages of the records.

Shy people can be addressed with the sentence:

"This will give you a fresh start."

Housewives: "For your children and grandchildren."

We've also engaged an educationalist, a student,

to see if the course is manageable for ordinary people.

This address doesn't exist.

I don't understand.

You mustn't fill in the form yourself.

I'd like a fur. The white one in the window. - One moment, please.

Hand me that coat, please.

Thank you.

You do realise it's an opera-cloak?

Would you like to smoke?

Here's a wonderful, youthful Persian-lamb coat.

Lovely.

It's made of blond Persian lambskin. Like the grey and brown natural skins,

it took years of breeding. It's a youthful coat.

Definitely more suitable to your needs.

This is a fine wrap made from Siberian crown-sable.

Here are some individual skins. A very fine blue.

That makes a very lovely jacket.

Nutria, beaver, otter. All finest quality.

There's Virginian otter, South-American otter

and these Arianas, the most expensive ones.

"My boss will vouch for the rest," Anita said.

Yes. - She doesn't need to know.

No. - I'll see to that. No problem. So, will you come with me tomorrow?

It's not just that. - But we wanted to...

Well, we still can. - Later perhaps?

Who's the redhead?

No one special.

Dearest?

Yes?

Do you love me?

Of course.

Really?

To prove to his wife that nothing had happened, he said,

"Just so you'll believe me, I'll report her."

She wants to better herself

Then the bathroom, the floor... Just keep the whole room clean.

Chambermaids, housekeepers,

porters, receptionists, bellboys, telephone operators...

I've been in the trade for 16 years.

I've been to Australia, Switzerland, France, Belgium...

I started out training to become an engineer.

But at some point I switched to this,

the hotel trade.

We were freed by the Russians... Am I boring you? - Not at all!

They came to the concentration camp at Reichenbach.

The German guards had changed their SS uniforms into Wehrmacht uniforms.

The Wehrmacht was treated differently.

At 9 a.m. They fled from the camp. At 3 a.m. The Russians came. Meanwhile

they'd already caught some of the guards and took them back to the camp.

There were 1,500 of us. They asked us, "You know them?" "Yes, he was a guard.

He was a sergeant."

Then he gave us a gun and said, "Blow him away!"

One of us said to the other: "No, let someone else shoot him."

Among the 1,500 prisoners they couldn't find a single one

brave enough to take the gun from the Russians and shoot one of them.

One day, in the manager's absence,

Anita is fired

Find someone else to do your crappy job!

I've been doing the rooms all morning. It really wasn't me!

Okay, I've taken stuff before, but not here!

Where's my suitcase? You've taken it. What were you thinking?

You just walk into my room and take my suitcase. You can't do that!

One can, if... - You think you can! Sitting here like a broody hen!

First, come back in again and knock! - When people take my suitcase,

I don't go knocking politely, saying, "How nice." What were you thinking?

I was hoping to get my back rent! - Back rent? You've got to be kidding.

I said I 'd pay you in the 3rd month, when I get my cheque. - Dream on!

Undersecretary Dr. Wolfgang Joenicke

Centenary Hall in Wroclaw

A day of repentance

Frederick the Great, as one of the Hohenzollern family.

His father, his grandfather... Both German emperors named William.

Then we're back at the Thirty Years' War.

Isn't that the same thing? - Ever heard of Kapp Putsch? - What?

Never heard of it? - No. Really, I haven't.

When they all came back from World War I,

there was a sort of revolution in Germany.

And all the Freemasons came down

from Königsberg to Berlin.

And then in Munich and everywhere revolutionary troops sprung up.

That's all I know about it.

Maybe they overlooked them.

Or they did dig them all up,

and restored them after 1945.

I don't think so. They'd never have got the stones back up again.

In the evening the weather gets nice again.

I want to learn. But it's impossible to learn not to learn.

But you can simply not learn.

Then I could still learn, you see?

No one can learn not to learn.

Are you still at school? - Yes. - Do they teach you this? - No.

She wants to start a new life

She wants to start a new life

RECTOR'S OFFICE

Your Magnificence, honoured guests,

ladies and gentlemen.

Shame and norm control are two phenomena

of life in society

whose interaction is taken for granted by everyone...

...Polos tries to get out of it

by making a distinction between 'aischrón' and 'kakón'. He says,

if you look at 'aischron', you must admit that it's worse to do wrong,

then to suffer from it.

With 'aischrón' in the realm of validity and moral concepts, he's worse off.

But in terms of true validity, or egoism, it's the other way round.

There the 'adikeistai', the being wronged, is much worse.

That's the distinction that's being made here.

So now Callicles denies Polos this distinction and says it's not valid,

he can't use double standards, there's only one standard: Physis!

Next time we'll hear other testimonies. Especially important here

is this most valuable discovery of a work by Antiphon,

an actual piece of theoretical prose by a sophist.

It will confirm the image we got from Hippias.

It will show us that Callicles should actually not be seen as a sophist

as far as the question of morals is concerned. Thank you.

...The difference between natural law and positive law

and the limitation of state authority to positive law.

We'll go into public-opinion research,

with Mr Schmidtchen and Mrs Neumann.

And we'll reflect on it ourselves. Do you have any

special interests? - I'm interested in sociological problems.

Sociology's a wide field. I suppose in connection with this we could...

Yes, what could we do that would be of interest to you? We could always do

Max Weber's teachings on domination

in connection with the problem of sovereignty of the people.

Are domination and sovereignty of the people dichotomically opposed,

or is this sovereignty of the people itself a kind of Weberian domination,

namely legal domination, legitimised by the sovereignty of the people?

But this subject touches on the theory of science.

You'll have to familiarise yourself

with the problems of the theory of science, especially objectivity.

You live in Frankfurt? Do you know me from somewhere? - No.

What did you study in Berlin?

Sociology. But only for a short while.

Did you get to know any of my colleagues?

What lectures did you attend?

Did you ever deal with the problem of the sovereignty of the people before?

Whom have you heard speak? Mr Frnkel?

Mr von der Gablenz? - It's so long ago.

Mr Friedeburg?

So the sovereignty of the people it is! Have you studied it before?

Not really, no. - So you'll need some background reading. Why this subject?

It's interesting. - Well, next semester

we'll be discussing the sovereignty of the people and basic liberal rights,

from an historic point of view,

but also from a political and sociological viewpoint.

First we discuss the historical, and then the historico-political aspect.

Maybe you'd better write that down, and read up on the literature.

Naturally I'll expect you to know the literature on Rousseau.

Do you speak French?

No... - Pity. Then what was it that made you study political science?

Your bill, Madam. - Right. I'll take it with me.

UNIVERSITY SECRETARIAT - Open: 9-12

Can I matriculate here? - All we need is your A-level certificate.

The 3rd week, the 4th, the restaurant bills, somehow we have to...

You can't get blood from a stone. - But you should start paying.

I'm getting a cheque next week, you can bank on it. Make an exception.

We don't make exceptions and I've been hearing about this cheque for 4 weeks.

You talk about being sensible, well, vacate your room and leave the hotel.

And go where? - Miss Grün, we don't allocate living quarters,

we attend to guests. - You try finding a flat!

We must have our money, that's what we should be talking about.

How can you be so mean, and not grant me a week, if I promise you...

Nice here.

Professor, listen, I need your advice.

I want to do good by you. I want to educate you.

A friend from the East's been stealing here. She's wanted by the police.

You should read. Reading trains the mind.

Like a current going through filings. The mind like a well-raked garden.

I need your advice. What should my acquaintance do?

You say scared, I'd call it fear. Knowing what to fear and what to love,

that's what counts. That's the formula. You're a good listener.

What should she do?

What? - Advice!

Well, that depends. Sometimes no advice is better than bad advice.

Good advice is always better, but you can't generalise.

Should she eat it, take it in?

That's an offence. Taking in is the most intense form of taking!

What was her name? - Also Anita.

For your own good I advise you to tell me,

Angelotti, where is he?

Good day, dear lady. - To get to the point... - Dear lady.

You may decide which of your 2 children is to be lobotomised.

Decide freely. - We won't interfere.

But think well, a mistake is made all too easily.

This regime is incomparable to any of its predecessors. That's why it's new.

A fly lays millions of eggs. They all wither, but the flies are still there.

Yes, I understand that.

Yes, we all have to die Grandma went before

You will inherit heaven Just knock and she'll open the door

Will yesterday come tomorrow?

"Truth, when serious, is killed."

To be friends again after a quarrel.

Not to resent the rotten eggs thrown at you.

Even faced with a shaggy housewife or a stone-deaf old guy

to honour the dignity of man.

Pichota, a civil servant,

is waiting for his colleagues

What is it you want? - Some information. - What about?

I've been looking for the canteen,

then the exit... Why do they build these things like labyrinths?

Lts purpose isn't that of a labyrinth.

Let me have some. - I couldn't offer you this drool.

Any idea where we could go?

We can't possibly go to my place.

I don't like it in a hotel.

I'm at home here. - It's not good for us.

Manfred Pichota - Assistant Secretary

Haven't you got a steady job? - How do you mean? - Ajob!

As spokesman of the Ministry of Culture, sports section,

I thank you for inviting me. I ask you to pay no attention to my presence

and to carry on with your event as if I weren't here. Thank you, Gentlemen.

Assistant Secretary, we're glad you were able to come.

We'll give you an overview of our work with dogs and welcome you to our show.

I hope your interest in our work will be backed up by financial support.

May I thank you in advance.

All dog-handlers onto the field!

Now, please!

The show you will see today is a cross-section

of the work we usually do with the dogs,

to make them controllable in traffic. - I just can't stand bloodhounds.

You're thinking of Rottweilers. Here you can see 10 different breeds.

Seven of them are working-dog breeds. But it would be desirable

if all dogs were taken to our club, so people could be taught

how to train them, so the dogs would have more freedom.

Having no freedom is bad for a dog. As a dog-owner I have to learn

how to give a dog as much freedom as possible. He'll thank me for it.

The young lady goes for a walk. A young man comes and attacks her,

robs her and ties her to a tree.

Then he walks away thinking, with the girl tied up,

he won't be followed. But he forgets her dog's still around.

Let me go!

The dog frees his master.

And together with the dog the girl starts in pursuit.

Will you give those dog people something?

That's not up to me.

It is sport.

He called me Mrs Pichota.

That was going rather far.

They took you for my wife.

What if it gets out?

Lt'd be awkward.

But I would do anything for you.

I'd go with you to Africa.

Or Alaska.

Anywhere.

Start a new life.

Go on then.

I can't proclaim all-out marriage. - What do you mean?

If he finds out I know, he'll go mad.

He goes mad whether I say something or not, so I don't say anything.

He can't take her anywhere.

After a while the undersecretary will ask: "Where's your wife, Mr Pichota?

We never see her any more. Is she away on a trip?"

And then I will automatically re-appear on the scene.

I should learn a trade.

Do you think it's too late for that? - For what? - Learning a trade.

You know the line: "Ernest, really, the things you teach me!"

Can I stay here for a bit when you go?

I'd rather you didn't. It's risky.

What's up? Why the fancy dress?

They've found an unknown notebook from 1788 that belonged to Goethe.

Nobody knows what's in it. It'll be presented to the minister.

Why do you have to be present? - Orders. The whole ministry is going.

The press and TVwill be there.

The first surprise will be the presentation of the notebook.

Then comes some bird music by Messiaen. Exotic birds.

That'll work.

That was difficult.

So can I stay a while? Or come with you?

Leave me be.

"I admit to being guilty...

of having swindled Mrs Wernet."

"My current

address

is...

Mainz-Bischofsh..." - I saw you in Wiesbaden! Pay up, or I'll report you!

In a newspaper article she reads about Dr Bauer.

The district judge was sitting there on his fat behind.

The woman, 6, 7 years older than me, was standing up straight before him

awaiting his questions.

He asked her what she'd done, but it was clear she wasn't about to confess.

Slowly he lifted his weight off the chair, said, "Dear Colleague,

be so kind as to continue the interrogation."

He took his coat and left.

I sat down, she was still standing. She stood there, while I sat down.

I wrote down what she said for 45 minutes. She stood there all the time.

Then we were finished, and she left.

When I went home, I felt ashamed. I'd felt ashamed before that, too.

I asked myself:

Is it right for the court to sit there,

while the poor accused have to stand?

In the morning. It took her until 11 to find the court-house.

PROSECUTOR GENERAL - Reception

Unannounced and not persuasive enough at the reception,

she is turned away.

A university professor dealing with amnesty matters knew the case Anita G.

He'd planned to talk to the Prosecutor General but had to leave for Chicago.

Two members of the socialist students' association wanted to inform Dr Bauer,

but they were soon to be sitting for their examinations.

There is room for 16 accused and 8 defence lawyers.

The prosecutors and experts will be sitting here on the right.

The president's chair, as you know.

As you can see we've mounted a... canopy, I'd call it.

It improves the court's acoustics,

but it also allows us to optimise the lighting for the president's table.

Tell me, could you imagine us all having a "Round Table" one day?

The prosecution, the defence, the accused and the court

all sitting down at this round table

to fight together for truth and what we call justice?

You can't keep moving like a gypsy.

I told you, I've just bought a flat in a building under construction.

All I can do is pay my building-cost contribution and await construction.

Where did you get the money? - That's irrelevant.

How much was it? - Doesn't matter. - It does. Where did you get it?

I haven't got it yet.

Not a word of it is true. - We could drive out there.

We could have saved us the bother.

Not a word of it was true.

You could have said,

"I have to pay a building-cost contribution. Can you lend it to me?"

Can you lend me 100 marks? - Not right now. My wife checks all the transfers.

What does that mean? - There's a phone on the carriage.

And that? - K.

"No operation between December 25th and January 1st..."

If Pichota can't help her,

he at least wants to educate her

Phone on the carriage. - On the train! - A phone on the train. And that?

"Limited capacity during peak hour of foreign workers commuting." - Meaning?

"Limited capacity during peak hour of foreign workers commuting."

In German: No operation between December 24th and 31st?

"Mr K was asked, 'What do you do when you love someone? ' Mr K said,

'I make a draft of him, and make sure he fits it.' 'The draft him? ' 'No,

he must fit the draft."' - Make the person fit the draft?

Yes, do you see?

Sure. It's very simple. You've got an image and a person.

You make an image, a draft, of this person. - Who must fit what?

You want the draft to resemble the person. - The draft?

The draft will resemble the person. - The man must resemble the draft!

You make a draft of the person you've seen.

And you see to it that the draft resembles this person. - No!

That the person resembles the draft! Not the other way round.

Read it again. - "'I make a draft of him and make sure he fits it.'

'The draft him? ' 'He must fit it."' - Have the person fit the draft.

That's what I said!

Have the person fit the draft.

She never loved me

No, her heart remained cold

She never loved me

You know...

Picture the scene like this...

Here's Philipp,

shocked by his wife's unfaithfulness.

He can't sleep.

The convent of El Escorial. Dawn...

Two candlesticks. Heavy ones.

Burnt down.

Philipp,

pale

and haggard, sits at his desk.

His thoughts...

Moments later the Grand Inquisitor enters...

I can see her now

When she arrived here from France

How sadly her eyes Looked upon my grey hair

No...

Never did she love me

She never loved me

Where am I?

I won't find any sleep

Before all days are past

When they will carry the body...

Slowly. ...To its final resting place

Sleep...

I've noticed how restless she is.

She lied. That was too bad.

Can't I do anything else for you?

I'd advise you to go to North Rhine-Westphalia.

Here are 100 marks.

Let's get it over with.

How does one get it over with?

I know one day a miracle will happen

POLICE

You'll be registered here. All the particulars must be true,

as it is an official document.

Misrepresentation is punishable by law, right?

When were you born? - April 2nd, 1937.

Where? - In Leipzig.

Leipzig, right. Your religion?

Right. You can put your suitcase and your bag down here.

Here you'll find some washing things.

Right. Now wash your clothes and give yourself a really good scrub.

Right. Please go in there and take off all your clothes. First the coat...

Give the coat to me. Try these for size.

Nothing in your hair either? No. Good.

You may keep the cigarettes.

One handbag, black.

One mirror.

You can keep the pen.

A passport. Have you got a passport?

Three... four keys.

One sanitary napkin. An empty jar.

Right.

One brassiere, black. One pair of knickers, black.

One slip, black. One suspender belt, black. A pair of stockings.

Two cardigans. Or is this a jumper? - Would you like to keep a cardigan?

Yes? One cardigan.

There you are.

A pair of ankle socks.

A pair of ankle socks, white.

Press hard. Put your back into it, that makes it much easier.

And if it hasn't started yet, we'll go for a walk again.

Let's have a look how we're doing. Just lie down...

and we'll have a look.

Right, let's have a look.

Press hard when you feel the contractions starting.

Keep your hands by your legs and press hard!

Yes, press hard! Now slowly, slowly... right.

When you feel another contraction, press hard, it's coming. Press hard!

One last time, press hard!

Press! See, that's all there's to it.

Calm down.

Anita helps gathering evidence for her sentence.

May I ask you where you grew up?

In Leipzig. - Leipzig...

In Leipzig and then in Braunschweig.

So you've always lived in larger cities? - Yes.

You went to elementary school? - Yes, and to secondary school.

Did you finish secondary school? You've got A-levels? - Yes.

Did you learn a trade? - Yes.

I'm a trained shorthand typist, nurse and telephone operator. - Wonderful.

You'll have great opportunities afterwards.

I wasn't able to study. My certificate wasn't valid.

You'll be in here a while.

Did you get any idea during the trial how long...

how high your sentence will be?

I'd think 4 or 5 years. - 4 or 5 years?

Yes. When you've got over this, for you, bad experience,

and certain questions arise,

I would urge you to put them to us.

There's no need for you to commit yourself to one person.

There's a psychologist in our team, whom you could go and see,

if you think it could be of advantage, in your profession...

We are all to blame for everything,

but if everyone knew it

we would have paradise on earth