[film reel clicking]
♪♪
[chamber clicking]
[indistinct greeting]
[distant conversation echoing]
[man]
...which gives us
an opportunity
to study and
discuss the questions
of worldwide importance
this year of 1936.
Consequently,
we must today--
Guards!
Guards!
My name
is Stephan Lux.
I am Jewish.
The Jews are being
persecuted in Germany
and the world
doesn't care.
[gasping]
I see no other way
to reach people's hearts.
[g*n fires, screaming]
[marching band playing]
[people singing in German]
Soon we'll be
in England!
[quiet chatter]
[birds chirping]
[distant groaning]
[machines whirring]
Do it.
The real thing.
[tearing]
No.
No-- you'll have to come
back, Lieutenant Gerstein.
Here.
[laughing]
♪♪
[scattered laughter]
Give here.
[engine whirring loudly]
[Gerstein]
We fight typhus
and other diseases
by eliminating parasites and
purifying the water.
You lay out all
clothes, blankets, sheets
in a hermetically-sealed
room.
Then from
the exterior openings,
you introduce crystals
of hydrocyanic acid.
This is the formula.
Do we have to
make it ourselves?
No, the institute will
supply you with it.
All details
are in here.
This is a dangerous product,
so follow with
the utmost precision.
Ratios, reaction times,
et cetera.
Regarding water...
All water
destined to our troops,
must systematically
be treated.
[man]
What if the water is known to
be drinkable, Dr. Gerstein?
It will be even more
drinkable after the treatment.
What is drinkable for a Slav
may not be for a human being.
[laughing]
[laughing loudly]
Sit down.
We must fight off typhus
as effectively
as we are fighting off
our enemies on all fronts.
Please continue,
Dr. Gerstein.
Let's continue
our lecture.
I was just saying that all
water destined to our troops
must be systematically--
Did he design
this program?
Is he from
the Wehrmacht?
The Wehrmact wanted
him, but we stole him away,
thanks to his father
who is a friend.
...Ready to be delivered to
the various fronts.
[people singing in German]
Father.
I'm just back
from Vienna.
I got
your message.
What happened?
God has recalled
our little Berthe.
Come.
This is all
that's left of her.
[crying]
What happened?
Was she taken
sick?
The letter says a cold, followed
by a pulmonary abscess.
Father, why
didn't they tell us?
Why?
Why doesn't
bring back the dead,
especially in time
of w*r.
She is my niece.
I would have medication
for her at the institute.
All my friends at the institute
speak highly of your work.
I'm told you are
successfully fighting typhus.
I'm doing
my best.
I'm serving
my country.
An idealist like
you belongs in the SS,
even if your wife doesn't
agree with me.
Please, excuse us.
[birds chirping]
Place the flower.
Heil!
No, come on, don't.
Why not?
Why aren't you in
your uniform?
You don't bid farewell to
the dead in your work clothes.
Kurt is very upset
about Berthe's death.
She was his
favorite niece.
How long is Kurt
staying this time?
I wish I knew.
And you?
Tell him.
The rumor is there are thousands
of cases around the country.
One of my
parishioners got two urns
for his handicapped sister
and two official letters.
One said it was cardiac arrest,
the other pneumonia.
I hear the SS
are behind it.
I don't think they deal
with k*lling children.
The SS deal with
everything, you know that.
Pastor, my job is
cleaning barracks
and purifying the water
for our troops.
I do nothing that's in conflict
with my conscience and my faith.
If you find out anything,
come and see us.
I have nothing to do
with anything like that.
Kurt!
Ask questions--
We cannot accept euthanasia.
What will you do?
Protest.
Who will
protest?
Every Christian
leader shall protest.
[man]
May I?
Now what
do they want?
The pastor just told me
something terrible.
What else should
he tell you?
He is a man
of the old school.
Next time, tell him spreading
misinformation in time of w*r
is high treason.
♪♪
[man]
What is the meaning of this,
Monsignor von Galen?
Since you failed to answer
my registered letter,
I'm filing a complaint
against persons unknown
for the m*rder of
unproductive citizens.
We have the facts,
the names of patients,
the names of families
and their addresses.
If you do not respond,
the Catholic Church
has no other choice
than to inform the faithful.
[footfalls retreat]
[car engine puttering]
Thank you.
Papa is back!
Papa is back!
Heil!
A present
from France.
What is it?
Well, come
and open it up.
Look for yourself.
So, hmm?
How are we
coming along?
Kicking.
I think we'll have
another lieutenant here.
What's going on?
We're having a hard
time with a very,
very difficult
arithmetic problem.
A-ha.
I see.
Hello, Mr. Gerstein.
Hello, Mrs. Hinze.
No, no, no, first
your homework.
First your homework.
Read
the question, okay?
And if you don't find
the solution,
you read the question
over and over again.
Go ahead.
If it costs 15,000 marks
to build one house
for a working-class family
and it costs six million marks
to build and run one
insane asylum,
how many
working-class houses
can you build for the cost
of one insane asylum?
[Von Galen]
They are thought of as
valueless, like a machine
that no longer turns
anything out.
Or a lame horse or a cow
that no longer yields milk.
If you admit the principle
that man has a right
to eliminate his
unproductive neighbors--
Does Bishop Von Galen know
how many have been eliminated?
Yes.
Thousands
and thousands.
Someday, you will be-- we all
will be-- unproductive.
And what will happen to our
soldiers when they come home
from the w*r severely wounded,
amputees, invalids?
Unproductive.
[typewriters clacking]
[man]
This bishops and other
pastors don't know a damn thing
about economics or eugenics.
[man]
Or about compassion.
I wouldn't mind giving that
Von Galen a few private lessons
after we've won
the w*r.
[man]
Why not now?
Let's rip off his--
Guard.
We just execute.
Come in.
Gerstein, come in.
Our imminent specialist
in matters of purification.
It's all right,
Lieutenant.
Tea, coffee,
brandy, cakes?
No, thank you.
You're leaving tomorrow to
inspect our disinfection units.
On the way back, you'll stop
in Poland to supervise
the proper usage of 500
canisters of prussic acid
that we are dispatching
to them.
We are building a vast
industrial complex there.
It will be gigantic.
They need a
specialist in chemicals.
The Wehrmacht has better
specialists than me.
The Wehrmacht's job
is to win the w*r.
Ours is to win
the post-w*r battles.
You haven't been one of us
for very long, Lieutenant.
You'll find out that the SS
like to stick together.
Right... That well-known
human warmth praised
by our
Reichsfuuührer Himmler.
[train exhaust hissing]
Thanks for
coming.
I'm off
on a mission.
So we won.
They backed down.
The operation Compassionate
Death was called off.
Oh!
I'd like to be informed.
Are you sure?
Absolutely.
For good?
They're afraid
of public opinion.
[train whistle blows]
The army of Jesus has driven
back the army of evil.
Inform Superintendent
Dr. Dibelius.
Where are you headed?
To the east.
[plane zooms past overhead]
[Gerstein]
You see how dirty
that water is?
It can
even be dirtier.
Go.
[distant g*nf*re]
Come on, go.
All right.
If the pump motor does not work,
you have a hand pump.
[laughing]
And if you don't have a
hand pump, you use buckets.
[laughing]
If you don't have buckets, you
use your helmets, all right?
[laughing]
If you don't have helmets,
you are in big trouble.
But you cannot do
without this filtering machine.
[engine chugging to life]
[cheering]
All right--
Here we go.
How about you--
A sip?
No--
You, no?
Want some, want to try?
Okay, cheers.
Ah.
Quenches your thirst,
you won't get sick,
but it tastes awful.
[laughing, distant g*nf*re]
[record playing music]
[clapping]
This looks
like a lady's garter.
Did you earn the Cross or
the garter in battle?
It had to be
in close combat.
[laughing]
I won both
in a night skirmish.
[laughing]
Which took
more guts?
The Cross
or the garter?
I was scared on both occasions,
but winning the garter,
unfortunately,
I didn't draw blood.
[laughing]
You went in there fighting,
both times?
You can be
sure I did.
I went in there with
all I had, sir.
[laughing]
Colonel Gerstein from
the hygiene institute.
You've stocked 500 canisters
of prussic acid
in a location
that has no protection.
Only 500?
There's a lot of vermin between
Berlin and Moscow.
With one canister, I can
disinfect a whole barracks.
If you get bombed, all life
within a kilometer
will be wiped--
We never get bombed here.
They don't
bother us.
They leave us alone.
What do you plan
to use it for?
Mm...
What's this?
Asti Spumonti--
It's Italian.
We didn't
conquer half the world
to have to swallow
bubbly like this.
Now raise this
junk to Herr Gerstein,
who will be joining us.
[dog barking, laughing]
The first visit
to one of our camps?
Oh no, of course not.
This one is
rather special.
How many?
Around 300.
to be treated.
[whistle blows]
Go.
♪♪
[clattering]
[banging]
♪♪
It's rather horrible.
There aren't 10
people alive
who have seen
what you've just saw.
[chatter]
Hey!
[speaking
foreign languages]
[Man speaks German]
You don't have
a reservation, Captain?
Everything is full.
Kurt.
You're sick?
Captain?
Captain.
You're sick?
Yes.
Yes.
Even an SS can
get sick.
I'm so sorry.
The Swedish ambassador's also
in the corridor.
The whole world is
traveling by train.
[man]
I'm only the secretary of
the Swedish embassy.
Herr Von Rutta.
Could you grant me an
interview tomorrow in Berlin?
I have to talk
to you.
Why not here?
We're going to spend
the night in this corridor.
I've seen something
horrifying...
something
absolutely horr--
horrifying.
Whole families are
being exterminated.
Prisoners of w*r?
Jews.
They're being exterminated,
whole families.
They're undressed,
their heads are shorn.
Even the women.
Shorn?
Why shorn?
[man]
Close your curtains,
please?
Train has light.
The enemy can b*mb
at night.
Here...
Invoices for Zyklon B.
I use it to destroy
parasites.
I supply
them with it.
And they are using
it to...
my papers.
No, I won't
need them.
Your government must warn
the Americans and the British.
Get them to drop leaflets
on Germany.
Once they're informed,
the Germans will rise against.
Tell them to
act fast.
Every day
that goes by--
[train brakes squeaking
[man]
We are stopping in
a few minutes.
Remain in
your place, please.
It's a quick stop.
to let by a train that
has priority.
If you want
references on me,
you can get them from
Auto Dibelius,
the Superintendent of
the Protestant Church.
♪♪
Sit down.
Stop them from
following me, please.
Sit down.
They need you.
They see you
so little.
It's best if
you don't know
what I'm about to
tell the pastor.
I've discovered
something dreadful, Pastor.
The Jews.
Not here.
It's unimaginable.
Later, please--
Later.
The Jews aren't being
expelled as we thought.
They're being
exterminated.
What?
The Jews are
being exterminated.
Go in!
I just got back from
the camps at Poland.
They're exterminating
Jews.
The strongest are
pressed into forced labor.
The others, the women and
children, are gassed.
I saw it
with my own eyes.
The church must alert
all Christians.
The first thing you must
do is resign from the SS.
I have seen what was not
meant to be seen.
There must
be a witness.
I shall be the eyes of God
in that hell.
This may turn into a disaster
for you and your family.
Yes.
We must announce
the assassins.
I'm prepared to do with
you in today's service,
to testify
to what I saw.
[woman]
We are ready to begin
the service.
We are coming.
There's no doubt.
We must act, but in a thoughtful
and responsible manner.
Superintendent
Dibelius can advise you.
I believe he officiated at
your marriage, didn't he?
Resign
from the SS.
Keep out of
all this.
We were saying--
you were saying that the Jews
were like a foreign body
that had
to be expelled,
that we can discriminate
against the Jews,
but, but not
persecute them.
Suppose mass m*rder
is going on.
What would
you suggest me do?
Protest,
warn Christians--
That protest may be used as
propaganda by our enemies
and we will be
accused of treason.
We are w*r,
Gerstein.
When the church protested
against the extermination
of mental--
Mercy killings.
Euthanasia.
Not extermination,
Gerstein.
Public protests
stopped euthanasia.
Let's do the same
for the Jews.
Those mental patients were
baptized members of our church.
The Jews are--
You are a soldier.
Far from the daily
reality of our people.
You are bumped into view
of the most true hardships.
You should know that the
majority of the faithful
and our pastors are
behind Mr. h*tler.
Nobody
will protest.
Nobody will even
believe you.
♪♪
The Fuuührer and Himmler
watched the same test as us.
Our orders are to accelerate
the procedure.
The hygiene institute is
sending me to the eastern front
to purify the water
of our troops.
I can't be
part of this.
There's no conflict.
All our installations
are in the east.
[man]
...has agreed to
those plans.
[man]
I'm talking of output,
not plans, Herr Pruffer.
We warned you there was a risk
of thermal distortion
that in the long
run could cause--
[man]
They were put into
operation on March 22nd.
On the 25th, after processing
a convey of 3,000 units,
the oven walls blew
out due to overheating.
If you hadn't cut down on costs
so much, Colonel Hess--
We provided you
with free labor.
Why don't you adapt
the mobile model?
Because it needs to
be resealed all the time
and tar is rationed.
Lieutenant Gerstein, exploring
the destruction of vermin
of all sorts.
We're badly in need
of your competence.
I have no competence
for this type of operation.
Gerstein's superiors
at the hygiene institute
say he is particularly
suited to tasks
for which he
has no competence.
[laughing]
I am not so sure
about that.
This is the new
generation of equipment.
It can process 10,000
units per day.
But,
that's impossible.
It will be
necessary.
We have to eliminate 11 to
The Fuuührer wants it
done before 1948.
We'll devote 1949 to dealing
with the rest of the world
and in 1950,
we will take a sabbatical.
[laughing]
The problem is that during
the operation,
the crystals only
evaporate partially.
The evaporation starts
to resume
when a sight
has been cleared,
which slows the work of
the cleaning squads.
The crystals only evaporate when
they come into contact with air.
You mean as the bodies
fall to the ground,
the smother
the crystals.
Yes, that's right.
[man]
In some cases, the crystals
exposed to air
take 40 to 50 minutes to
evaporate instead of five or 10.
That slows down production
and prevents us from
making accurate estimates.
Two factors could
contribute to this:
the poor quality of the product
or temperatures that are low.
A greater number will
raise the temperature.
That legendary
human warmth.
And the fenced columns
will protect the crystals.
Your mission is to provide us
with high quality crystals
and in great
quantity.
My responsibilities are
to the hygiene institution.
We'll share you with
the institute.
You'll be fulfilling your duties
as an SS and as a Christian.
You'll reduce the agony
of the units to five minutes
and also speed up
our tempo.
[man]
Lieutenant?
Professor would
be more suitable.
Professor.
How soon will the cleaning
squads be able
to operate
without gas masks?
Their filters are
too expensive.
Two hours.
Two hours?
[Gerstein]
Without ventilation,
two hours is the minimum.
What kind of
ventilation?
How many
cubic meters?
With a one horsepower blower,
you might save one hour.
We'll put
in two blowers.
Go back to your
sanitation work.
And don't forget your Christian
mission of public utility.
The monsignor
can't see anyone!
Just for five minutes,
it's very important!
I'm telling you, His Eminence
is not going to see anyone.
I'm a lieutenant--
Now go and announce me!
Excuse me, I have
to talk to you.
I have to
speak to you--
[monsignor]
What are you doing in
here, Officer?
I'm Lieutenant Kurt Gerstein,
Excellency.
I have information
for the Vatican
of an urgency and importance
that will undoubtedly justify
my intrusion.
Lieutenant, I'm shocked by the
manner in which you burst in.
I called
the police, Excellency.
No, if my superiors learn
of my visit--
It's an
intrusion, sir.
Excellency, I have a message
for the Vatican.
I've been in Poland
at the camps of
Auschwitz and Belzec.
Every day, thousands of Jews
are being m*rder*d--
Enough!
Get out of here.
Come along, Count.
We cannot listen
to any more of this.
I saw everything
with my own eyes.
Excellency!
Convoys from all
over Europe are arriving
at those factories
of death.
Only the Vatican
can do something
to stop those
atrocities.
Only His Holiness, by
alerting world public opinion
and all Christians.
Thank you for
being so concerned
about what His Holiness
should do.
Are you a Catholic?
[banging]
Excellency.
What I saw haunts
me day and night.
Even in death, we
can recognize a family.
They die clinging
together.
Naked mothers clasp their
infants to their breast.
I was told
that after death...
they can't be
pried apart.
Not even with hooks.
I have no right to be in
contact with the German army.
See him out.
You may leave.
Gestapo
communication.
An SS defending
the Jews.
They think
we are idiots.
♪♪
[speaking German]
Excuse me.
Is Baron Von Otter in?
No--
I'm his assistant.
Who are you?
Lieutenant Kurt Gerstein--
He knows me.
He's traveling--
May I help you?
When will
he be back?
We don't know.
Thank you.
[sirens blaring]
[Gerstein]
Berthe!
Papa!
Heil!
Hey now, don't do that.
Heil!
Now stop it.
Heil!
I told you to stop that!
[distant banging
and rattling]
I told you to
stay there-- Stay!
What is it, dear?
You can't stay
in town any longer.
They're bombing all
over the country.
That's not
what I meant.
I want you to go and live
at your parents' home
in Tubingen
with the children.
Please let them finish their
school year here, mein Liebe.
I said no
and I mean no!
[baby crying]
You're probably right.
Adelheid, take your
brother, go play over there.
[distant explosions,
children crying]
Maybe you
should tell me.
I want you to leave as
soon as possible.
That's
all I can say.
Is there another
woman?
[sighing]
You... you
make me laugh.
You make me laugh.
At least that's one
thing I'm still good at.
Who will take
care of you?
Mrs. Hinze
will do fine.
Is she Jew?
Did she tell you
she was?
No.
Someone else
tell you?
No.
[woman]
Come, kinder,
come here.
Don't worry
about it.
[children singing in German]
[distant g*nf*re
and explosions]
You take everything
too seriously.
Don't forget that
you have a family.
That's what
counts.
More than
anything in the world.
[music playing]
Mrs. Hinze?
Could you start packing
my things, please?
Yes-- and I'll get
the carpenter to come back.
The bombs made it
loose again.
Can you drive
us to Tubingen?
No.
My father will
take you.
I have no time.
There's a big
black car outside.
Gerstein, a relief
to find you.
Something awful
has just happened...
What a fine German family.
[sneezing]
I tried to
call you.
You haven't heard?
No.
The Fuuührer personal
plane exploded on takeoff.
And the Fuuührer
was on it?
With Goebbels, Goering
and Himmler.
No one survived?
Yes.
Germany.
I got you.
I got you.
I'll report you for
spreading false good news.
It was my father's.
It was damaged
by some b*mb blasts.
My girlfriend's house near
here was destroyed.
Only the wall with the portrait
of the Fuuührer wasn't damaged.
The Fuuührer's portrait
never gets damaged!
Arnulf--
Come on!
Yes, you're right.
You made a very good
impression on our colleagues
who are specialists of...
Yes, yes, a very good one.
I'm leaving.
Reidstadt--
You're coming with me.
You'll continue on to visit your
manufacturer of prussic acid
in Czechoslovakia--
on the way we'll chat.
You are he only person with whom
it's still worth talking to.
Why the only one?
Our colleagues have a kind
of technical intelligence,
but they're either
self-satisfied, drunkards
or degenerates and
often all three.
Are your children
studying science?
No.
They're too young.
I have a splendid specimen of
a Judeo-Bolshevik skull.
A skull!
No--
No.
Kurt.
One is never
too young to learn.
I'll show it
to them.
To celebrate
Darwin's birthday,
the purest Swiss
chocolate.
You shouldn't have--
You shouldn't have.
Giving pleasure
is my pleasure.
Hmm?
Let's see.
"Man descended from the ape,
but the Negroes and the Jews
only got halfway."
Delicious.
Here.
No, no,
thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Stop it.
Gerstein.
Gerstein, learn to control
your facial muscles better.
In the SS, as in poker,
your opponents
and even your partners
should never be able to
read your thoughts.
Or your game.
You think you
can read my thoughts?
Like an open book.
That's why I
appreciate you.
[baby gurgling]
What a treasure you
have there.
Take good
care of them.
See you the day after
tomorrow in the morning.
At 6:30 sharp.
I can't wait.
[car engine starts]
Gerstein,
I'm Ricardo Fontana.
We met at a papal
occasion.
I'm a Jesuit.
A Jesuit?
Is that how I should introduce
you if that man came back?
That man in
the black car?
No, just introduce me as...
as a spy for God,
as Kierkegaard
would have put it.
Spy for God or for
the Vatican?
For the Vatican
wouldn't make sense.
What do you want?
I was ashamed of
Dibelius's behavior.
What you said upset me and
I wish to know more.
And more.
More about what?
If what you
said is true,
then the Holy Father
must be informed.
But he will ask
me for evidence.
The Pope doesn't know what
we're doing to the Jews?
With his priests, his
parishes, his bishops?
He has the finest intelligence
service in the world.
He's only informed when
Catholics are persecuted.
He should ask
persecuted Catholics
about the persecution of
Jews and Gypsies.
Gypsies move
around a lot.
And Jews get moved
around a lot.
What doesn't the Pope wonder
where the deportees are going?
Mr. Gerstein, neither
the Pope nor my father,
who is close to him, have much
esteem for Mr. h*tler,
but they realize he
has succeeded in doing
what nobody else has
dared to do--
he defeated
Communism in Germany
and now in Russia.
And this man we do not
esteem has become a myth.
Your myth is committing acts of
barbarity that only the Pope,
the representative
of Jesus, can condemn
so that the world and the
Germans will know about it.
When the Holy Father is
informed of these atrocities,
he will take a
firm stand.
But you'll have to tell
me everything you know.
It won't be enough
to convince him.
Have a seat.
People who betray their
own country...
Are always suspect.
[clock chimes ringing]
Some cookies for
His Eminence.
He's very angry.
You didn't tell
us you would be out.
His Eminence is conferring
with a minister
about religious matters.
He authorized me to
show you in at any time.
He was counting on your
verbal skills.
He's dealing with some very
difficult n*zi negotiators.
What's
the meeting about?
Always the same thing--
smoothing out the little
differences between us and
the authorities of the Reich.
Little differences?
They don't want to pay the taxes
allotted to the churches.
May I
show you in?
♪♪
[bells tolling]
Oh, Ricardo.
Already back?
Do you know where
my father is?
How is the charming
Mr. h*tler?
He sends
his regards.
Your father isn't
here today.
Do you know
when he'll be back?
[distant conversation]
♪♪
[train whistle blows]
Kurt, I think the Fuuührer made
a mistake about the Jews.
Another one
of your jokes?
He presented them
as very dangerous
because they were so organized
internationally right?
Yet, you and I have
easy it is to send them up
in a puff of smoke.
Even our lunatics
who are wretches
turned out to
be defended better.
Our churches-- I'm... a
little bit Catholic--
our churches
saved the lunatics.
Nobody's come forward
for the Jews.
They say American
Jews are so powerful,
but Roosevelt hasn't
said a word yet.
If the Fuuührer made a mistake,
as you said, why continue?
The Fuhrer's mistake was
the diagnosis, not the remedy.
We have to get
rid of them.
But I think
we are lost.
Excuse me?
This idiot is driving
around in circles.
Straight ahead--
Straight ahead!
I woke him up.
The Reich needs
men like us.
Men who have learned to
subdue their consciences,
not those brainless brutes
who feel superior
because they were
told they were Aryans.
It's magnificent.
Magnificent!
[speaking Italian]
It will be.
Ricardo!
No, no.
No!
Ricardo!
The press is
interested in your father.
The pope has dedicated
the word
to the immaculate
heart of the Virgin Mary
to restore peace.
It's a major
celebration.
I am presenting
it to the press.
Another celebration.
You look tense.
Has Enuncio sent
you on a mission?
No, I came of my
own initiative.
Your own initiative?
Yes.
Jews of Europe are
being exterminated.
In every country
that Germany has conquered.
We'll finish this
tomorrow-- Leave us.
Tomorrow is--
Leave us!
I've come to inform
the Holy Father.
The Holy Father
doesn't need to be informed.
If he was informed, he would
already have condemned
these atrocities.
Calm down,
will you.
His Eminence,
the Cardinal is here.
Show him in.
Is it all right
if he sees you here?
Yes.
From my very
own garden.
Thank you--
They are splendid.
Ricardo, my boy.
You look wonderful.
How is that
dreadful Mr. h*tler?
Just dreadful.
What news of
our American friend?
Due here any
minute, Eminence.
Enuncio didn't tell us of
your arrival, Ricardo.
It's because
I came without him.
It looks like the German army
is blocked at Stalingrad.
Eminence, I have
secret information
about h*tler's extermination
camps.
Well, now.
Here we have
a secret agent
who leaves his post
without informing
Enuncio.
I think the Holy
Father should be informed.
The Holy Father holds
Mr. h*tler in very low esteem
and since he signed that
infamous pact with that Stalin,
nothing he does will
surprise His Holiness.
Consider the time
I told the Holy Father
that h*tler had a
hidden agenda.
He att*cked
too late.
And now he is stuck
in the Russian winter.
The Holy Father is
very concerned.
h*tler must crush Stalin
and then sign a peace treaty
with the Americans.
Then all these horrors that are
breaking Holy Father's heart
will be over.
The Allies will never
sign a peace treaty with h*tler.
In the meantime, Jews are
being massacred.
The Holy Father
must protest.
He must?
They are being
gassed every day.
We've grown accustomed to
the Jews' endless moaning.
I hold this information from
an SS officer.
Count, your son
mingles with the SS?
Do you think this SS was sent
by divine providence?
The American gentleman
is here.
Welcome.
Count.
This is my son,
Ricardo.
Just arrived
from Berlin.
Our paths crossed
earlier, right?
The pope
wouldn't receive me.
He was meeting with
some Germans.
I did however meet
a great many eminences.
Your Eminence.
Dear friend, here is the reply
your government is waiting for.
Wonderful.
I trust this--
Ah, she was a
saintly woman.
You didn't know her,
Mr. Tittman.
No.
Countess Fontana.
She left
us too soon.
[train whistle blows]
Something to drink?
Kurt?
I think the two of us
make a good team.
It's a pity
you can't stay.
Prague has a very beautiful
Jewish cemetery.
Ah.
Carry on, Luigi.
Monsignor,
this just came.
The pope needs
me immediately.
Duty before pleasure.
When will Ambassador Taylor
be back?
Not for
two months.
We look forward to
seeing him again.
Count, Berlin is no longer
a pleasant place to live in,
but it's a good school to learn
moderation and patience.
We hope Ricardo will go
back there as soon as possible.
So, is Berlin punishment
or a promotion?
Where does the
American government stand
concerning the massive
slaughter of Jews?
We've been trying
to verify these rumors.
We've asked the Vatican,
actually.
And the Vatican,
having heard the same rumors,
is asking us
to verify.
While you're verifying
exterminated every day.
If you want a chance at
being believed,
don't mention that figure.
Say a few hundred.
I can introduce you
to someone who has seen
the gas chambers operating
with his own eyes.
Ricardo.
Ricardo, our guest
came here to have lunch.
Sorry, Father.
At last you
have your reply.
It isn't signed.
The pope's advisor gave it
to you personally.
That's the signature.
♪♪
Convey our congratulations to
SS Lieutenant Kurt Gerstein
for his nomination
as head of our sanitary
and technical services.
We are grateful to him
for the excellence of his work.
Signed, Heinrich Himmler.
Heil, h*tler!
[all others]
Heil, h*tler!
As for me, I name you
the worst enemy of vermin,
wherever and whatever
they are.
I join my congratulations
to Himmler's.
Thank you, Reichsfuuührer.
There's an ambulance
here waiting your inspection.
It's urgent.
Carry on, we'll
be right back.
[clattering and chatter]
And the other front,
you are right.
I know the doctor and the others
are very pleased with you.
My God,
there are leaks.
There are leaks!
Close the doors--
There are leaks!
Put your masks on,
all of you!
Put the masks on!
Go!
It's highly toxic--
It's deadly.
Don't look at me like
a cow, put your mask on!
Move out the shipment
and bury it.
Come on--
Get the car out of here!
I can't smell
anything.
I was told to
have irritants removed.
Leaks are very hard
to detect.
Put your mask on.
Come and push
the car out!
Bury that shipment!
I don't want
this product
transtransitingitting
through here anymore.
Deal with it any way you
want, but deal with it.
[deep oxygen breathing]
You know everyone.
You're on leave.
No, convalescing.
This is a nice
little Bordeaux.
I was just telling them that
there is an SS plan
to exterminate the Jews.
And I've seen it
in operation.
In the name of all
our strongest members
of Protestant youth groups,
I've gathered you here
to discuss what
action could be taken--
Evening, Father.
Ah, Himmel
You know everyone.
Armin was wounded on
the eastern front.
I hope
nothing serious.
No, I'm heading back
next week.
Good.
Can I talk to you?
Why didn't you
tell me?
You think I'm
not concerned?
Luckily my friends in
the SS tell me everything.
Everything about
everything?
Everything
about you.
Congratulations on your
promotion-- Good.
I'd rather
you had told me.
What are you still doing
with that pastor
and these troublemakers?
Father...
have your SS friends
ever mentioned
the monstrosities they're
hiding from the German people?
Not again.
Our country got back on its feet
thanks to Chancellor h*tler.
And thanks to the common
people who aren't as fancy
as Mr. Thomas Mann or your
friend, the humanistic priest.
They're making us
accomplices of a crime
that will doom the German
people for all eternity!
Stop listening to
British propaganda, please.
Have you ever wondered
what happened
to your Jewish
acquaintances and colleagues?
Ever wondered what
happened to them?
They have been sidelined
from public life.
In wartime it's only
natural to weed out people
who say they belong to
an International,
directed from Moscow one
day and New York the next.
What if I told you those
people no longer exist?
What exactly
did he tell you?
That thousands of Jews are
being deported to the east
to be gassed.
He actually
witnessed it.
The Jews left
for America long ago.
He means Jews from all
over Europe.
I knew the SS were a bunch of
maniacs, but he tops them all.
They are sent to the camps
to work, of course.
What kinds of work
needs millions of workers?
Don't work for the salvation
of your soul, Kurt,
work for the
salvation of our people.
That's what I'm
doing, Father!
Night and day.
Once and for all, drop
all that sentimental nonsense.
You're lying.
Germans are incapable
of such atrocities.
Himmel, please.
Kurt, our struggles against
the Nazis are ancient history.
Today, you are in the SS,
I am in the Luftwaffe
and our children
are being bombed.
Sorry.
Well...
How about you?
I vowed never to raise my
arm, never to say Heil.
So far I
have succeeded.
Lucky is he who can ignore what
can't be changed anymore.
"Die Fledermaus,"
by Johann Strauss.
Excuse me,
Pastor.
I have
work to do.
There's still a lot
more Jews to gas!
[singing in Latin]
Mercy, Holy Father,
for the people of Christ.
Mercy for the Jewish
people.
I know the sufferings
of the world, Ricardo.
[whispering]
...in the east... trains...
extermination camps...
...gas chambers...
My heart bleeds
for the victims.
I pray for them.
I pray for you too,
my child.
The world is waiting for
the representative of Jesus
to lead the way.
There's no need to make a
spectacle of yourself.
Somebody had to
tell His Holiness.
His Holiness will use fiery
language against the n*zi crimes
in his Christmas homily.
You know-- why
didn't you tell me?
I'm telling you now!
Thank God!
Thank diplomacy
and perseverance.
You must trust
your father.
♪♪
[distant shouting]
The crematoriums
are overworked.
Why didn't you come
and verify them before?
The whole stock has come
in contact with air.
It's unusable--
It has to be buried.
Unlike our other deliveries, we
always seem to have problems
with your shipments of gas.
The doctor asked me
for gas without irritants.
I had so many manufactured
on that tone.
There are defects!
It can't be used,
it has to be buried.
I can't call
everything off.
I will use it.
It won't work.
I told you, it works badly,
but it works.
We steal
them from corpses
to trade them
for vodka.
There's also
been talking.
I can't move corpses
without drinking.
[g*n fires]
What were you
two talking about?
He said there were
dead bodies screaming
when they were thrown
in the ovens.
Move.
[g*n fires]
Your Zyklon is taking 60 minutes
to work instead of 10.
It's slowing
down our rate.
It's getting on
our nerves.
They're all
stupid thieves.
Heil h*tler.
[all others]
Heil h*tler!
First, Berlin congratulates
us for our results
and encourages us
to increase our efforts.
[murmuring]
Second, we are on the verge
of a catastrophe
that could
hinder our whole mission.
Transport problems
again?
No, no.
Our convoys have
priority everywhere.
It concerns the supply of
quality-grade Zyklon gas.
Treblinka has run
out of stock.
Gerstein, why don't we keep all
our supplies in one location?
Because of
air raid danger.
None of our camps has
ever been bombed.
You can't b*mb
prison camps.
It's forbidden by
the Geneva convention.
[laughing]
Will we ever deal
in a rational manner
with these damn supply
problems?
Estimates were established
on the basis of 10,000
units per day.
For all the camps?
I am being delivered
[man]
So am I!
I can't feed them
or house them.
My camp is
now total chaos.
...being
demanded from us.
Some people only fight
wars in offices!
And our orders
are to accelerate.
They have to give
us the means.
All the means.
The Shriver company could supply
us with mills to grind them up.
We'll never
get out of this.
I'm having nightmares.
Quiet!
Let's have some order
here, please.
What do you
estimate your needs are?
I don't estimate.
I want huge stocks
of Zyklon ready for use
stocked in one place
underground.
You may even spend
some money if you have to.
Our suppliers will have a
hard time keeping up.
Your suppliers,
your manufacturers
shout, "Heil h*tler"
night and day
while they
fill their pockets.
They should watch out.
We can Aryanize
the Aryanizers.
[laughing]
Gerhert will take charge
of your dealings with them.
He's good at that.
He's also well-connected
in Switzerland
and other
neutral countries.
I don't want the whole operation
to collapse because
of gas shortage
and installation problems.
Are those your entire
estimates?
Have a look at it.
Where do we stand?
Don't, Gerstein.
I thought it best
to wait for you here.
I don't trust
the telephone.
The others
have to act.
The situation is
getting worse.
The Allies must
b*mb the railroad lines
leading the camps and they
must destroy the buildings
used for extermination.
I have
informed my government.
You must insist-- Bring
it up again.
Those factories of death
are working day and night.
You overestimate the power
of heads of state.
Our government
has been negotiating
with the United States for
seven months
to get them to take
on 2,000 Jewish children.
They're getting nowhere.
That's nothing!
That's a drop in
the bucket.
brought to the camps every day.
I can organize
for you and your family--
I found someone to inform
the pope.
I'm sure
the pope will speak out.
The Allies must be ready to
inform the German people.
I will make
it known, Mr. Gerstein.
I can obtain passports for you
and your family--
No, no, I refuse to leave
my country.
I must
testify about all this.
♪♪
[laughing]
It is a French dinner for a
German Christmas.
I will have a stud farm in
Normandy and breed horses.
After our victory.
[man]
Victory!
My wife and I--
I've already found a farm
in Poland.
Oh no in Poland-- My wife
and I hate the cold.
Yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah ,yeah?
I'm going
to have a Greek island.
What's your dream, Kurt?
I'd like to be a German
in Germany.
[laughing]
I'll testify about
my wartime experiences.
Unfortunately, you won't be
able to tell at all.
Excuse me, please.
[laughing]
German in Germany!
He's here.
You're here--
Oh, that's wonderful!
I didn't know you
had guests.
Maybe I should leave.
No, no, no, you stay-- You
have to translate.
The speech is
going to start in a while.
Mrs. Hinze,
set up the radio.
Okay.
I'll be right back.
Okay.
[laughing, coughing]
Was it
the promised surprise?
No-- The surprise
is coming.
But we have to
respect very precise rules.
Germans always
respect the rules
as long as they
are precise.
No gifts
before the singing.
[Singing "Silent Night"
in German]
[radio tuner whirring]
[singing]
[Children singing in foreign
language on radio]
Has it started?
No-- Any minute now.
[Singing "Silent Night"
in German]
[speaks German]
[guests banging on table]
I'll try
to get rid of them.
[guests]
Gerstein, Gerstein, Gerstein,
Gerstein!
What about
our surprise?
Come-- Come along.
Here's the surprise.
I thought of a little game
for your Christmas presents.
When I blow this
whistle...
you'll go into the room.
I'll switch
off the lights...
and close the door.
You'll have exactly one minute
to go on a treasure hunt.
The second
time I blow this whistle,
you'll stop immediately.
Whatever you're holding
is yours.
[gasps of surprise]
Hold it!
On your marks, get set&
[blowing whistle]
You know
how to amuse idiots.
Why do you make such efforts
to be popular?
I'm very attached
to our Christmas traditions.
[woman]
Oh, who pinched my ass?
[man]
It's my Christmas present,
my dear.
[blowing whistle]
No, you're not allowed
to pick it up.
[Man speaks
in Italian on radio]
Our friends like your
little presents.
I've got
to phone my family.
Excuse me, please.
Family?
The sweetest word in
our language.
Give them
my best wishes.
Make sure that no one comes
in, Mrs. Hinze.
[Man speaks
in Italian on radio]
He has appealed to all
the peoples of the earth
to let divine laws be the center
of gravity of our society.
[Man speaks
in Italian on radio]
[translating]
This wish, humanity owes it
to the infinite multitude
of suffering
mothers, widows and orphans
that have been deprived of
the light of sustenance
of their lives.
[speaks in Italian]
[all]
No!
Gerstein, Gerstein, Gerstein,
Gerstein, Gerstein!
What shall I do?
Tell them
I'm talking to my children.
Put some music on the Gramophone
so that they can dance.
All right.
And Mrs. Hinze, smile
at them.
I'll try.
[guests]
Gerstein, Gerstein, Gerstein,
Gerstein, Gerstein!
[translating]
This wish,
humanity owes it&
He's talking to his
children.
[all]
Oh&
Oh, I love it!
&and the millions of
non-combatants.
The w*r in the air that we
all have denounced many times,
mankind has, without
distinction,
deprived of life,
health,
of homes, of heaven,
of charity and prayer.
That's all?
That's all.
He-- He-- he nev...
He never even pronounced
the word "Jew"
or "concentration camp."
Can you
travel outside Germany?
Yes.
The pope is too
protected.
He needs
to meet an eye witness.
♪♪
Sir, Washington's still--
The Holy Father
is arriving.
Excellency, Washington is
still amazed
the pope's Christmas
broadcast was so bland.
The lack of any condemnation
of n*zi atrocity
threatens the moral
leadership of the Holy Father
and faith in the church
itself.
You can't
condemn h*tler
without condemning Stalin, who's
your ally.
You can't
compare the two.
We are very pleased to welcome
you to the Vatican again.
The greetings and good wishes
that President Roosevelt
has so kindly extended to us for
the holy season of Christmas
have been a source of particular
pleasure for us.
Our heart too is saddened
by the thought that once more,
the serene light that radiates
from Bethlehem
shines upon a world
troubled and bloodied by w*r.
And no one appreciates more
than President Roosevelt
the ceaseless
efforts of Your Holiness
to prevent the outbreak of w*r
and to stop it from spreading.
Your Holiness is familiar with
President Roosevelt's
tireless efforts to achieve
victory, a complete victory.
Your moral help and assistance
in this effort
would be highly
appreciated by the president.
Ricardo.
Decided to come with the
permission of your superiors.
Nothing is
denied to your son.
A protege of the pope, you
should know that.
The Holy Father
likes you.
Only yesterday, he said to me
that Berlin will provide you
with excellent diplomatic
experience.
Do diplomacy and the gospel
belong together?
At Christmas, we waited for
his fiery words
against the n*zi crimes.
The pope needs tangible
evidence before he commits--
I have an eye witness willing
to come and testify.
He's an SS officer.
I have
friends for lunch.
If you hold your tongue, you are
more than welcome.
Thank you, but I'd rather
eat in my room.
I wanted to introduce you
to the American ambassador.
Then I'll
be glad to join you.
Papa-- Papa!
Arnulf-- Big boy.
Adelheid.
I've got something for you
that you'll really like.
What is it?
What is it?
Go ahead
and take a look.
I was visiting a nearby
factory
and I thought I'd make
a little side trip to see you.
Are you all right?
Better than yesterday, worse
than tomorrow.
Good morning, Pastor.
Good morning, Kurt.
Some little gifts from
the Ukraine.
Forgive me.
I've heard awful rumors.
Yes?
About... about Russia.
They say
the Marshall of the Reich
surrendered with all his men at
the place called Stalingrad.
Have you been listening
to the English radio, Pastor?
Me-- God forbid, no.
It's a rumor that's
going around.
Propaganda.
Falsehoods, defeatism.
Thank you, Kurt.
You relieved
me of a heavy burden.
That's all right-- Goodbye,
Pastor.
h*tler's harvesting what
he's sowing.
And we
are the beneficiaries.
I can't stay long.
All right,
let's go-- Up with it.
Into the house--
Come on.
[man]
These words play havoc with
our beliefs.
And the church
is the victim.
We had
a warlike pope, he d*ed.
Then Providence gave us
a peace-loving pope
and w*r broke out.
[laughing]
Oh, Ricardo, how
are you?
Ricardo, have a seat.
This is
the American ambassador.
My son just arrived
from Berlin.
What news
from Berlin, Ricardo?
Please, Your Eminence,
an SS officer gave
me this map of Poland.
On it, you'll find
the names and locations
of the concentration
camps.
In red are the numbers of people
who are being gassed everyday
and in black,
you'll find the estimates.
That's 400,000 in Hungary,
Yeah, but what can we
do about it?
You can
negotiate to save them.
Negotiate
with the Nazis?
We'll never negotiate with
those criminals.
Not to
save a million lives?
Only winning the w*r will
save them.
They'll be
ashes long before that.
If the Holy Father could
intervene personally
with the Nazis and obtain
for the Jews to be moved--
It is
out of the question!
The Holy Father has to
remain neutral
so he
can act for peace.
And we'll not act
in order to stay neutral.
But if could intervene in
the name of Jesus, of our Lord--
Ricardo,
if he intervenes,
the Germans will inv*de
the Vatican
and loot everything.
Should we save the Vatican
or Christianity?
I mean, if by miracle he
was able to save these people,
will your
government take these Jews in?
Why would h*tler agree
to any of this?
Because it would be a fatal
blow to any democracy
weak enough
to take in these poor people.
As Goebbels said,
that those who love the Jews
have them but naked.
It would
cause civil unrest.
The rise of a gigantic wave of
anti-Semitism.
Ricardo, your attempt to save
those poor wretches
makes you
an agent of Goebbels.
How can you say that?
Since his defeat at Stalingrad,
h*tler is counting
on our weaknesses
to help him b*at us.
If we concentrate on saving Jews
and slowing down our w*r effort,
that'll suit him
just fine.
May I remind you that while we
are eating and talking,
trains are
heading for the camps?
May I remind you that our sons
are dying on battlefields
to save the free world?
[Monsignor]
The world is sick.
Ricardo, my boy.
The charge is made
of patience.
Patience,
faith and hard work.
In the end, time always proves
the church right.
Always.
I think Easter should be on
the same date every year.
There are two
important days for Christians.
The feast of the Holy Virgin
on August the 15th
and Christmas
on December the 25th.
Easter doesn't have
a fixed date...
[thundering. wind howling]
Ricardo.
Even contrition can
become pride.
I feel guilty as a spectator,
even more so as a priest.
Your pride and stubbornness
are destroying your future.
As long as I can testify to
Jesus' love for mankind,
for all mankind,
then my future is assured.
h*tler can annihilate us
at any moment.
We, the men of God,
and all
the Christians of Europe.
What if all the Christians of
Europe became Jews for a while,
just until the persecution
stopped.
What will
the executioners do?
That fact is that on one side,
there are the Nazis.
On the other
side, the Communists.
The Americans are too
far away.
If my friend from Berlin
came to Rome,
will you agree
to meet with him?
If you think he's worthy
of it, yes.
If he's worthy of it,
will you do your
best to get him an audience
with the Holy Father?
Yes.
Thank you.
Ricardo, Ricardo!
There is life the way it is
and life the way it should be.
Unfortunately, we have to live
with life the way it is.
Ah, good.
It's been ages.
Get us some drinks.
A lot has happened since we
last sat around a campfire.
[Both sing in German]
Please sit down.
[Sing in German]
What can I do for you?
Could you organize a trip
to Rome for me?
For you alone
or for you and your family?
For me alone.
A return trip?
When do
you want to leave?
I don't have the exact
date yet.
What do you think of
the situation?
I think
we were right.
And the coming events
will confirm it.
Thank God my
poor eyesight landed me
in this sinister
place.
Here I can serve my
country without renouncing
my convictions of betraying
my faith.
[chuckling]
Where did
you wind up?
In disinfection.
A vast program.
I will make a top priority
pass to you
so you can
travel when you want.
Should it be in
your name?
Yes, in my name, of course--
Thank you.
In these heroic times, have you
acquired some,
some title
or some kind of rank?
Lieutenant of
the Waffen S.S.
Go to the SS transportation
department.
This is
a private trip, Karl.
Thanks for your visit.
I suppose you're sending more
and more trains to the east.
Goods trains.
Do you know what you're
transporting?
Goods.
People too.
Factory workers.
Industry has developed
considerably in the east.
Attach a photograph in your
SS uniform.
It'll work better.
What if I told you that
we are packing
families in livestock
cars and sending them
to the slaughterhouse?
Get out of here at once or
I'll call the police
or even the Gestapo.
I haven't changed, Karl.
Neither have I.
Those trains are convoys that
are leading us to hell.
I'm not
in charge of freight.
You supervise train
schedules.
I'm doing my best to
help my country win this w*r.
What if you tried to slow
down those trains?
Are you going to get out of
here, Lieutenant Gerstein,
or would you rather
the police showed you out?
Get him out of here.
If you want to reach me,
you can find me
at the hygiene institute.
May Christ watch
over you and your family.
SS bastard.
♪♪
Yes, sir.
[station announcer
speaking Italian]
I must catch the train back
tomorrow night.
That's very short.
But I think my father will
manage to get the audience.
I found out on the train 400 SS
have recently arrived in Rome.
It's a special unit.
The Allies
are approaching Naples.
What is this?
Over three million people
have been gassed.
Over three million?
These are the invoices
and the delivery slips
for the Zyklon gas.
These maps show all
the camps, see?
This is exactly
what we need to convince them.
[man]
There is a German
roadblock.
What is this?
♪♪
[man]
It is Saturday.
They know that they are
all at home.
There's nothing we
can do.
♪♪
Gino, what's going on?
Please, Count Fontana, can you
put us up for a few days?
Yeah.
Franco, take them to
the guest house.
Go, go!
Thank you, sir.
They're in
your street now.
I know.
Go-- Go!
[soldiers yelling]
The Holy Father got up very
early this morning.
He is expecting you.
Ah, Principessa.
The Germans are arresting
the Jews.
Right here,
around the corner.
[bird chirping
No, Sister, no, you must
find him.
Please-- Thank you.
Ricardo, tell me.
What?
How come your father's so
close to the pope?
It's because of
my family.
We are auxiliaries to
the pontifical--
Yes?
All right.
Thank you, Sister.
My father is
with the pope now.
We have found out they're
arresting converts too.
Summon Ambassador Weizsaaäcker
immediately.
We demand explanations.
Tell him of our wonder
and our sorrow.
No...
Our sorrow and our anger.
Stop, stop, stop.
Monsignor!
Monsignor Rutta.
Ricardo.
Eminence, I was told my
father was here.
Yes-- The Count is with
the Abbott.
That's Gerstein, a friend.
Eminence.
Is he a convert?
I'm sorry?
It makes no difference,
but we are keeping
the two sensibilities apart.
Oh, no, no, Kurt
is an Aryan.
We must
see my father now.
Fontana is discussing
supplies with the Abbot.
[Abbot]
We have 56 refugees.
There are 11 children, five
Gypsies, three Communists
and 12 elderly
people in need of medical care.
I'll send you a doctor, some
flour and vegetables.
We are looking for meat
and pasta but it's difficult.
There are a lot
of refugees.
Your son
is here with a friend.
Really?
Kurt Gerstein,
my friend.
Delighted to
meet you, Count.
Did you manage to get an
audience?
Excuse me.
Considering what is
going on,
it is unthinkable for the pope
to meet with a German,
especially
an SS officer.
Um, can we see
the cardinal then?
Go see him--
I'll let him know.
Won't you come
with us?
No, I can't.
I have to check that all
the convents
are taking in these poor people.
This way.
Thank you.
[chattering]
What's happening?
I'm afraid they can't
let him come in.
You wait here-- I'll get
the authorization.
Wait for me here.
It is out
of the question!
For an SS who is betraying his
country to come in here.
Some betrayals are the last
resort of the just.
Ricardo.
We all like you.
The pope, your father,
myself.
We understand
the distress in your heart.
But it's exhausting us.
And poisoning our
existence.
Through there.
You will
replace my secretary.
Take notes.
And maybe you will
learn something
about how
diplomacy works.
In the Vatican, you have
the greatest masterpieces
in the world.
And no
divisions to defend them.
Mr. Ambassador, I'd be extremely
grateful if you'd give orders
that these arrests
in Rome cease immediately.
of the SS
demanded 50 kilos of gold
for not deporting the Jews.
The Jewish community gave
it to them.
And now
they're being arrested.
Should we assume that
your government
doesn't keep its word?
Alas, alas.
I'm only waiting for
you to say,
"Why don't you resign?"
Mr. Weizsacker it is
painful for the Holy Father.
Painful beyond belief.
But in Rome, under his
very eyes,
so many people
are made to suffer
simply because they belong to
another race.
What will the Holy See do
if it were to go on?
The Holy Father doesn't want
to be obliged
to express
his disapproval.
Is this an official request
from the Holy Father?
It is so he doesn't have
to make one.
So far, he has said nothing
that the German people
could consider
as an act of hostility,
but there are limits.
If the Holy Father found
it became necessary to protest,
he would abandon himself for the
consequences
to divine providence.
I am told that even converts
are being arrested.
Protest, monsignor.
Protest.
[Rolf]
Gerstein?
Kurt--
What brings you to Rome?
Rolf, Rolf--
I don't believe it.
Have you come to disinfect
the Vatican?
No, I'm looking for a good
way to get back to Berlin.
Who's the transportation
officer?
Lieutenant Mitzen.
Mm-hmm.
Come with me--
I'll introduce you.
It's pretty
crowded down there.
Not enough.
The Italians are kosher
fascists.
Without them,
we'd have twice as many.
All they like to do
is steal.
Come along.
Let me introduce you
to Mitzen.
What will
you do with them all?
Why are we here?
We are converted since
three generations.
We have no
reason to be here.
Have a safe
trip back to Berlin.
Thank you.
More than a thousand will be
deported tomorrow night
from the,
uh, Tibell--
Tiburtina.
Train station.
Nothing can
stop this now.
There's still a way
to stop it.
What do we
know about Monte Cassino.
The Americans are bombing
constantly.
The German
soldiers are holding out.
Most of the monestary
has been destroyed,
especially the south wing.
The library wing.
The library has probably
been destroyed.
They have
also bombed the chapel.
Mr. Weizsacker assured me
that the German army
will never surrender
Monte Cassino.
We solicited the American
representative
to put an end to the bombings,
but there is little hope.
We have received donations from
Cardinal Spellman.
and from Latin America.
Holy Father.
A thousand
Jews will be deported
unless Your Holiness
intercedes.
We view your self with
love, Ricardo.
Whoever sides
with the persecuted
speaks for our
whole office,
but in this matter,
only moderation can honor us.
But they will
be deported tonight.
If the Holy Father appears
at the station,
as he did at San Lorenzo
after the American bombing,
the train will
not leave.
Ricardo!
Mr. Secretary!
The church has opened
all its convents
and monasteries
to the oppressed.
Many Jews are under
our protection.
The German
ambassador has assured us
that the others are being
taken to a labor camp.
With the women
and children?
It is better than splitting
the families.
No, they are being
taken away to be m*rder*d.
It is our Christian duty,
the duty of the Holy See
to save
these one thousand--
Get out of here--
How dare you!
Count, tell your son to stop
this nonsense!
Most Holy Father,
with all respect
for the dictate of silence,
I beg Your Holiness, in all
humility,
to act personally.
In Germany, in Austria,
so many Christians have
only asked
to keep up their
hopes.
Should we give them
yet another burden to bear
when they already endure these
terrible bombardments?
At the right moment, we'll
intercede so as to restore
universal and equitable
peace.
We'll reunite
all Christians.
Our prayers, our cries
of pain.
Ricardo!
Take it off!
You don't know what
you're doing.
This is blasphemy!
On the habit
of a servant of Christ?
I'm sorry, Father.
I beg Your Holiness to relieve
me of my conscience.
Fontana.
Who would know better than us
what it is like to be a father?
It is a crown of
thorns.
[child crying]
[dogs barking]
♪♪
The baby is dead.
The priest.
There's a Catholic priest
with the Jews.
What?
What?
[woman]
Coffee or Schnapps, Captain?
Both.
The doctor hasn't come
down yet?
No.
It's too early for him to
be awake.
[knocking]
What is it?
They loaded a priest in
Rome with the Jews.
He says he's a secretary
to the--
Who did that?
Some idiots.
Probably thought it
was funny.
I'm scared he
may be a Vatican spy.
What for?
To convert Jews during
the trip?
To see
what we're doing here.
What has
he seen here?
Here, nothing--
But he made the trip.
Four days.
In his cattle car,
there were eight dead.
Five were children.
What else?
His traveling companions say
he's a cousin of the pope.
He denies it.
I think he
was deported by mistake.
They all are.
If he's a
secretary to the papal
we better liberate him.
Anyhow, he's not
a Jew.
I hereby decree
that he is a Jew.
You.
Over there.
Your Holiness.
Come, come, come, come.
I hear
you're not a Jew.
I'm just
like the others.
We need volunteers
and priests.
In case someone dies.
The work's hard
here, that's our new rule.
We're building
whole new industries.
Those are
factories of death.
And that smell--
They are pharmaceutical
factories.
It's the smell
of nitrogen and rubber.
I know what it is.
He came to spy
on us.
Your desire to be crucified
won't be fulfilled.
I have
another project.
You'll learn tolerance.
The church has shown in
the past that purification
can be achieved by
burning people.
Nazism is just doing the same
thing, but on a bigger scale.
In a way, we are
the new chosen people.
Amen.
I'm a bit of a Catholic
myself.
Not as
devout as he is.
Fletcher...
You're falling into
sentimentality.
Leave us.
And send me a Kapo for
our cleric.
He's very Catholic.
He doesn't like us to talk
about religion.
[men singing in German]
He's a good soldier though.
[man]
Let's have some music!
In six months or a year, we're
going to lose this w*r.
It'll be our turn
to hide in the catacombs.
Find a comfortable one
for me in Rome
and I'll
get you out of here,
a place nobody's ever
got out of.
When you're
back in Rome,
you can have your testimonial
at the bells of St. Peter's.
You're pathetic.
The world
already knows.
I know they know, but see
for yourself.
Divine anger isn't
rumbling from the skies,
nor are Allied bomber
planes.
German cities
get flattened by air raids,
but here, the heavens
are clear and empty.
The heavens
are never empty.
Put this man in
a sonderkommando.
He's my protégé.
No one is to
touch a hair on his head,
a point of his star or a thread
of his cassock.
He'll work
in the crematoriums.
If God's anywhere here,
that's your best chance
of finding Him.
Move.
Get me a convoy.
You need absolute priority,
Lieutenant.
Here.
Immediately.
[horse whinnying]
Sorry, Lieutenant.
The convoy behind you
has priority.
[men chant in German]
Construction to end
in November, December 1945.
Production to
start in early 1946.
I'm afraid that, uh--
What are you afraid of?
The quality of manpower
they are sending us
is getting
worse by the day.
Isn't everything getting
worse by the day?
We will be
operative in 1946, yes or no?
Of course, yes.
Gerstein?
Come in.
I have to talk to you
in private.
Fritzi!
We have to hurry.
Fritzi tried to set him free
as soon as he got here.
The doctor put him
sonderkommando
and in his castle.
Now he has
seen everything.
Papal Enuncio has asked
for explanations.
Himmler is afraid
of the consequences.
Himmler is afraid?
This priest is expected
back in Berlin.
He'll never get to Rome--
It's been taken care of.
Fritzi, you deal with it.
We'll make him sign a statement
that he only saw flower beds.
Go to the canteen--
I bring him over.
Tell Berlin...
I had nothing to do
with this.
He'll be here
in five minutes.
Anything else?
Make sure you tell Berlin
I made no mistakes.
Don't worry.
Don't worry.
Corporal, dismissed.
My God.
Your Father was sure you're
boarded that train.
I'm getting
you out of here.
No.
God lets his children
be devoured.
I want
to understand why.
Why do you want
to sacrifice yourself?
Ricardo.
It's wrong.
It's wrong
to sacrifice yourself.
We must leave and let the world
know what's going on here.
I can't leave.
I can't leave.
Gerstein!
The world
knows everything.
Look at him, he hardly looks
like a priest anymore.
Take him
away with the others
that he likes
so much.
He's a Vatican
diplomat.
He's here by mistake.
I'm here
by mistake, too.
Go.
It's court martial for
you, Gerstein.
For forging
letters from Himmler.
You went to Rome to beg for
your salvation?
And to think
I trusted you.
Up the chimney
with him.
You'll get
faster to heaven.
I spoke to Himmler over the
telephone this morning.
He wants no traces
left of those mass graves.
Don't pretend you're
surprised.
Tomorrow he'll ask us
to dismantle the showers
and the ovens.
He says he's trying to barter
the Hungarian Jews,
but nobody's interested.
Did the priest give
you any good contacts in Rome?
Yes.
But if you want to use them,
you'll have to keep him alive.
Too late.
I figure out
a way by myself.
The most glorious page
of German history
will never be written.
Is Rome still
a pleasant city?
I- I won't
leave my country.
They'll hang us,
Kurt.
You before me.
Your name is on all those
invoices for Zyklon gas.
Go back home.
To the institute, wherever
you want.
We don't need
your competence any more.
Your god will have a really hard
time with you, Gerstein.
Kurt, what is
going on?
Sorry, Pastor,
I'm in a hurry.
What should we do?
You're home.
I have to leave again.
[Adelheid and Arnulf]
Daddy's back--
Papa is back!
[Kurt playing piano and singing]
[boy]
Papa?
[singing]
See-- at last you'll find
out what I did.
The things I know--
I'll be a witness.
Listen to you--
the S.S.--
I-I have- I have evidence,
figures, names.
I'll go-
The Americans will
understand.
The French
are the closest.
The Americans are
far away
and you
cannot cross the lines.
There are no more
lines.
The front
has collapsed.
[man]
The pastor told
me you are back.
What happened to us,
Kurt?
Is everything
they say true?
Yes, everything is true.
I knew it.
But will it
be ready in time?
What?
The secret w*apon.
Yes.
I knew it.
We'll stop them.
Put your uniform back
on, son.
Father&
Father, I'm off on
a mission.
You can
wait right here.
[speaking French]
Keep him there.
Gerstein is
not through yet.
Our friend
Gerstein is writing
a French version of
his report.
Another version?
Yes.
What do
you think of him?
He claims to have resisted
the policy of atrocities.
He claims he resisted,
but he was in it up to here.
I don't believe he's
guilty.
His report is
a very important document.
These are the first charges
against him.
[Gerstein]
"It is neither understandable
nor excusable that a devout
"Christian such as himself did
not do everything in his power
to avoid being involved in
such a criminal system."
Captain, the S.S. Gerstein was
found hanged in his cell.
Was he hanged or did
he hang himself?
I don't know.
I want a written
report.
Sir.
Monsignor Hudal?
Yes.
Your friends mentioned
the United States to me,
but they are only taking
specialists
in chemistry,
aviation, physics, biology.
I'm a doctor.
Just a physician.
Then it will have to
be Argentina.
There's a
boat in six days.
In the meantime, I'll put
you up here.
♪♪
Amen. (2002)
Moderator: Maskath3
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