"Mr. and Mrs. Taschke!" "Excuse me." "Mr. Tadeusz Taschke!" "Mr. and Mrs. Taschke!" "From Director Wilinski." "Here you are." "He kept his word." "I'll get the chauffeur to help you carry your things." "No need. we got only four suitcases." "We'll manage." "My name's Krupa." "I'll help you with everything." "Thanks." "to Poland" "THE RITE OF PASSAGE" " What's that castle?" " You don't know?" "!" " It's Wawel." " I thought it was bigger." "No kidding." "This was a rich house before the war, Counselor." "Doctors, attorneys-at-law." "Mostly Jews." "Evicted right off, they had to leave their things;" "next herded in the ghetto." "And you know their end...." "To the third floor, please." "we'll walk upstairs." "Next the Gestapo settled in the apartment." "High brass with families." "when they moved out, evacuated last fall." "God knows who moved in." "There was an army bawdy house here." " What's that?" " A house of prostitution." " Like I thought... if for the army." " A correct and logical remark." "Director Wilinski occupied a few apartments here." "He remembers what kraut postal workers lived here." "So now you belong here." "Everything's the way they left." " A Nazi wetted the mattress..." " Ludwik!" " I won't sleep on that!" " So you will now." "Not enough room for me." "Come here!" "They greet us with bread and salt as is the custom." "with a knife too." " It may be a sign. who knows..." " You're sentimental, Mary." "Dad, someone's hanging in there!" "It's locked." "Let me, Counselor." "Make way, please." "So much commotion..." "From a distance I thought it was CebuIa, the cash carrier." "It pissed me off." "The swine owes me 50 zloty from before the war." "So we'll say goodbye." "Thank you very much." "Your classroom." "Good morning, sir." "Good morning." "This is Ludwik Taschke, a repatriate from Lvov." "His high school curriculum only in clandestine classes." "And has like you this war-years gap." "Typical now, isn't it?" "I've decided to have him join your class, on account of his interest in the humanities." "I hope you'll help him feel at home here." "Sit down." " So what's your name?" " Ludwik Taschke." " Ever studied Latin?" " No." "A little, that is." "By myself." "By yourself..." "what for?" "I'd sometimes run in Latin quotes in books." "I wanted to follow them." "Commendable." "So you're a repatriate." "Could you find the Latin root of the word?" "Patria, patriae, Sir." "I wasn't asking you!" "Yes, patria = homeland." "Repatriation is a return to homeland." "Exactly." "That's what I wanted to call to your attention." "Just think if you can call a repatriate one who arrives from another town in the same homeland?" "If it's not of his own will and he's been forced," "then he's... a refugee." "Fugitibus profugus." "we'll deal with it next time..." "Think about it." "Hi, I'm Roman Szrama." "want to sit with me?" " If I can?" " Sure." "Careful." "He's a chatterbox." "But you'll be to blame." "Bohdan." "Call me Bodo." "He's supposed to be as beautiful as that actor." "That's Tadek." "Hi!" "I'm Jewish." "Just in case you hated Jews." "'Cause I have a German name?" "Stefan the Ukrainian." "In case you hated Ukrainians." " Shall we speak Ukrainian?" " I can't." "That's a Ukrainian for you." "Name's Edek." "They call me druggist, as I wanted to study chemistry." "Let's go out for the break I got some smokes." "Russian." " You smoke?" " No more." "Neither do I." "I quit." "Dangerous to my health." "Come." "This is Grind." "Our desk." "In the battles for Kstrin the armies of the 1st Belorussian Front took 3,000 prisoners." "On the western front, the bridgehead has expanded on the right bank of the Rhine..." "So the war's over in a month." "That's a know-all for you." "A smart-ass from Lvov." "You look here, creep." "Hey, you crazy?" " Let him know who's Boss here." " I know." "Might's always right." " Want to make something of it?" " Why, I'd lose." "You at it again, shit?" "!" "what did I tell you, Gypsy scum?" "!" "I'll kick the shit out of you!" "Just do it once again!" "You've let off steam?" "Die deutsche Post Osten..." "tief in meinem Arsch." "Now I don't give a shit about the German Post." "But he wasn't German, I guess." "This must be a mistake, but I'm not sure." " Ask Schlapka." " Who's he?" "Our German teacher." "Our next class is his." "Hab acht!" "Frei bleiben!" " A new student, Sir!" " Which one?" " It's me, Sir." " Name?" "Ludwik Taschke." "Taschke..." "Deutsche?" "Nein, Herr Professor." "Ein Pole." " Aber du sprichst Deutsch..." " Nur ein bisschen, Herr Professor." "Father used to teach me occasionally." "German?" "No, his grandfather, my great-grandfather, that is, was." "But my great- grandmother was Polish." "So you are one eighth German." "Even less so, Sir." "My great-grandpa's mother was Hungarian." "You're an astonishing boy, my dear, with such a knowledge of your ancestors." "This is rare today." "Sit down." " I know." "He was Volksdeutsche." " Who, my grandfather?" "No, the mailman in your apartment." "Today we'll get to know the poem Erlkijnig." "I'll read you the beginning of King of the Alders." "Wer reitet so spt..." "Ruhe!" "Wer reitet so spt durch..." "Nacht und wind" "Es ist der Vater mit seinen Kind..." "You'd like this?" "That hangman's?" "Thanks." "It brings luck." "I knew Krakow from postage stamps." "Look..." "That's how I saw Wawel for the first time." "Barbican..." "This is not Krakow." "What is it?" "Why, it's Lvov." "You may invite me there some day?" " If we return..." " You sure will." "Today on May 9, 1945, Field Marshal Keitel signed the pact of unconditional surrender to the Allies," "I dated her at 9 p.m, At 9 p.m..." "Shall we meet tonight?" "Don't be embarrassed!" "Mr. Dolinski." "My respects." "What was that you were shouting through the window?" "Must've been some mathematical formulas, huh?" "No, Sir, I..." "I..." "What eyes are you talking about?" "Not because the 4th girls' high is standing down there." "I seem to have seen my dog there." " Dog?" " Dog." " Where do you live?" " In Grzegorzki." "There?" "!" "My God how touching this is!" "A dog ran across half the town in search of his master!" "It looked like mine." "I don't know." "Do you take me for a moron, Dolinski," " ... who'd buy such nonsense?" " No, I don't, Sir." "Tomorrow with your parents on the carpet!" "But I live with my uncle." "Father's still in England and Mother's not back from the camp yet." " With the uncle, then." " All right." "That means that Mother has survived?" "She wrote from Germany she was trying to get to Father." "Good." "Thank God." "I just thought it's better she's not here." "Truth is she'd eat to her heart's content for the first time since the war started." "But of shame, Dolinski." "Of shame." "Yeah, you have no shame." "Not an ounce of it." "On a day like this." "Disgrace!" "Disgrace!" "The door!" "Your class leader will assemble you in the corridor." "And in 5 minutes when the 4th high enters the school," "I'll see you in the assembly hall." "Yes?" "There's a problem, Sir:" "Muszynski, our leader, is absent today." " So his deputies, then." " We don't have any." "You assemble them, then." "Remember to enter in style, silent, and orderly." "Adjust your suits, hair." "You look like a gang of conscripts who got to a bawdy house." "If you know what that is." " Anyone?" " I do, Sir!" " Yes?" " A whore-house, Sir." "what?" "!" "Call it a house of prostitution, moron." "Take five." "what's this about?" "why, this is Professor Siphon." "It's for you, Grind." "Up yours." "Welcome, the principal of the 4th High!" "Welcome, the chairs of staff meetings of both our schools." "Welcome, the Reverent Catechists." "See that blonde?" "Not bad, huh?" "I'd prefer the dark one." " Which one?" " With the ribbons." "...a few words about things not strictly a part of this celebration..." "Too skinny." "Those are passionate..." "Not the blondes?" "!" "...the cruelest and bloodiest war of all time ended." "See that one up front?" "Those tits." "You are part of that future, its foundation." "You fancy such blondes, huh?" "I know them." "Him, that is." "From our school." "Two years ahead of us." "From Warsaw." "Fought in the Rising." "A fine guy." "Handsome." "No wonder he's got that babe." " What?" " We call a pretty girl babe." "Funny that Lvov argot of yours." "And yours isn't, huh?" "My aunt and uncle have arrived." "Hey!" "Hi!" "My cousin Lesio, a bit crazy." "He was buried under rubble in the bunker during the bombing of Lvov." "Pay him no attention." "Barbican, a gothic structure with seven small towers, erected during the reign of Jan Olbracht." "An indomitable fortress until the 18th century." "The Florian Gate had been put up earlier about the year 1300." "It features a bas-relief of St. Florian of the 18th century, facing the city, and the Piast eagle, facing the Barbican." "It was flying from the Barbican?" "It wasn't flying." "That shield features it, moron!" "It was flying and then they caught it, no?" "Moron!" "Moron!" "Now I'll show you the Slowacki Theater." "Rosie!" "Rosie!" "You live?" "!" "My daughter lives!" "Do you understand?" "She is perishing!" "Lonya, it's my daughter!" "Help!" "Help!" " You're beating a Pole, SOB?" "!" " Get away!" "What's up?" "A crazy woman." "She attacked me." "She wants to take away my daughter." "It's not true!" "She stole my daughter!" "We ran away from the Warsaw ghetto in '42." "I hid her with some people." "Look!" "That's true. word of honor." "A Jewess wants to take a child from her mother!" "She's a Catholic child, baptized in Lvov in '37 at the Mary Magdalene Church." " You have a medallion." " It's not true." "I agreed to baptize her, to save her..." "She ditched her daughter and wants to abduct another!" " To make matzos!" " Let's beat her!" "Quiet!" "Your IDs." "Both of you." " Place of residence?" " With my brother." " 6 Sereno Fenn St. apt 12." " Sereno Fenn...." "They may cut and burn me, but I won't give away my darling daughter." "Calm down." "Everything will be fine." "You got a birth certificate and that of Confirmation." "She hasn't had Confirmation yet!" "Mary, she's too little!" "You're right." "Don't be nervous." "I'll bring more tea." "Look how feverish she is!" "The poor child is running a fever!" "She has no fever." "Everything's fine." "And Ludwik handed her hat to her." " Why did you pick it up?" " Instinctively." "when someone older drops something, you pick it up." " Why, it's pointless." " Not at such a moment." "You could've struck her!" "Didn't you see Lesio defend me bravely." "Come Lesio, I'll give you a hug." "Try to empathize with that poor mother." "She must've been convinced it was her daughter." "And you're defending her?" "!" "Taking her side?" "!" "I least expected it of you!" "I didn't see her at all!" "Just trying to understand her." " Aunt, I'd like to say sorry." " Why?" "For picking up that hat." "I'm sorry to have reprimanded you." "You did the right and beautiful thing, like a true gentleman." "Come." "Let me kiss you." "Which of you, citizens, is the father of the child?" "I, and this is my brother-in-law." "A brother-in-law...." "A brother-in-law's word is like his bond, huh?" "So what's next?" "We both certify that Zosia is a biological daughter of Jadwiga, born Jan. 24, 1937 in Lvov." "You have her birth certificate and the Soviet passport..." "Documents can be bought or forged." "How should I know if yours are authentic?" "That Jewess has a phony ID too." "Her name can't be" "Przedrzymirska." "I'll convince you, Sir." "Take a look at the two photos." "That's our Zosia a month ago, age 7 and 9 months." "And that's Rosie." "Provided she looks alike, but not to me." "See when the photo was taken, please." "Souvenir of her first Communion in May 1942." "Well, almost 4 years ago." "How could've our Zosia received her first Communion when barely 4?" "She will in a year's time." "That lady's daughter would have to look quite different today too." "Don't you know what a 4-year difference means at that age?" "So you've convinced me." "Ballocks to me if it's not a proof." "All right." "Send in that Jewess and that Soviet." "Yes, sir." " You finished, Taschke?" " Yes, Sir." "Your notebook, please." "what have we got here?" "You can go out into the corridor if you like." "Couldn't I stay at my desk?" "I won't prompt him." " Bitte sehr." " Vielen Dank, Herr Professor." "Monitor, collect the notebooks." "Would you like to help someone?" "I was asked to recommend a tutor." "Very nice people, a beautiful house..." " Think it over." " The notebooks, Sir." "Danke." " Hello." " Yes?" "About the tutorials." "Come on in." "The lady's waiting." "Madame, the tutor's come." "Good afternoon." "My name's Ludwik Taschke." " Professor sent me." " Yes, I know." "I asked him to do it." " In what year are you?" " Junior year in high school." "So you're 17." " 16." " Oh...." "You look more mature." "Please be seated." "Funny...." "I thought Prof. Schlapka taught the senior class." "Yes, he does;" "the senior class too." "I don't know why he chose me." "You must be the best." "I asked him for the best student." " Who should I teach?" " Me." " You?" "!" " You scared?" "No." "The professor said I'd tutor a girl student." "It all adds up." "I'll be the girl student." "It'll be no tutorials at all, as I don't study anywhere." "I've never studied German." "But now I want to start systematically, from the beginning." " Do you have a handbook....?" " No." "So I'll try to get one for beginners." "Splendid." "It's wonderful to be a beginner again." "Great!" "She's just bored." "She must have an old husband, so she wants tutorials with a young boy." "But she wanted a senior." "Yeah, she was disappointed at first as it were." "But later she was more favorably disposed." "She fancied you." "She'll teach you better than you do her." "Come on she's a mature lady." " How old can she be?" " Must be over 25." "Over 25 is not so much." "She's experienced at least." "You'll have it like in paradise." " Should I confess it?" " What?" "About the tutorials." "Why, you haven't done anything." "Or admit that you hid something from me." "Why, I told you everything." "Quiet, boys." "So nothing to confess yet." " Das ist ein Tisch." " Das ist mein Tisch." "Nicht mein sondern ein!" "Masculine gender: der Tisch." "Das ist ein Tisch." "Das ist mein Tisch." "why, it's my table!" "Yeah, it's yours." "But..." "What's..." " ... knee in German?" " Das Knie, neuter gender." "Like in Polish." "Yes, but... knee is feminine... but this is masculine." "Yet in German it's neuter gender." "Oh, what a disgusting gender that neuter one." "Luckily, it's transitional." "we have a child - ein Kind, but at one moment childhood is over and it's he or she.." "A woman and a man..." "Right?" "Right?" " Mr. Ludwik?" " Yes." "All right." "Back to German." "Der Tisch... ein Tisch." "Der Tisch." "Where have you been?" " I had a German tutorial." " So many hours?" " A double lesson today." " No kidding." "You've been to the movies with Romek again." "I've been to no movie." "why are you so feverish?" "Feeling badly?" "I'm fine." " You have a boy student?" " No, a girl." " In which class?" " Past school already." " How old is she?" " A bit younger than you." "About 35." " Who is she?" " Attorney Halper's wife." " They live on Wyspianski St." " Why does she study German?" "I don't know." "I haven't asked her." "All right. wash your hands." "Supper's right off." " Hello." " Hello." "Is Mrs. Halper home?" "I'm the tutor's mother." " What happened?" " I just wanted to talk." "The lady is still dressing." "I'll tell her you have come." " Please come on in." " Thank you." "Please be seated." "The lady will come right off." "Thank you." "I'm Mrs. Halper." "Can I help you?" "A heartfelt thanks to Mr. Ludwik Taschke for not having embarrassed us." "I recommended him as a tutor." "I knew he was a good student." "And he turned out to be a very good teacher." "They're satisfied with him." " Ouch!" " Ruhe!" "What're you doing, Romek?" "I'm sorry, Sir." "A spasm of terrible pain in my spine." " Must be sciatica." " You... sciatica?" " Too much ball yesterday, huh?" " That's right." "I forgot." "Ruhe!" "The May 3 Constitution - a great achievement of a nation bent on keeping its independence." "It secured a possibility of economic and political development of the country." "Political trends drew on its traditions for inspiration later, somehow freely interpreting the idea of the basic law of the year 1791 ." "It's very sad that that illustrious document, an idea of a system of a prudent Poland, was never fully implemented, but we should read it today as a challenge to new generations, including ours." "we thank Marek Kulinski for the beautiful report about the Constitution." "My congratulations, Professor, on having shaped up such a talented and intellectually mature student." "In closing, the freshmen will intone the May Song." "All rise, please." "Hello." "Rosenfeld, aren't you ashamed of yourself?" "In a clownish tie on such a holiday?" "!" "Take it off at once!" "I'm sorry." "I didn't know..." "Lieutenant, he didn't mean anything wrong..." "His father sent him it from America, where they wear such." "Since the American Constitution is the oldest in the world and ours is second and the oldest in Europe," "Bohdan wanted to honor both." "Congratulations, Marek, on your presence of mind!" " Why don't you study law?" " Wasn't it Bohdan's wish?" "Why isn't he defending himself, then?" "A lawyer can't represent himself in court." "Are you playing soccer?" "Did Marek fight in the Rising?" "That's what Piotr said." "He's from Warsaw too." "I wonder if that's true." "Take it off." "I'm sorry." "Goal!" " You let in such a ball?" " It was a perfect volley!" "I'll be the goalie." "Lutek, watch out!" "Offside!" "Are you blind?" "Get yourself cheaters!" "End of game!" "3:3!" "You're always partial and take their side." "I don't give a shit." "I'm always with my team." "Mikolajczyk!" "Mikolajczyk!" "He'll lose the vote anyway." "My old man said so." "Yeah..." "Mikolajczyk is a hick." "In clodhoppers at that." "The no-hoper shouldn't push his way into politics." "You'll see." "More and more clumsy boors in politics." "3 x Yes?" "Ballocks to them!" "Mikolajczyk!" "Mikolajczyk!" "Get up!" "Leave her alone!" "A police for you!" "They beat women!" "A police for you!" "Leave her alone." "Got that?" "I'll show you the police, shit!" "T-a-s-c-h-k-e." "Could you call my parents?" "The number is 312-40." "If need be, we will." "If not, we won't." "Let's go." "Let's go." "Hey, kid." "Don't you stand there." "Take the load off your feet." "Sit down." " Why are you locked up?" " Because of politics." "No kidding." "Had it been politics, they'd have taken you somewhere else." " What did you do?" " You from Lvov?" " So what of it?" " I'm from Lvov too." "Oh... but you don't speak the way we do." "Must be a highbrow, aren't you?" "A doctor or professor." "What did you do?" "There was a rally in the market place." " Mikolajczyk came..." " I don't like rallies." "They seem like fun, Lots of folks crowded...." "Wallets, handbags, pockets, just waiting to be picked." "But it's hard to run away then." "I prefer a streetcar, though." "You jump off on the bend and away you run." "Tadeusz Taschke here." "Who's speaking, please?" "He's been found." "They've locked him up." " So you're still a kid." " I'll turn 16 in August." "At your age I got a girl big with child." "She wanted to marry me, but I dissuaded her from it." "when she saw what my trade was, she no longer insisted." " What's your occupation?" " What...?" "Charitable activity..." "I help folks with their troubles." "In general, humankind has no money." "When they do, they worry about losing it." "So I try to free them of that worry." " Capish?" " No." "So I'll show you." " Got anything on you?" " No, I had to deposit everything." "But I have a comb." "A iron one?" "In Lvov, I slashed a screw and sawed through the iron bars in jail with such a comb." "Those prick cops have no idea of the police trade." "Put it in a pocket." "I'm not looking." "It doesn't mean that Comrade Police Chief will receive you." "He is in conference... next..." "You didn't even notice when I picked the comb." "Here." "Let's try one more time." "Get the fuck out of here." "Upstairs!" "Quick!" "Gimme the comb." "Keep it up, friend!" "Yes, Sir." "Yes, Sir." "Comrade, bring him in." " That's him?" " Yes." "Let's see." "In a group of aggressive persons, he shouted against the People's Power and its armed forces, the Citizen Militia." "What did you shout?" " I didn't shout anything." " But others did!" "Why standing?" "Sit down!" "This is what happened:" "There was a rally, a hostile manifestation, organized by reactionaries, in which your son took part." "Hadn't we saved him, he'd be doing time with a serious charge, like those reactionaries, who pummeled our militia, hurled abuse at the People's Power." " He didn't do it." " But he could have." "He could've followed the rabble, like a sheep." "He could've pummeled a militiaman to death, blinded with hatred against the forces of peace and progress and would be doing time with an impending death sentence." "No quarter for the enemies of the people now or ever!" "You're lucky I'm not an idiot, of course." "I won't make the whippersnapper a martyr." "Along with others, he shouted, "what kind of militia is this?"" "He bunked all night long and showed his clever side:" "He came up with the idea that he'd shouted," ""what kind of a militiaman is this?" Not militia but militiaman." "A black sheep tarnishing the clean image of our militia." "He thought out the best defense possible." "He was right." "Write a testimony the way you said it." "Make it legible." "Gimme." "During the rally I shouted, "what kind of a militiaman is he?" "A militiaman shouldn't behave that way and would've regretted if his superior had seen him."" "Sign it." "Maybe not..." "I'll summon you again but somewhere else rather." "we have to talk at length." "why waste the boy?" "You may go." "Excuse me, didn't you work with Antoni Burek the tailor in Lvov?" "5 Chorazczyzna St.?" "Chorazczyzna...?" "Never been there." "I'm sorry." "I must've made a mistake." "I'd bet he was a cutter with Burek." "His name was..." "Reims..." "Reiss..." "I don't recall." "Yes, I remember." "You must be kidding, son." "Didn't you have Burek make my coat?" "A coat?" "Yes, indeed, out of Mom's overcoat." "So now I'm positive about it." "He told me then that he'd basted that overcoat once." "I hated it." "I'm happy it was left behind in Lvov." "He stonewalled, the cunning Jew." "Go home." "Mama's agonized." "wash up, eat something and hurry to school for the 3rd lesson." "I must go to my office." "No idea what it was about." "Some down-and-outers." "The broad looked like an alcoholic." " Did they call the police?" " Some rabble, drunks..." "And they caught nobody but you?" " And the inmate?" " A pickpocket, but quite nice." " They gave you food?" " No." "Nothing to drink either." " Scum." " Arrogant swine." "Sit down!" "Hello, Sir" " Taschke was arrested." " Why?" "Released, Sir." "I don't understand." "Sit down." "They locked him up yesterday and released him today, Sir." "Don't you take the floor, Dolinski." " All you can do is trick." " Not at all, Sir." "From the top then." "what happened?" "Ludwik stood up for a woman's honor yesterday, only to be beaten and thrown into a cell for the whole night." "The investigator told me in the morning it could've been worse." "I could've clubbed and lynched militiamen, as if in the Sanacja times." "Clubbed?" "Did you have a club?" "He always does." "who said it?" "who said he always does?" "Silence!" "You poor Poland." "Orderly now." "From the beginning." "We were released after the questioning." "They gave you a copy of the report?" "We were given nothing, Lieutenant Sir." " Thank you." "Back in line." " Yes, Sir." "At ease!" "Cadets..." "Here's an example of how a power that calls itself democratic" "intends to rule our country, our Homeland, for whom so many of her sons have shed blood." "willy-nilly although consciously," "Ludwik became a representative of our school and the values we nurture here." "Glory to him for that." "Remember the three words we pledge allegiance to:" "God, honor, and Homeland." "Tap water." "watch and count the drops." "After which will the water take on another color?" "... 15, 16, 17, 18,..." "The water's still colorless." "But after 20, 30, 40 drops... no more colorless water." "One more thing." "Touch the flask." "It's warm, yes?" "Although I poured in a cold solution." "why do you think the temperature has risen?" " Who knows?" " I do." "A chemical reaction followed," " ... which produced warmth." " Exactly." "The process of social changes also produces reactions." "All it takes is a deed by a reckless person, or an incautious word, he drops, like me having dropped a certain substance into the flask." "I must pour it out immediately lest it explode and scald you." "And now think over the case of your friend." "You may understand that you shouldn't feel sorry for the mama's boy but sympathize with the Citizen Militia functionaries, whose social attitude is still not appreciated." "He must be a communist." "I'd never expect it." " Your grandfather..." " He wasn't a communist, but a socialist, like Pilsudski." "They both will turn in their graves if they hear about it." "But he argued very skillfully, an agitator that he is to canvass us." "what's our answer, gentlemen?" "I hear of your local sensation." "Ludwik, you had an unpleasant adventure?" "Madame, Ludwik behaved like a knight and was punished by those who dragged him thru the mire." "He stood up for a woman, prompted by an inner imperative, inculcated by the ethos of his ancestors." "Carried away, aren't you?" "..." "I know what happened." "It wasn't a case of oppressed innocence... but a drunk harlot." "Ludwik, however, was implicated by accident." "Pull out your notebooks." "We'll listen to your compositions." " What happened?" " I unintentionally hurt his hand." "He was bitten by rats in jail." " Rats?" "!" " He's bleeding!" "Look!" "He needs his wounds dressed." "Blood!" "Madame!" "Water!" " Grind, why are you ogling?" " Don't hit me." "He won't but I'll kick you." "What's up?" "Jesus Mary!" " What happened?" " Professor's fainted." "How come?" " What did you do to her?" " Nothing." "Menstrual period maybe." "How dare you, Dolinski, with the woman unconscious..." "I know." "I have two elder sisters." "Oh, sisters." "All right." "We should raise her legs." "No!" "You'd like to, scoundrels." "Madame... it's better now." "Yes, yes, rats..." "Scoundrels..." "You all with your parents without exception on the carpet!" "I'll study medicine, I guess." "Good morning." "Oh, Taschke, wait." "A man visited me yesterday, very worried and sad." "He asked if you tell about your night at the precinct." "And what you tell..." " You know what I told him?" " No." "I said that you fully appreciate the just way the guardians of law and order had treated you." " Understand?" " Yes, I do." "Yeah..." "No talking whatsoever from now on." " Is that clear?" " Yes, Sir." "Dolinski, stop it I beg you." "It's leading nowhere." "Mr. Dolinski..." "Once math was his passion." "He displayed a bit of talent." "His thought soared through the spheres of the absolute, where number is God..." "But since he started breeding dogs, his thought's been crawling on the level of the brain of those likeable quadrupeds." "I don't breed dogs, Sir." "I keep only one, Buba by name." "St. Bernard bitch with her front paws a bit paralyzed." "Don't incriminate yourself." "Sit down, ass." "You've disappointed me painfully." "Even the silliest thickhead can solve this problem." "Thickhead reminds me of..." "Grzyb." "Come here, boy." "Erase it!" "Why so slow?" "Quick!" "All right." "Enough." "Here." "Rewrite the last problem from the handbook." "The most difficult one." "You should throw at Grind!" "Come in, please." "He must look familiar." "Nicholas." "Two years your junior." "Venerable Mr. Nicholas, could you kindly help us solve this problem?" "Not so fast, please." "I'd like to follow your train of thought." "Check the result, Grzyb." "Yes, it's correct." "Of course. what else could you expect?" "You handed Mr. Nicholas the chalk very gracefully, Grzyb." "Remember this." "You may earn your daily bread in this way some day." "And you ordinary thickhead mass may tell your grandchildren some day that you rubbed shoulders with a genius of the Queen of Sciences." "With a diamond, whose sparkle failed to open up your eyes, but dazzled them and knocked you down into the bottomless abyss of mediocrity you'll never get out of." "Pariahs." "He has counting in the blood." "No." "He has mathematics in his soul." "whereas you don't give a shit about your small thoughts, words, deeds, and negligence." "I got D in history and Latin." " And yours with flying colors." " Don't exaggerate." "I got three C's: in math, physics, chemistry.... and B in religion." " Because you never went to confession." " Why?" "Do I sin so much?" "I'll stop coming to the school confessor." "He keeps asking me if I have impure thoughts and morbid habits." "He asks that of everyone." " Are you going on vacation?" " Not for the time being." "Father has no holidays." "I'll stay in Krakow and take in sights." "Looking at postage stamps, I guess." "Three D's?" "Religion marked down one grade." "This worries me in the least." "I'm not surprised at all, canon's niece." "But I got A in history, the Polish language," "German and Latin." "No one in my class has four A's in those subjects." "I'm the best in German of the whole school." "And I'm a straight A student." "Only Grind could have such a report as yours if he weren't that stupid." "want to meet him?" "Mom, he wants me to meet Grind..." " Don't scare her." " Calm down." "Yours a beautiful report." "Lovely..." "Ludwik's..." "I like it too." "You know he has interests he'll develop in the future, which I wish you would, son." "Choose your own road to success, as only then you'll be happy and free." "Excellent report." "when are we going on vacation?" "I don't have my holidays yet." "The full moon's today." "Sleepwalkers will climb to the rooftops." "Since Grind is one, he may climb on top of ours." "Mom, he says Grind is a sleepwalker." " Oh, hello." " Hi!" "we know each other?" "I know you." "I'm in my sophomore year." "Yeah..." "The lower grade always knows the upper one, which always looks down on it." "Such a silly posturing..." "You draw beautifully." "I'll major in architecture." " I liked your May 3 report." " No kidding." "It was boring." "The subject maybe, but it was interestingly put." "I copied it from an encyclopedia..." "Did you really fight in the Rising?" "I was a liaison boy." "Even adult, trained soldiers had no weapons, and I was barely 16..." "I was 14, willing to fight in the Rising." "Along with a friend I ran away from home..." "You wanted to fight..." "So did I until..." "I lost my elder brother." "He was dying on me, but I couldn't help him..." "My sympathy..." "Where are you from?" "Not from Krakow." "You don't speak like a local." "I'm from Lvov." "I've always wanted to see the Orleta Cemetery there, where my mother's brother is buried." "She'd tell me about him in place of a bedtime story." "He died in Stryjski Park, barely 15...." "Collecting notebooks, put this into Grind's." " What is it?" " You'll see." " No talking!" "Monitors, collect notebooks!" "I got American smokes!" "Who'd like to smoke?" "Ludwik!" " It's time for some action." " What do you mean?" " Let's go to Szeroka St." " Why?" "what's there?" " You don't know?" " Why should he?" "He's not from Krakow." "There're girls there." " A dormitory?" " A brothel with sluts." "Whores, that is." "Let's give it some thought." "Come for a smoke." "Sorry, I didn't aim at you." " Whippersnapper." " They're willing." "Why?" "To carry their books?" "Why all those books?" "Must be their Mother Superior, an old shrew!" "We'll always be too young for those idiots!" "Buy a college boy cap." "To your desks!" "Sit down!" "Should I distribute notebooks, Sir?" " You the monitor?" " Yes." "Let's talk first..." "we'll start with the monitor." " Is this yours?" " No, Sir, not mine." "I'd be surprised if it were..." "Sit down..." "Funny if I couldn't know whose it is." "Come here, Romek." "Yours?" "Yes." "You know why I could tell it was yours?" "I don't know..." "Not by the printed letters but the paper!" "Only you write on graph paper!" "The rest use lined paper." "So you entered the circle of plotters, whom a trifle betrayed." "It's a rule!" "Rewrite the sentence on the blackboard for all to see." "Here." "No laughing matter, this." "Let's make an analysis of the sentence." "Read one word at a time." "Come on." "Inter..." " Louder!" " INTER!" " What's it mean?" " Between." "what part of speech?" "..." "You don't know." "And of the sentence?" "You don't either." "Continue." " Pedes..." " Meaning, what part of speech?" "Legs." "And one leg?" " Pies..." "Pes, that is." " And legs, then?" "Certainly not dogs." " Pes, pedis." " Bravo?" "And pedes?" "Decline pes." "Pes, pedem, pedes, pedibus...?" "Enough!" "You read the whole sentence." "Inter pedes puellarum est voluptas puerorum." "Translate." "Between the girls' legs is... the boys' delight..." "But I don't think so, Sir." "Your friend may be right, though unaware why." "Voluptas voluptatis - sensual delight, lecherousness, but also joy." "These, however, are loftier feelings..." "But you, Romek especially, are activated buy the first meaning." "The Romans called such a man voluptarius." "or homo voluptarius, a hound dog." "Before you let yourself go, in my office with your mother!" " Boys, may I come along?" " Piss off, mama's boy." " And that's that." "Come." " Don't leave me alone, please!" "Go by yourself." "You can afford that more expensive brothel." "I prefer with you." "I'll pay for you, Piotr." "All right." "But you'll be the last." "Makes no difference to me." "Wait." "I'll go and ask." " Don't we need rubbers?" " Condons." " No, condoms." " That's right." "Come, boys!" "To Mrs. Iza." "Upstairs." "One minute. wait, please." "I'll tell you, boys... waste of breath!" "Good evening." "It's your first time, yes?" "How many are you?" "Six." "Seven, that is..." "You the boss, so you'll be the last." " Collect the money first." " I may come first!" "The hunk first." "Snow white and Seven Dwarfs." "A freaking tale!" "OK, the money." "I'll tell you why today." "It's Dec. 6, St. Nicholas Day, the patron of the innocent." "Serves him right for not bringing presents." "Count me out, then." "It's a sin." "Blasphemy!" "My money back." "Who else, then?" "It doesn't apply to Jews." "Neither to me, an Orthodox." "But with you, St. Nicholas is a greater saint!" "Maybe so, but I wonder if he's the patron of the innocent." " I'm staying." " So am I!" "An atheist, me too." "And you budgerigars?" "Not me because of Santa Claus." "Kiddie stuff, that." "I just don't fancy Mrs. Iza." "I'd prefer a prettier one for my first time..." "You're right." "She's not my type at all." "we'll save money to afford those for a century." "Up to you." " Let's go." " Grind!" "What?" "I'd stay if I were you." "Maybe your only chance, bud." "You'll never have the guts unless your mom helps you." "You think those for a hundred got better ones?" "Up to you." "I want it done and over with." " Admit it:" "You chickened out." " You too." "Tomorrow we'll be the laughing stock..." "Don't worry." "They'll get over it." "You laugh at me all my life and what?" "It hasn't made me ill or die." "You serious about those for a hundred?" "If I come along, I'll pay 50% for all of us." "Serves you right, Grind." "The Happy Drongo Bird" "Halt!" "It's the militia!" "Halt!" "It's the militia!" "Why prowling about?" "I'm just going home." "I live here at 6." "Your ID!" " Ludwik Tas...sch...chke." " Taschke." " 6 Sereno Fenn..." " Apt. 12." "All right." "You may go." "Don't tell home we stopped you." "Remember!" "Turn it off." "Quick!" "What are you doing here?" "Something's going on out there." "A roundup, I guess." "They checked my ID." "The whole area is surrounded." "Several trucks up front either of the army or the militia." "I can't tell them apart." "There!" "At the window." "I tried to call, but the phone was dead." "I went to you, but they stopped me and wouldn't let me enter." "They stopped us too." "But when your ID said you lived there, they had to let you enter." "On Planty St. one looked familiar to me." "Like that Marek, who read the May 3 report..." " Kulinski..." " And the other?" "I didn't see his face, as they were running." "I cringed when he shot." "In a white trench coat." "The one killed under my window was covered with such." "Boys, what gives?" "I ask for your attention, boys." "Something very serious must have happened." "I don't know what, unaware of any details, except the fact that our two senior students are wanted by the Security Service." "They've just taken the principal for questioning." "Can you tell the names of the two, Sir?" "Marek Kulinski and Bohdan Rosenfeld." "Boys, let's set to work." "there's a lot of material and the exam's in the offing." "Sit down, please." "The first one running away could've been Kulinski." "That in the trench coat - Rosenfeld." "Possibly." "Don't tell anybody anyway." "There're five of them..." "I've seen the principal today." "Must've been released." "I talked to one of the seniors." "Kulinski and Rosenfeld haven't come today, like several others..." "A serious affair, this, I'm afraid." "The plainclothesmen that took the principal away remind me of the Soviet occupation in Lvov." "we were scared of them..." " After all these here are Poles." " And this is awful." "Form two lines!" " Attention!" " At ease." "Come closer." "It's no good." "Your two senior friends are in deep trouble." "Yesterday morning, somewhere in the country," "Marek was arrested and next his father." "Four others from that year were locked up last night." "And something worse still:" "A lady came to the faculty room an hour ago." "She began to talk and fainted." "when she came to, she said she was returning from the forensic medicine clinic, where she had to identify the body of a young boy." "She recognized her son Bohdan Rosenfeld." "They said he'd committed suicide." "Indeed, he had a bloody shot wound in his temple." "when the doctor accidentally uncovered his body," "she saw it was riddled with bullets." "He was a good, honest boy, and a sincere patriot." "I'm convinced he gave his life for something very important and great." "Remember about it." "Back already?" "And waiting for you." "The Security Service summoned me along with you." " When?" " Now." "Hello." "Major Trzaska." "Room 208." "Come in." "Yes, it's me." "Master tailor Burek saved my life in Lvov." "Sit down." "I remember... that coat of yours." "That summons you owe to me, as we know each other." "I supervise the Kulinski- Rosenfeld investigation." "Seeing your name on the list of witnesses to question," "I decided to do it myself..." ""I Ludwik Maria Taschke..." Maria?" "It should be Marian." "No, Maria." "The name he was baptized with." "Baptized?" "!" "All right." "Let it be." ""I, Ludwik Maria Taschke, son of Tadeusz and Maria, born in Lvov Aug. 5, 1931 ," "hereby declare I will answer the questions in accordance with the truth and my knowledge." Sign it." "Do you know Marek Kulinski?" "Not quite personally." "I see him in school, though." "He was in the senior year." "He doesn't associate with us." " And Bohdan Rosenfeld?" " Likewise..." "So neither Kulinski nor Rosenfeld suggested that you join the illicit organization they'd established." "No." "Isn't it strange that Rosenfeld barricaded himself under your windows?" "why didn't he run to Kazimierz, where he lived." "He could've wanted to hide with you." "I don't know." "Have you seen his blue tie with green palms?" "Yes." "The PE teacher told him to take it off when he came to the May 3 celebrations and everybody laughed at him." "You know about his father?" "That he was in America?" "No." "Is this all you can tell about this case?" "Yes." "One more thing:" "You're friends with R. Szrama?" "Yes." "Did he tell you we'd questioned him?" "No." "See?" "Don't tell him either that you were summoned here." "Now wait in the corridor, as your father and I will talk in private." "Stand still!" "Don't walk!" "Don't lean against the wall!" "Sit down!" "Mr. Taschke, think it over." "An old Jewish tailor is talking to you, not Major Trzaska." "Think it over..." "Here." "He's Trzaska as I'm Goldman!" "He thought I didn't know what Am hu means?" "Am hu" " Are you one of us?" "He asked you if you're Jewish?" "Just like that?" "No." "He seemed to be embarrassed at first!" "when you said I'd been baptized, he seemed to smile doubtfully." " You noticed it?" " Sure." "As if he were embarrassed?" "No wonder they hide their origin after what they've gone through." "Next he told me straight," ""You don't have to fear." "why, you know that I don't either..."" "So what's the point?" "He said, he has a sentimental attachment to us from the Lvov times." "We saw him accidentally and he was afraid we'd denounce him, though Burek assured him we wouldn't." " So he owes us something?" " Yes." "As it were." "He said it'd be a show trial." "Although Ludwik is not charged," "His name would be entered in the dossier a second time." "Next he said we should think about the university." "Even the best school report is not enough now." "You need to have preferential points and I should join the Party for the good of my son." "Next he saw me to the door and said, "No matter if you're a Turk or a German," "I wish you well." "Think it over." "Hard times are coming, Mr. Taschke." "An old Jewish tailor is talking to you, not Major Trzaska." "Think it over."" "A good old Jew." "I'm accusing Marek Kulinski, son of Leopold, of establishing and leading a criminal organization, bent on carrying on hostile activities against the state organs and the People's Power, intending to topple the just democratic system" "and to restore reactionary rule to power, in cahoots with the international imperialistic capital, and his cronies of failing to notify the authorities about the conspiracy and cooperation, or a promise of cooperation, with that criminal association." "I move that Marek Kulinski be imprisoned for 20 years," "Tadeusz Bialas and Jan Ryba, for 5 years each," "Konstanty Poitiers for 3 years, and Andrzej Muszynski for 1 year." "The court grants a half-an-hour recess." "Marshal Pilsudski's writings have always been in our home since before the war." "I was weaned on them from childhood on..." "Father served in the Legions and felt affection and respect for the Marshal, which I share." "Do you know that Pilsudski was a traitor?" "He fought in defense of our Homeland and won us independence, thanks to which Poland was reborn after over a 120 years of bondage." "Do you know that your friend Bohdan Rosenfeld's father was an American spy?" "I know nothing about it." "Bohdan was broken-hearted after his father had been arrested and unjustly accused." "A romantic and idealist, he had no truck with politics." "I wanted to form a private discussion group, to analyze social and political topics." "Rosenfeld wasn't interested in your" ""private discussion group,"" "but wanted to establish an antidemocratic subversive organization, bent on toppling the system by force, yes?" "No, he never had that in mind..." "It was childishness." "He was spoiling for action." "Very impulsive, he decided to wrest a pistol from a militiaman, whose holster was open." "At first I didn't know what was cooking when he began to run away, but I followed him." "When we eluded the pursuit, he started to shout and jump and kiss the pistol, saying he'd rescue his father with it from jail..." "So you put the blame on Rosenfeld, because he can't defend himself?" "No," "I'm fully to blame, especially, facing my friends in the dock with me." "They are innocent." "The court will decide that, not the defendant." "In the future you'll only answer questions, rather than spread bourgeois agitation here." " Sir." " Yes?" "If I finished, may I leave?" " Are you sure you're finished?" " Yes, I am." "Give me your work, then." "You may go." "Marek Kulinski has been sentenced to death." "It may not be that bad." "You know what he told me?" "That his family was doomed." "His great-grandfather died in the January Uprising (1863), his mother's brother, in the defense of Lvov (1918), and his brother, in the Warsaw Rising (1944)." "That's why he must die?" "He says it himself?" "On the contrary." "He said we should stop dying for Homeland but start to live for her." "Remember them walking here?" "She was so beautiful..." "And we still don't have girls..." "Bohdan Pudlowski." "Congratulations." "Tadeusz Becker." " Congratulations." " Thank you." "I can't believe my eyes:" "the outstanding mathematician and breeder" "Piotr Dolinski." "Congratulations, boy." "Thank you very much." "I must've been delirious." "Roman Szrama." "Congratulations." "Ludwik Taschke." "Bravo, boy." "And in closing, our all-rounder and a Renaissance character" "Wienczyslaw Raczka!" "Grind!" "Grind!" "Congratulations." "My dear halfwits, remember:" "We learn by teaching others." "Your homeroom teacher Siphon."