"THE OTHER ME" "Positions Available Female" "Maleite:" "Ring 3 times." "May I please see the room?" "Just so you know, young lady." "We're only taking a very quiet person." "Thank you very much." "Excuse me, I'm here about the room." "There's nobody home here." "May I look at the room?" "So, you want the room." "Then come in." "It's not as if I depend on it." "I only do it so the things don't deteriorate." "They belonged to my husband's mother, and are still exactly as they were then." "The room costs 42.50 marks." "That includes morning coffee, two cups, a little milk, and two sugar cubes." "It's all very sufficient." "Yes." "You do have a secure job, right?" "Yes, of course." "What do you earn there?" "Good money, thanks." "I see." "And where is it that you work?" "I don't know yet." "Positions Available Female Executive Secretary" "After you." "Senior Engineer" "This was my last one." "I was there for 3 years." "Why did you leave?" "I wanted to change myself." "I always wanted to go to Berlin." "Why Berlin?" "I thought one might have more varied prospects in Berlin." "What kinds?" "Maybe... of course, to advance." "I mean, if my performance is supposed to satisfy..." "I work very hard." "If you would like to... try me for a little bit." "What were you saying?" "Oh yes, a trial period." "Yes." "What do you think of her?" "She leaves a very insecure impression." "I, too, think if someone is capable, he acts differently." "Miss, you can go." "You will eventually hear from us in writing." "Written notice." "Oh well, it's the old story." "Those are the letters that start with, "Unfortunately"." "She actually isn't so timid." "Maybe she is capable of something." "Is no one here?" "This must be my work book." "Listen, young man, there's is another position available here." ""Plant Secretary sought." "Report between 7 and 8 to Manager Hannemann."" "Oh yes!" "No, ma'am, that's not here." "That's over there, in Section 2, Hall 4." "But that's not something for you." "But why is this not suited to me?" "Lady, take a look!" "Why is this not for me?" "I find this splendid!" "What?" "I find this splendid!" "Besides, the available position is on the night shift." "That doesn't matter to me." "I'm just as hard-working at night as during the day." "You can say what you want, but for the night shift I need a more serious person." "Why?" "Well, for one thing, you're too pretty for me and my people." "This here is a strange business." "This morning I was too meek, and tonight I'm too pretty." "I can do something about that!" "At least, more easily than the opposite." "Well, if you want to stay like that." "But what are your skills?" "Do you have knowledge of operational control or Hollerith machine, all that?" "I mean, have you worked with such things before?" "Boss, the door is stuck again." "I'm coming." "Just a moment." "Hey, miss!" "Erm, the boss is not here." "Can you wait a minute?" "No, I can't." "You're supposed to go to the foreman in Warehouse 14 and give him an earful." "Who, me?" "What of it?" "That's why you're here." "Oh yes, of course." "Just a second." "Hello?" "Yes, this is..." "What's this called?" "Plant 2, Hall 4." "This is Plant 2, Hall 4." "Listen, this can't go on like this." "The people are complaining, and rightly so." "Above all, they are angry that, in fact..." "What's the issue anyway?" "The lugs for die 52." "The lugs for die 52." "Yes!" "What's wrong with them?" "Nothing is wrong." "They're not there." "So, the lugs must be brought over right away." "That's right, immediately!" "You must hurry!" "They are in great demand!" "Of course, the whole plant is at a standstill." "The people are working without a break, and they can't make progress." "I mean..." "What do you have in mind?" "If the lugs aren't delivered right away, then... then... then you'll find out a thing or two." "Damn right!" "What do you expect?" "We'll complain to the administration." "So, bring the lugs over right away!" "The lugs are being located and will be sent shortly." "What?" "The lugs are being located and will be sent shortly!" "She's good." "Is she your new one?" "I've always wished for one with a sassy mouth." "For God's sake, child!" "What did you do here?" "Huh?" "Well, if it's organized for once." "You can count on that." "Oh, you know, child," "I never have a balance." "I'm not good at all this writing crap." "In my time, all this wasn't necessary." "Needed a drill?" "Got it." "Wanted a piece of chalk, he took it." "Today, he has to fill out a piece of paper, then cards are made and holes put in them, he walks around with them for half-an- hour, the others write for half an hour." "writes it in the register, and so on, and at the end you still don't get it." "But everything was put in order so that it, at all costs, wasn't set aside." "But you know that?" "Ha!" "I'm OK with the modern machines, but" "I'm scared of paper." "Once upon a time I could count on it." "Quitting time, madam." "It's morning." "Already?" "Tonight you bring your own smock." "Tonight?" "Can I start working here?" "Start?" "But, you're part of it already." "Everything's in order." "Absolutely!" "You see?" "You see?" "Take your pretty self home and go to bed." "What is it!" "Good morning." "It is already 7:30." "Please don't come in." "I just wanted to tell you that you didn't put your shoes out last night." "Oh, and another thing." "If you present yourself somewhere, you might want to make yourself up nicely." "Thanks, I don't need to." "But you'll be employed by men, and they happen to be like that." "And, would you like my newspaper?" "Thanks, but I have something to read." "Ms. Magdalena Menzel, please come again to the office of Chief Engineer Hesse tomorrow morning at 9 for an interview." "Heil Hitler!" "WUELLNER-WERKE A.G." "I asked you to come back again because... yeah, you appeal to me much more today." "What do you think of her?" "I find her awful." "No, I can't agree." "No." "I mean, because we eventually..." "Potentially!" "Yes...would be ready..." "I thought this was long-settled." "I was explicitly told..." "What were you told?" "What did I tell you?" "I merely explained to you yesterday that...uh" "Ms. Ziedlinsky?" "That's right." "Yes, sir." "But, as I said, we wouldn't be averse to hiring you as a draftswoman." "As a draftswoman?" "Oh, as a draftswoman!" "I said "possibly"." "Yes, but, actually..." "I don't know if you know this already." "But I actually already have something else." "Are you trying to say you have other prospects?" "That doesn't impress us." "But your credentials... they pleased me a lot." "And if you really want to work here, then we shouldn't quibble over 10 marks, right?" "It's not my money." "Well, let's say 20 marks, huh?" "So, come with me right now." "We're missing a draftswoman, and it would be very kind if you could start right away." "Yes, but, I just stopped." "So, be happy that you have something new right away." "Come on." "I'll show you." "Please." "After you." "Well, do you like it here?" "Oh yes, very much." "At least, I prefer it to the foreman's booth." "Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Ms. Menzel." "Our new draftswoman." "Can I help you?" "My name is Partzke." "My pleasure." "I'm sure it is." "What are you doing there?" "For Engineer Martin." "But you'll have to tighten it." "Watch." "Like this." "Whoops." "I can do that too." "But do you know how to approach something like this?" "You haven't been in Berlin long." "For 3 days." "Is it obvious?" "You don't have any friends here either, do you?" "I don't need any." "What about someone who shows you Berlin a bit, or even just a friend." "I'd be happy to undertake that." "By the way, I could be very useful to you in this business; to get ahead, etc." "Or if something goes wrong for you." "I have a lot of influence here." "No thank you, Mr. Partzke." "I don't want anything special here." "What do you mean, "special"?" "I'm this way with all pretty women." "Right, Ms. Bohne?" "Yes, Mr. Partzke." "So, please, what did you mean?" "So, Ms. Menzel, please draw for me the front view." "Scale 1:5 on 102." "It's rather urgent." "Yes, but I'm supposed to do this for Mr. Martin..." "Like I said, Ms. Menzel, it's rather urgent." "If you would..." "What did Partzke want from you?" "He spoke to you for so long." "Undoubtedly nothing special." "Were you at least a little nice to him?" "Ha, not a chance." "Good grief, you don't know who that is!" "Nobody's allowed to know, either." "Then it's for the best." "Who is he anyway?" "We all know that." "The boss's son came back from abroad." "And now he's supposed to acclimate himself by starting in the kitchen." "Secretly." "Under an alias, of course." "But now we've figured it out." "Do you know who..." "Where did you get that guy?" "That's the boss." "The old privy councillor." "The bolt is too weak." "It'll break off too easily. -25?" "No." "It calculated to conform exactly to the stress analysis." "But if you want to recalculate." "An old mechanical engineer sees that with the naked eye." "But what the old mechanical engineer can't see with the naked eye is that thing is composed of a new material that has 3.2 times the strength." "Is that right?" "Well, then deal with it yourself." "Ms. Menzel!" "Yes?" "You have to go to him." "Ms. Menzel!" "You wanted me?" "Er, where is my drawing?" "Another gentleman gave me something else to do." "What other gentleman?" "Listen, when you work for me, then you ultimately work for me, and I don't want..." "He said it was urgent." "I can't know..." "Anyway, if it's like that around here then I can leave." "I'm here by mistake anyway." "Besides, I have another job." "I can choose, thank God." "If you don't like it here, please." "Well, "like"..." "I wouldn't put it that way." "I only wondered who Mr. Partze is." "What of it?" "We have to be a little careful." "You don't seem to know about this." "What?" "Then it's in your interest that I clear it up for you." "Mr. Partzke is the boss's son." "You don't say!" "How do you know?" "We all know." "Really?" "Thank you very much for this gracious enlightenment." "You're welcome." "But now we want to work a bit, right?" "Terribly nice of you that you told me that about Partzke." "Should I also tell you a secret?" "I am a double here." "How so?" "I have two positions here." "One with you guys in the design office." "The other one in the factory, but on the night shift." "How did you do that?" "I didn't." "It happened all by itself." "For God's sake, you can't keep both of them." "I'm going to first see which I prefer." "You can't work day and night." "It's fine for a couple of days." "8 hours of day duty, 8 hours of night duty." "That leaves 8 hours for sleep." "But you'll be getting paid double during that time." "You see, I hadn't even thought of that!" "Is Ms. Menzel still here?" "She's supposed to see the senior engineer right away." "Ms. Maenzel?" "So, miss, we have decided to hire you." "I know that." "Now I just need your papers." "My papers?" "Yes." "Oh, of course, my papers." "Yes, naturally." "Oh, I'll bring them to you sometime." "Sometime?" "That won't work." "Without papers I can't hire you." "Just a moment." "Hmm, don't I have..." "Tell me, miss, didn't I give them to you?" "Yesterday, when I presented myself." "Of course you gave them to me." "But then I gave them back to you." "Otherwise they'd be here." "You gave them back to me?" "!" "That's simply a lie!" "What kind of language is this?" "I never lie, miss!" "If I said I gave you the papers, then I gave them to you!" "Calm down, Ms. Ziedlinsky." "I noticed very plainly that Ms. Menzel left her papers lying here yesterday." "You see?" "I wanted to send them on." "I don't understand." "Then they must be here." "Then you'll have to take a look." "I've already done that." "So you're admitting that you received the papers." "Or they're already at the personnel office." "In fact, I think that's what happened." "Then you should have said that right away." "Then we have to search thoroughly there." "Certainly, Mr. Senior Engineer." "Of course." "Yes, but if you don't find them there either, will I go temporarily unpaid?" "Ha, dear miss, don't worry." "If we have misplaced your papers, we'll be liable." "Who are we, anyway?" "At worst, we'll have to explain it to the employment agency." "Employment agency?" "Oh, dear lady, just look into it all thoroughly... at your leisure." "I'm not in such a hurry, and eventually we can talk about it again." "Is it "Goodbye"?" "No, to the contrary." "Everything is wonderful!" "I'm just worried someone on the night shift will recognize me." "Well, who?" "Do you think the people in design office walk around the factory at night?" "Mr." "Martin!" "Yes?" "Good that I caught you before you left." "Do you know that Master Hannemann still can't quite handle the valves." "Maybe it would be appropriate to personally..." "I'll go over tonight, OK?" "It would be good if one of us made an appearance on the night shift, anyway." "Yes, that would be good." "What do you want?" "Juergens has been waiting the whole time." "You're supposed to sign this." "You must be crazy!" "Can't you see what's going on here?" "Any minute they're inspecting the machine room, and we're not even yet finished." "Is that Engineer Martin from the art room?" "And he's coming here?" "We only have to have a quick look, Hannemann." "Yes." "Now I don't know how she has organized it." "Where did she go?" "Just when we need her." "What are you doing here?" "Why are you hiding?" "I..." "I wasn't hiding." "I was just adjusting something." "You seem familiar to me." "Really?" "No..." "Please let me explain." "Oh, there you are!" "This is Ms. Menzel." "I was telling you about this cute girl." "She has no children." "Menzel?" "Say, we just had a Ms. Menzel start with us this morning." "Over in the art room." "Yes..." "Are you related to her?" "Yes... very." "She has an uncanny resemblance to you." "She must be your sister." "Yes, she is my sister." "But she must be younger than you." "Hardly." "Why don't you give us the assembly blueprint of the steam hammer." "Do you get along with her?" "With whom?" "Oh, with your sister." "Frankly, not at all." "She's too cheeky." "You see?" "She's always like that." "Oh, we've had so much stress with her." "You also don't get along with her?" "No, to the contrary." "We are actually inseparable." "Really!" "We are always together." "We eat together, we sleep together." "We actually share a room." "That's practical." "You save all kinds of money." "At the same time, the double income." "You two could go places." "Yes, we are planning to." "Cashier." "Magda Menzel." "Magda Menzel" "Here." "Lena Menzel" "Are you here because of the rent?" "But no, dear lady." "With you it isn't that urgent." "When someone has so much money." "That's the stupid part of life!" "Before I had time but no money, and didn't know what to do with myself." "Now I have money, but no time, and get nothing out of all this nice money." "Dear young lady, then why don't you stop working the double shift?" "Go to your boss..." "No, I'm too scared to do that." "Just imagine how much I already have to answer for." "Double the earnings." "Double the receipts." "And that situation with the Labour Front." "On the other hand, it's quite nice to be able to buy a few things, don't you think?" "Pretty, huh?" "What will you wear under it?" "I can't wear it." "I never get out." "Why?" "Don't you want to go to the staff party?" "Office Party" "Hello, Magda!" "There's room over here." "Hello, Ms. Lena!" "Good day, Ms. Lena." "Privy Councillor, this is Ms. Menzel." "Didn't I see you in the art room?" "But no, Mr. Privy Councillor, she's with me on the night shift." "That's right." "I see, then I must be mixing you up." "Yeah, Hannemann, we're getting old." "Ladies' choice!" "May I have this dance?" "I didn't ask you." "I know you didn't, because you didn't dare." "Please." "You look cute." "Oh, you're a wild girl!" "I don't care, but if you think you can do with me what you want, just because..." "Because what?" "You know exactly what I'm talking about." "Do you think it can remain a secret that the son of the boss works in the company under an alias?" "Yes, and?" "Oh you suspect me?" "Everyone suspects you." "That's amazing!" "And how can you tell?" "May I be perfectly honest?" "Yes, I insist." "Well first of all, you're very lippy with women." "Anyone else wouldn't presume to do so." "Aha, and secondly?" "And secondly because you're good at nothing." "A normal employee can't afford so much foolishness." "And thirdly, the boss said "hurry up" to you, and you didn't even go to work." "You see, you're denying, and that's why we all think you are him." "With your sass, you should be ashamed to walk around us like an undercover spy." "There, now somebody has said it to you." "Now you can throw me out of the art room." "It doesn't matter to me." "Enjoy yourself." "Dear colleagues, once again we have gone out into nature, to find rest and relaxation together, from our duty-bound and operational work, that we manage, for the larger cause, from day-after-day and night-after-night." "Once again we have come together to take part in the common enjoyment, which nature and our party committee provided in a gracious fashion." "This plant, for which we are on standby to the last man, in comradely bearing, and we devote ourselves to our work." "And therefore I ask you to join with me in the call that, for Wuellner-Werke, which we, for so long, and always there, in faithful solidarity, are standing together." "Cheers!" "Cheers!" "Are you waiting for someone?" "Me?" "No." "It's late already." "Why?" "Do you want to leave already?" "No, not at all." "I'm looking forward to the fireworks." "I see." "Well, then come with me." "Next year they'll have them again." "Ms. Metzel, I want to ask you something." "But you mustn't be angry at me." "No, no, I won't." "Go ahead." "I don't understand..." "Is it really you, or are you your sister?" "I am naturally my sister." "Yes, of course, that's obvious." "But I still don't know which sister." "Isn't it irrelevant this evening?" "Which one would you prefer me to be?" "Magda or Lena?" "How can I answer that?" "Well, I know Magda is too sassy for you." "Then you must be Lena." "See, that's what I always thought." "You're not saying anything." "Not true, I've been talking with you the whole time." "But I don't hear anything." "You're not supposed to." "It's only in my head." "I'm imagining what I might say to you, and then I consider what you might say in return." "And what I would then say in response." "What do you get out of that?" "Such an internal conversation is of great benefit." "I don't have to worry about saying something stupid, and I don't have to be scared of overstepping my bounds." "I imagine all your answers exactly as I would like them to be..." "And it goes on like that between us, back and forth, and on and on and on..." "How far did you get with me?" "Just as far as you want." "Oh no, please!" "Ms. Menzel?" "Ms. Menzel!" "Yes?" "If you please." "What took you so long?" "I am..." "I was..." "I had..." "I was late." "Ms." "Menzel, one mustn't be late." "Oh, those few minutes!" "It's not those few minutes." "It's the principle." "And especially the example you're setting for others." "Where would we be if we every morning." "Oh please, it isn't every morning." "It's only because because it... because yesterday was so..." "Oh, I find this altogether odd of you." "Yesterday you were still so nice, and today..." "What do you mean, "nice"?" "What do you know about that?" "Naturally I mean my sister." "Oh, and your sister told you everything?" "Well, then give her my regards." "Don't you want to do that yourself?" "What?" "How did you like last night?" "They're in the foundry!" "What did you say?" "No!" "Since today!" "Some other time." "What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?" "Ms. Menzel?" "No." "Excuse me, miss." "I want to sleep." "I only have three hours as it is." "But somebody is here..." "I don't care." "He has a bouquet of flowers." "A bouquet?" "Let him come in!" "Come in?" "Whereto?" "To me." "Where else?" "Dear lady, you seem to forget that there's a bed in this room." "So what?" "A bed?" "Every single person has a bed." "That's no disgrace." "But one doesn't show it." "There are some things, Ms. Menzel, that one has but doesn't show." "And you especially, as a young girl..." "Oh, but where should I go with the man?" "Didn't your mother tell you that?" "The first time you go to the zoo, the second time to a modest bakery, and the third time..." "...to the Near-East museum, right?" "No." "The third time you get engaged." "Dear Mrs. Schmidt, stop it!" "I want to do all that, but please let him in first." "If you take responsibility for it." "But I want nothing to do with it." "Why did he have to come when I'm home?" "Please." "Madam, you must be surprised." "But why?" "Not at all." "You see, I wanted to..." "This is incredibly kind of you." "I really don't know what..." "I wanted to talk to your sister." "My what?" "Oh, of course, my sister!" "Yes, but where is she?" "I don't think she's here." "Say, Mrs. Schmidt, she... she went swimming, didn't she?" "That's too bad." "Then excuse me please." "But why is that too bad?" "You can wait." "I'm sure she'll be back soon." "Yes, and if it's OK with you, I'll keep you company in the meantime." "Right?" "Please have a seat." "No, please over on the sofa." "Mrs. Schmidt-Woltersdorf, when my sister comes back, please let me know." "Maybe you can keep watch outside until then." "Cigarette?" "No, thank you." "Tell me, why does it have to be my sister?" "I wanted to bring her a few flowers." "I mean, do you like her?" "But dear Ms. Menzel, I can't talk about that with you..." "Why not?" "I won't say anything to her." "Be honest, do you find her nice?" "Nice?" "I find her wonderful." "Oh." "And what do you like so much about her?" "Everything." "Her whole manner." "This calm and self-control, and then this seriousness at her work." "Oh, how glad this makes me!" "Yes, she has a wonderful style, your sister." "This introspection and elegant restraint." "Oh." "And you find that so nice?" "Yes." "It could all be a put-on." "But, Ms. Menzel." "But surely!" "I know her best." "I guess you don't find me as nice, huh?" "You are just totally different." "Different." "Thank God." "Not that I'm jealous of her." "I compete with her every day, and I steal all of her men if I want to." "Wanna bet?" "Dear Ms. Menzel, what do you get out of it?" "But this kind of thing is fun, don't you think?" "Maybe less so to your sister." "OK, then we won't tell her." "We?" "This wait is a little too long for me." "Maybe you can give your sister my best." "Oh, just now, as we were beginning to get comfortable." "Oh, please." "Shall we have some sweets?" "Nougat, croquant, real truffles, candied darts, marzipan potatoes." "Or maybe something more masculine." "Round cherries, cognac beans..." "Say, who gives all that to you?" "Oh, one just kind of gets it." "And what does your sister say about it?" "Nothing." "She eats it too." "She doesn't care what I do." "You see, I'm awfully reckless." "Is that bad?" "I can't judge that." "How does that manifest itself with you?" "Can't you imagine?" "But you're in good care with your landlady." "Yes, here at home." "But one can go out, too." "Oh, with whom?" "That I don't know." "It depends." "Where do you go?" "Oh, usually I do a little dancing." "Can you even dance?" "What is "even" supposed to mean?" "Do you consider dancing reckless?" "When one has drunk champagne and one gets in the mood." "What kind of mood?" "Oh, in... in the mood!" "Aha." "And then?" "And then it has suddenly gotten late, and one is so wonderfully tired." "And then?" "And then the lady has suddenly forgotten her house keys..." "And after that?" "And after that..." "I don't know." "The gentleman has to know that." "Absolutely right." "And if the gentleman is a gentleman, he will bring the adventure-seeking young lady to a proper hotel and drop her off with the doorman." "And the next morning he will enquire by telephone as to whether she slept well." "And if this gentleman is a man?" "Do you want another confection?" "Or should I put on a new record?" "Do you have anything planned for tonight?" "Tonight?" "No, why?" "I'd like to go out with you." "I see, no." "That won't work." "I have other plans." "Tomorrow night." "No, that won't work either." "The night after tomorrow." "No, I have plans for then, too." "Oh..." "I have something every night." "Every night?" "I must say, you lead a busy life." "Even so, you wanted to be part of it, right?" "I should give the flowers to my sister, huh?" "Please do." "It has been an honour." "But not a pleasure." "A beer." "They shouldn't do that to us." "What'll you do if you screw up a piece?" "Four years I've been making bushings." "It was always 52." "I can do it in my sleep." "How am I to know it's suddenly 55?" "Man, that's what it says on the sketch." "It's written very clearly. "Amended."" "Didn't you read it?" "I don't know." "It's just because they always change things." "Yeah, they always change it." "Yes." "Is it really necessary?" "And the worker, he gets the hassle." "And failure." "If he isn't careful." "Man, that idiot!" "When I get him!" "The one who figured it out." "Shhh!" "Idiot." "Yes, I said idiot." "I'm going to tell him something!" "Well, why don't you go ahead?" "I just happen to be that idiot." "Oh..." "Don't let me disturb you." "That's what he thinks." "He just means the precision, and whether that's is quite necessary." "Because the locomotives ran in the old days, too." "Go ahead, Max." "Give it to him!" "They also ran in the old days, or didn't they?" "But of course." "Just not as fast." "But you have to go faster so that more trains can run." "And if the bushings demand more, you have to be more precise." "Well, what did I say?" "You said nothing." "You complained." "Who complained?" "You did too, man!" "Your complaining is still harmless." "Come on, complaining is healthy." "I once worked abroad." "It was a region in the south, near Villablanca." "If you complained there, you were better off pulling out your pistol." "I was in that area too, after the war." "In Escalante." "Escalante?" "That's not even 1000 km from Villa." "Then we were neighbours." "Then you know what I'm talking about." "Oh, always too early." "See you." "Hasta la vista, senor." "Hasta mañana, senor." "I believe I haven't said hello to you yet, Ms. Lena." "Good evening." "Goodbye." "Ms. Lena!" "Mr. Martin, I'm wondering..." "Really?" "Why you are in the factory tonight?" "I thought you would go out tonight." "What would I?" "But yes." "With my sister." "You must be kidding." "No?" "!" "She deceived me again." "I don't mean to have disparaged your sister." "I just think one shouldn't believe everything such little girls say... what they tell you of their alleged successes." "I beg your pardon?" "She has no successes?" "I wouldn't say that about my sister." "Firstly, my sister isn't a little girl, rather, she's as much of a lady as I am." "And secondly, with regard to her successes, I can't compete." "Mr. Partzke even made an actual tally." "You know who this gentleman is in reality." "I'm sure that was very enticing to your sister." "To the contrary." "In that way, my sister is exactly like me." "I would never get involved with a superior." "Especially with the son of the privy council, the future boss." "No way!" "I'd rather die first." "Do you have plans for tomorrow afternoon?" "Why?" "Because then I would permit myself..." "No, tomorrow afternoon is impossible." "I have no time then." "I have to sleep." "Maybe the day after tomorrow, or...?" "No, that won't be possible either." "That day I also have..." "No time, I know exactly like your..." "Go ahead and say it." "Just like my sister." "Yes." "I'll make you an offer." "If you promise me..." "I will!" "...not to interest yourself too much in my sister." "See, I'm not free on Sunday." "I don't need to sleep then." "May I expect you for a little ride in my motorboat?" "Who is coming along?" "Nobody." "Just the two of us." "Oh, I don't know." "All alone with you?" "I'd rather not." "Well, if you prefer, then maybe I can get an acquaintance..." "Oh, no, a complete stranger..." "You know what?" "I'll bring my sister." "Your sister, of all people?" "But why not?" "She's always by herself." "And if you have wish her well." "Go on." "Yes, and where do we meet you, my sister and I?" "Hello!" "Ms. Lena!" "Oh, it's you!" "Yes!" "Why?" "Is that not OK with you?" "I made a date with your sister." "But I was supposed to come along." "Yes, come along." "Would you stop that!" "Where's your sister?" "I don't know." "At home." "Why didn't she come?" "Oh, I think she just wasn't too eager." "Wait here." "I'll be back in an hour." "But where are you going?" "To get your sister." "No, no, that's not possible." "Honestly." "Nobody will open the door for you." "For certain." "You know what?" "Why don't we phone?" "Yes, that'll go faster anyway." "Hey, sell me place in line." "Buy yourself an ice cream." "No, no, I have to do it." "If the landlady were to hear a man's voice, then... that's totally..." "Hello?" "Yes, hello, this is Magda." "Please let me speak to my sister." "Yes." "Look, if you speak, you can forget about it." "Hello, Lena, is that you?" "Hello?" "You're speaking so quietly." "Listen, you have me in quite a quandary." "Wha... really?" "Oh, you mean I should go with him by myself?" "No, look, I won't do that." "Especially since he's so infatuated with you." "I'd like to..." "Hello, Lena, are you still there?" "Listen, I would advise you to get dressed and..." "What?" "!" "Well, whatever you think." "You must know best." "But don't be surprised if, er..." "Yes, yes, I will tell him." "I'm supposed to give you her best wishes." "Ms. Menzel, this is Martin." "Hello!" "Hello!" "I don't hear anything." "See?" "Now she hung up." "But maybe we can wait a bit." "My sister promised me she would consider, and maybe come after all." "Tell your sister..." "No, don't tell her anything!" "Oh, you mean we should go ahead and have a good time!" "Oh, at least take me along!" "Maybe just my fame." "I can swim, too!" "Oh, since my sister disappointed you so." "I must unfortunately decline that!" "But my God, all this is only because you promised it to my sister." "Do you think I don't know that?" "But I want to reveal something to you." "Jeez!" "Don't you realize?" "This is all an overreaction." "My sister just sent me to test whether you are really faithful." "What do you say?" "Really?" "And you stoop to doing that?" "Um, well, not really, but it could a lot of fun, don't you think?" "Now I want to tell you something." "Now you are coming." "Especially now." "You don't have to take it so literally." "I'm not trying to excuse my sister." "I just want to annoy her." "So do I." "Please don't look in this direction for a minute." "Do you prefer me this way?" "Your sister wouldn't buy herself something like that." "I just borrowed it anyway..." "from my sister!" "How far are we going?" "It takes two-and-a-half hours." "Oh boy!" "To an island." "What?" "You own an island, too?" "Do you not like it?" "It isn't very big!" "Wow, it's so comfortable here!" "It's actually nice of my sister." "What?" "That she didn't come with us." "Careful." "Why did you do that?" "Are you not dizzy?" "No, I'm accustomed to dizziness (also: deceit)." "In the old days, the sign said, "Biting dogs, spring-guns, booby traps", and the island was full of sandwich paper and eggshells." "And now?" "Now this is my domain." "There are bigger, better-equipped islands." "I have 21 trees, 2 hedgehogs, 17 fireflies." "My birds vary, but that's not the point." "The main thing isn't the island, but what's around it." "You see, here I am the master!" "Here I have no neighbours who spy on me and complain about me." "No friends who want something of me." "Here I can do and not do what I want!" "For example?" "Everything!" "Well, what, for instance?" "I could, for example..." "Or maybe..." "It doesn't matter." "The idea is enough for me." "The awareness." "Here I am alone." "Here there isn't a single person who..." "Pardon me." "Are you not scared of the poisonous snakes?" "Poisonous snakes?" "No." "Perhaps you." "Apart from that, I am the owner here." "Delightful!" "Then I am your guest." "No, precisely not, and that's why I'd like to recommend that you get lost." "Hugo, he wants to get rid of us already." "Listen, you must understand." "I didn't buy this island so that every" "Tom, Dick, and Harry..." "What?" "You want me to leave with my wife, to leave you here with your bride, huh?" "No, sir." "By the way, sharing is the right way, nowadays." "Hugo, don't abide anything." "No." "Look, if you really insist, then I can also..." "What you can't do." "It's best if we don't discuss that in the ladies' presence." "I can't just throw those people into the water." "Let me try it, OK?" "Hugo, we're going." "Well, I..." "We are going!" "OK." "Off we go!" "You're scaring away the fish." "Oh, those poor animals." "They are used to it." "You won't catch anything anyway." "Just wait and see." "I'll catch our dinner." "Just another minute." "Oh, don't bother." "Thank you." "I'll do it myself." "Why are you behaving so strangely?" "Well, don't you realize the situation you have put me in?" "What am I supposed to do?" "You came along in order to lure me onto the ice." "If I'm nice to you, you've won your game." "If I'm not nice, then it looks like I'm scared." "Just imagine, for me it's even worse." "If I'm nice to you, then you think it's just a put-on, or..." "If I'm not nice, then..." "Yes?" "Then... then it would be such a shame, because of all the nice deeds and everything." "Well, what do we do?" "I don't know." "That's something you must know." "Did you enjoy yourself a bit after all?" "No, this is just the bait." "No, I won't do that." "When a gentleman orders champagne, it always gets a little weird." "I know that from the movies." "No, I won't join you." "Not a drop!" "Why are you looking at me like that?" "I can't figure it out." "When I close my eyes and listen to you," "I always think you are your sister." "We are generally very similar, don't you think?" "Not overly so." "That's only because we dress completely differently." "But when I..." "I mean, when we" "I mean..." "look, in the bathtub, you wouldn't be able to tell us apart." "You see?" "Your sister would never say something like that." "Oh, I don't know." "For God's sake!" "What is it?" "But I have to..." "It's almost 8." "What do you have to do?" "Me?" "I don't have to do anything." "Oh no." "My mind is totally muddled." "I confused myself with my sister." "I mean, she doesn't have it as good as me." "She has to go to the night shift now." "So what?" "She can." "No, she can't." "That's the thing." "When I'm not there, she doesn't go." "You don't say!" "Oh, she's so odd anyway." "Shall I imitate her?" "Watch, I can do it very well." "I'll make you an offer, if you promise me not to get too interested in my sister." "I am free next Sunday, because..." "Would you stop talking about your sister!" "I will get all mixed up." "I have no idea anymore." "Do I like you because you're similar to her, or do I like her... no, I mean you..." "Oh, it doesn't matter anyway!" "The main thing is, I am here and you are here." "It's not your sister's business!" "Today I have you." "(Germanism) Which "sie"?" "Uppercase or lowercase?" "(means either "you" or "her")" "For crying out loud!" "You!" "You!" "What are you waiting for?" "I won't tell her anything." "Absolutely nothing." "There is nothing to tell." "Nothing?" "We have to go anyway." "It's getting dark." "Can you still see enough?" "Sure." "Besides, I can find the way even in the dark." "So you say." "Isn't it dangerous?" "No." "Not a little bit?" "Think about it." "Well, certainly." "If you really think so." "Would you rather..." "No, please." "I would like what you like." "Yes, of course." "But we can't..." "Well, go ahead and say it." "I mean, if we slept overnight on the boat..." "But we can't do that." "No, that won't work." "How are you envisioning this?" "What would you do if I weren't here?" "If you hadn't come along?" "That wouldn't be a problem." "I would cast anchor and sleep." "What, on those narrow padded benches?" "I have an upholstered connecting piece." "It fits between the two benches, and then I have a sleeping surface of 1.8 metres in width." "Oh." "How practical." "I also have bed linens... plenty." "Please." "I'm not so interested in that." "I'd rather you told me what we do now." "Well, if you want, we'll go." "Yes." "And then?" "Then, well be in Spandau at around 12." "Yes." "And then?" "Then nothing." "You see?" "Then it's morning." "Then the work starts." "Then the beautiful day is over." "And I'm so scared, altogether." "Listen to how quiet it is." "Don't you think I'm actually quite brave?" "To the contrary." "But yes." "Think about it." "Me and you, all alone." "I think if I were to scream, not a soul would hear me." "Why would you want to scream?" "Why would I want to scream." "I don't know what she did here!" "Morning, Hannemann." "Morning, Mr. Martin." "I already figured you weren't coming today." "Yes, of course, but I couldn't..." "I hadn't..." "It's irrelevant." "What's going on here?" "Oh, Ms. Menzel didn't come." "Now I don't know where..." "What, she didn't come for her night shift?" "No, and now I'm sitting here searching like crazy for page 14." "Five!" "You should have tried calling her." "Just a moment." "Yes?" "Whom?" "Whom are you seeking?" "No, she's seldom here." "No, Ms. Magda is not home." "Ms. Le..." "Le..." "Ms. Lena?" "Yes, she's on the night shift." "You can reach her there at the number..." "Just a moment please." "What?" "Who is?" "The night shift?" "Yes, er... then she must be..." "No, not here!" "Just a moment." "Just to be sure, I'll... take a look." "Hello?" "She isn't here either." "Maybe you should try..." "What?" "What is it?" "Don't be so agitated with me." "I can't help it!" "You're welcome!" "Good morning, Ms. Menzel." "Where are you coming from?" "From the night shift." "What else?" "You must be a little tired." "Of course." "Why?" "How was it?" "What do you mean?" "Well, on the night shift." "What's wrong with you?" "You're so weird." "Nothing." "By the way, there was a call for you." "From whom?" "From the night shift!" "Dear Mrs. Schmidt-Woltersdorf." "Are you angry at me?" "In my time, one didn't do such things." "No, not for that reason." "I mean because I deceived you." "I'll say!" "That's the least I can ask for in terms of civility." "I want nothing to do with such things." "I don't even want to know about them!" "Was he at least nice?" "So, Mrs. Schmidt-Woltersdorf, now you bring me a strong coffee and an extra bun please." "Don't you have to get ready for the art room?" "Oh, I don't feel like it today." "She's not here." "She's not here." "Ms. Menzel isn't here!" "What's the deal!" "Then please tell her." "There's someone from the employment agency." "Oh, my goodness!" "If the papers aren't here, then it must be a mistake." "I beg you pardon, miss." "We're a government agency." "We don't make mistakes." "What's going on here?" "Heil Hitler." "Please." "This man from the employment agency is adamant that we signed in Ms. Menzel twice." "Such nonsense!" "She is capable of it." "First she mucks up the papers, then she signs herself in twice." "You're slipping, miss." "But please, Mr. Engineer, if I... then I can..." "Yes, yes, it's too late, right?" "I mean, it's awfully easy." "Somebody will have to be held responsible for this." "But which one." "From you or from over there?" "Plant 2, Hall 4." "What is Plant 2, Hall 4?" "I don't know either?" "Well then, take a look, Ms. Ziedlinsky!" "Yes, sir." "I think I screwed up." "So tell him the truth." "No, I can't do that!" "Especially not now, since I..." "He must think of me as a horridly totally reckless person." "Just like that, on the first day." "For the weekend." "He would never marry someone like that." "Yup." "That's just the way it is." "Gentlemen love to screw around." "But for marriage they want a virginal woman." "Yes, but you see, Mrs. Schmidt- Woltersdorf, actually actually, I served him up Lena for marriage." "Oh yes." "Smart thinking." "As Magda you have your fun with him, and as Lena you play the virtuous bride." "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" "Yes." "And that's why no one must find out." "And what's going on?" "Well, Magdalena Menzel works over at our Plant 2." "And?" "Well, her papers are in order." "Who hired her here?" "Please!" "It wasn't me." "The senior engineer hired her." "I assume you didn't see this person's passport." "She gave me her papers, but they mysteriously disappeared!" "I imagine they did." "Because they were fake!" "For heaven's sake!" "Did you notice anything else suspicious?" "Only that she's awfully pretty." "Aha!" "And what kind of relationships does she have?" "She was certainly always tired." "Did any of your drawings disappear, by chance?" "For God's sake, no!" "And that she isn't here, of all days today..." "But maybe she'll still come." "Mrs. Schmidt-Woltersdorf." "Yes, what's wrong?" "May I bother you for a second?" "I have to tell you something very private." "You have to speak louder!" "I want to ask you!" "Can you give me the sponge?" "I would like to ask what you think of that." "You see, I have an idea." "A wonderful idea!" "Yes, but I..." "What is wrong, child?" "You're making me very curious." "Listen carefully." "Nothing can happen to me." "I'll let Magda disappear." "Do you understand?" "No." "Then everything is in order." "The first thing is Martin." "He will only have me as Lena." "He can't cheat on me with Magda anymore, knows where he belongs, and can eventually get engaged to me." "Hopefully!" "Well, and secondly with the factory." "Then I don't have to work day and night anymore!" "I can't take it anymore anyway!" "If only you would finally realize that." "And thirdly, with the papers and the employment agency." "When Magda is gone, she's gone." "They can search until they go black!" "Yes, but if someone existed, he can't just vanish from the face of the earth." "But why?" "Magda didn't exist." "She was merely..." "Come with me." "We'll go directly to the factory." "Hegel's office." "Yes, Ziedlinsky." "Who?" "Yes, so what?" "Yes, but you can't simply..." "Why that?" "Where?" "Hello!" "My God!" "You're right, she's not coming." "You see?" "She's not coming at all anymore." "She's leaving the country." "You see?" "Now she's gone!" "Somebody's coming!" "You see?" "It's for us." "Ms." "Menzel, please have a look." "So, what is it?" "Shhh!" "Can I speak to Ms. Menzel?" "Yes, if you wait a minute." "Sir, which of the ladies would you like to speak to?" "No, don't!" "Are you... are you?" "Yes!" "Whom?" "Magda or Ms. Lena?" "You can hear that." "Of course." "Can I not come in?" "No, not yet." "One moment, please." "Just a second." "Why can I not come in?" "I just took a bath." "And I have nothing on." "But you can have a hand." "Don't you want to get dressed?" "You're freezing." "Yes." "Ter-r-r-ribly!" "But... if you wait a second..." "OK, you can come in now." "Oh, it's you." "Yes, what did you think?" "My sister is not here." "On vacation." "Away." "She's not coming back either." "What, she's away?" "She's completely..." "That's not possible." "It is, but if you want to talk to me..." "All right." "Would you like to have a seat?" "Thank you." "You look so solemn today." "Do you have a bad conscience?" "Go ahead and talk." "I'll make an effort to be understanding." "First, two questions." "As a man who is, or was, going to ask you to marry, I have a right to ask." "Why did you not come for the boat ride yesterday afternoon?" "Why I didn't..." "Well, was the reason again?" "Oh, that's right." "I had a headache." "Is that so?" "I sent you my sister." "Was she not nice to you?" "You can feel free to tell me." "Secondly, why didn't you show for the night shift?" "Or is that also related to this peculiar headache?" "What?" "Y-y-yes." "Er, yes, of course!" "I got a really good night's sleep for once." "Why are you lying?" "I confirmed that you were not home last night." "Were you home last night?" "Of course, where else?" "You're lying too." "Fine." "Then we're both lying." "You see how far apart we are from each other already." "You're lying." "I'm lying." "We both have our reasons." "Maybe even the same one." "I mean, don't you find it a strange coincidence that we both simultaneously, at the same time, otherwise..." "I find no humour in this mutual disloyalty." "Ms. Menzel, there's a man here for you." "Aha!" "You needn't say "Aha"!" "The gentleman shall wait." "So." "Yes!" "I think... there's nothing left to be said." "Madam, it was a great pleasure." "Please give my regards to your sister." "One second please." "Don't you want to at least tell me who it was?" "Who?" "The one from last night." "You won't learn of any indiscretions from me." "Was she at least pretty?" "What does "at least" mean?" "I mean, prettier than me?" "At least she has something that you, Ms. Lena, are sadly completely lacking." "I hope you are not mistaken." "Everything, and I mean everything, that you found so attractive about my sister, you could have had with me, too." "Even the boat ride." "What?" "But how come?" "Are you two..." "But, are you crazy?" "Are you... are you Magda?" "Lena?" "Say "Magdalena" to us." "Then it's exactly right." "You little devil." "Animal." "Hello!" "Stop it!" "But why don't you understand?" "You can't bother the young luck in there." "Yes, I'm allowed to." "I'm from the Reich Police." "Reich Police!" "Hello!" "Open up!" "Oh, Mr. Moss, glad you're here." "Take the young lady with you right away." "But Mr. Wuell..." "Hello!" "Take Ms. Menzel in your car." "I'll follow you." "Oh, Martin!" "But where's the other woman?" "Can't I at least change first?" "You have to be punished for leading me around by the nose." "But I have a surprise for you, too." "On the basis of these facts, I felt justified to initiate the immediate arrest of this suspicious woman, and I'm glad that we, or rather I, through swift intervention, may have saved the factory from great harm." "If I may be perfectly honest, Mr. Privy Councillor, the girl didn't look like a workplace spy." "Those are the worst." "Is the other one coming, too; the one from the night shift?" "Yes," "I arranged for that, too." "Yes, just so you know," "I won't let anything happen to Ms. Lena." "She's all right." "I'll vouch for her." "Her papers are also in order." "Show them to me." "That's the same one she presented to the art room." "Yes, it has the same inkspot!" "I don't understand." "Maybe she borrowed the papers of her sister, Lena Menzel." "At any rate, it's clear..." "Excuse me, sir, but don't you want to wait with your interesting conclusions until the two women are here, and can be confronted with one another?" "I'm sure a lot will be cleared up." "Do you know anything specific?" "Didn't the similarity of the two women ever strike you as strange?" "Do you know both?" "Mr." "Martin came to the night shift every night because of the valves." "Oh, I see!" "It seems to me Mr. Engineer Martin has thoroughly gotten to know both women." "Admittedly." "Should I let them in now?" "They're both waiting outside." "Yes, of course." "Immediately!" "Hello, Ms. Lena." "It's good that you're here." "Trouble's brewing." "But I will handle the situation." "But Hannemann, what kind of nonsense is this?" "This isn't Ms. Lena." "This the one from our art room." "I'm not stupid, Mr. Senior Engineer." "I know our Lena." "Isn't that right?" "Yes, of course." "But, this is dumb." "Ms. Ziedlinsky?" "Yes, Mr. Senior Engineer, this is the person who came to us with strange papers." "Yes, why do you want to argue?" "Lena, for goodness sake, say something!" "Mr. Engineer Martin knows both ladies." "Maybe he can clear it up for us." "Take off your hat." "Well, I'd almost say..." "Actually, she's neither of the women." "Well, miss, then you'd better come over here." "Very close, if I may ask you." "You know best who you are, right?" "Now, are you Magda from the art room..." "Yes. -...or Lena from the night shift?" "Fair enough." "Look, which of the two?" "!" "Both of them." "Magdalena." "But miss, you can't have worked two posts at the same time." "No, not concurrently." "Alternatingly." "Here during the day and there at night." "That's right." "What a great minx!" "Er, perhaps Engineer Martin can make some remarks about this matter" "Gladly." "But I'd rather do that under six eyes." "Aha." "So, gentlemen, you can get back to work." "I'll decide on this affair." "Please, Mr. Senior Engineer, what was that?" "Well?" "Well?" "Mr. Privy Councillor, I beg you for forgiveness for the double-earning." "I promise to pay it back." "A little at a time." "Maybe in installments." "My dear child, I want to tell you something." "A woman who manages that, and fulfills her duties in such a way, and even double-duty..." "And who then still has time for love, and that also in double execution..." "I have to say, that is tremendous." "That's the woman I wished for for my son." "Sorry?" "See, Dad." "Excuse me?" "!" "Oh God!" "Oh God!" "Imagine, Dad, unfortunately she said she would rather die than be with the son..." "No, I take that back!" "Well, thank God!" "Well?" "Then give each other a kiss." "We have already, Dad." "Later you'll be really loving with each other." "We already have, too, Dad." "Oh, please, Martin." "Tell me right away." "Which of the two did you like more?" "Magda or Lena?" "Honestly, neither." "On her own, neither." "Both were missing what the other had." "Well, then you can say you are lucky to now be getting both." "Right, Dad?" "The funny one for the day, and the serious one for the night." "As far as I'm concerned, it could be the other way around." "The serious one for the day, and the funny one..." "Subtitles by Radial/BobbyFletcher/Oliver L. for KG and SMz."