"Present the film" "based on Andrzej Mularczyk's novel Post Mortem" "Screenplay by" "Starring" "as Major Popov" "And" "Sound" "Makeup" "Costume Designer Uniforms and Military Items by" "Set Designer Interior Designer" "Photography of the September 1939 sequence by" "Edited by" "Production Manager Executive Producer" "Producer" "Music" "Director of Photography" "Directed by" "September 17, 1939" "Where to, folks?" "!" "There are Germans behind us!" "The Soviets have entered!" "Where are you going?" "Turn back!" "The Russkies have entered!" "Faster!" "Germans are behind us..." "Mrs. Anna!" "Mrs. Anna!" "Where to?" "I'm looking for my husband." "Where are they?" "You don't know?" "The Soviets attacked at dawn." "My husband told me to return to Cracow immediately." "My husband knows what's he talking about." " Madam..." " They must know that we're safe." "Why jeopardize yourself and the kid?" "Be reasonable." " Madame, please." " Start." "Nika!" "Where are you?" "!" "My God, Nika!" "Nika..." "Come, doggie." "Nothing to be scared of." "I told you to stick with me!" "He's alone and scared." "Let's take him along." "We can't." "We're in a hurry." "He may be waiting for his master." "Excuse me, do you know where the 8th" " Cracow Uhlan Regiment is?" " The uhlans are no more." "And the officers?" "Where's the staff?" "There's a hospital in the church." "They may know something." "Ask them." " Is dad there?" " I don't know." "We'll see." "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti..." " Mom, the coat." " What coat?" "Dad's coat." "I can tell by the blue ribbon." "Hold this." " What's happening?" " The President's address!" "The president's address!" "Come!" "... until today has withstood the onslaught of the overwhelming German forces, our eastern neighbor has invaded our lands in violation of covenants, and the immutable principles of morality." "Warsaw as the capital is no more!" " Who's that?" " Molotov, Soviet Foreign Minister." " The Soviets are everywhere." " Where are the officers?" "The POWs are at the station if they're there." " They were to be transported to Russia." " Thank you." "Hurry up Niki." " You can leave her with me." " I want to come along." "Wait here." "I'll be back with daddy." "I have another bicycle." "Take this for your husband." " I'll be right back." " Grzes, see the lady off." "Take the bicycle and leave it there." "September 17, 1939" "The Bolsheviks have entered." "Surrounded by Soviet tanks, we surrender weapons." "They take us for POW's though there was no war with them." "They have separated the officers and let the soldiers go home, but have retained us, the officers." "I'll try to write from time to time to let you know what happen to me if I died and didn't return." "Maybe this notebook will be sent to you." " They're dividing us." " Wait a minute." "What're you doing?" "I've decided to describe everything I've seen here day by day." "The Germans take our soldiers, the Soviets, our officers." "Makes no difference." "Captivity is captivity." "No honor to an officer." " I see only the dark side." " Meaning?" "Moscow hasn't signed the Geneva Convention." "How long do you think their friendship will last?" "Hitler declared a 1000-year-old Reich and communism is forever." "Greetings to the representatives of the German Army." "First Lieutenant of the NKVD Kozlov." "A thousand years at least." " You never lose your sense of humor." " My common sense rather." " How goes it, comrades?" " Fine." "Their alliance won't last a year, which means they'll need us very badly." "Who?" "One transport to Smolensk, the second, to Belgorod, and the third to Kharkov." " Anna?" "Your wife?" " Why, She's in Cracow." "What're you doing here, Anna?" "Why aren't you in Cracow?" " Where's Nika?" " Andrzej..." " Andrzej, I thought..." " Where's Nika?" "You'll see her in the presbytery." "What presbytery?" "What presbytery?" "Nearby." "I have another bicycle for you." "Just change." "They're not watching closely." "I got thru with no problem." "What do you mean?" "I want you to be with us, to take care of me and our daughter." "Anna, listen to me..." "You're a wife of a Polish officer." "This conversation is pointless." "Pointless?" "I've traveled across half of Poland to you!" "I'm bound by my military pledge." "You swore to me..." "before God." "Till death do us part, you've forgotten?" "I swore to them too." "You just don't love us." " By God, Anna, calm down." " I beg you..." "I beg you, Andrzej..." "No talking to the prisoner!" " Andrzej." " All will be well." " Daddy!" " Niki." "Don't go away!" "Take her." " Take her away." " Come, darling." "Take care." "Nika!" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "THE YOUNGEST CAVALRY CAPTAIN..." "Maybe the navy blue would be better?" "No, thank you, my dear." "I thought you were working." "I found an old paper with Andrzej's photo when he was the youngest cavalry captain in the Polish Army." "Our son lives." "He's in captivity, but he lives." "Thank you." " Will you have a speech today?" " Not today." "We have to listen to the lecture of that SS officer..." "Müller?" " I told you." " We need to buy a new jacket." "Müller." "Doctor Müller." "Does he have a scientific degree," " that Müller?" " Yes." "He calls himself police government adviser." "Dr. Müller." "Jan you don't want to go there?" "Out of the question." "We all must be there." "We can't leave the chancellor alone." "The Germans must believe that we are of one mind when it comes to the independence of the university." "Cracow, Nov. 6, 1939 German Occupation Zone" "Hello... hello." "Yes, Chancellor." "Hello..." "Gentlemen," "We have been informed that, at the university, you start classes, seminars and exams without our consent." "You don't seem to realize the plight you're in." "This kind of conduct is a hostile act against Germany." "In fact the university was always a major hotbed of scientific struggle against Germany, the center of anti-German propaganda." "The university is closed." "You all are under arrest." "You'll go to a labor camp where you'll have enough time to think over your behavior until now." " Excuse me..." " Any discussion is useless." "I categorically protest on behalf of the university." "Comments are forbidden." "Whoever will try to disobey orders will be shot." "Chancellor, you go first." "November 1939 Camp in Kozielsk, USSR." "Everybody fled:" "Police stations, high command." "I know only one word:" " Treason." " Easy to judge others" " when you didn't fight." " You didn't give me any weapon." "The camp does not justify a breach of rules and conduct." " It's a fitting term:" "Treason!" " Soviet propaganda, lieutenant!" " The truth is quite different." " Look for it in Romania," " where our C. -in-C." "Has fled." " Who's guilty that we were unprepared?" "History will judge the guilty of the disaster." "Rehearsed platitudes, those, I think though I have fewer stars than you." " I'm an engineer, I design planes." " The uniform is an honor." " The Polish uniform." " Shove the honor." "I'd rather fight!" "Don't jump at each other's throat." "Here?" "Before the Soviets?" "We still take part in the war." "It's all over with us." "Try to find peace with this, lieutenant." "November 1939 Soviet Occupation Zone" "The Soviet Red Army is your only friend." "Any further resistance is pointless." "The Soviet Red Army is your only friend." "Only she will liberate the Polish nation from the war." "So that you could start living in peace." "I can't find it." "Silence the baby." " Name?" " Anna." "Wife of a cavalry captain, born in Cracow in 1910, daughter Nika." "This checks out." "Everything's correct." "So, what is it, citizen?" "I already applied twice for travel documents to Poland... the General-Gouverenment, that is." "To my family." "Mussolini envies us already." "That's what is in our files." "And you were refused twice." "So what now?" "I've applied again." "Refused!" "Next one!" "I used to live in Cracow before the war." "My family lives there." "She's a citizen of the General- Gouvernement." "Can she return there?" "No!" "Let me return to Krakow, please." "You can return of course, but you cannot leave from here." "It's clear in black and white that your husband is held in captivity." "Don't you want to wait till he returns?" "It's no good." "He'll be released and no one will welcome him." "Name?" "Cracow, December 24, 1939" "Where's Ewa?" "Outside, looking for the first star." "She wanted to look from here, but it's the blackout..." "Where's the plate for an unexpected guest?" "I put it over here a moment ago." "This one is for the General." "Good." "Sir, I report that the first star has been sighted." "Thank you." "Gentlemen..." "I have no doubts that in a year's time we'll reminisce about our present plight with a smile." "None of us thought that the service prepared us only for immediate victories." "Defeat is also part of the soldier's lot and captivity, but also a return home to resume fighting." "You don't lay down your arms before an enemy but before yourself." "So it's only up to you if you remain soldiers or losers." "A few words to those, who, not career officers, share our lot and are the majority here, as I see scientists, teachers, lawyers..." "I even see a painter." "You must endure, because there won't be a free Poland without you." "The aim for us, ordinary soldiers, is to put Poland again on the map of Europe." "Yet you'll have to make that Poland come true in Europe." "I wish you as well as myself to return home safe and sound." "To meet our nearest and dearest as soon as possible." "God is born on earth, powers tremble," "Lord bereft of heav'nly splendor." "Lustrous flames fade, fires dissemble," "Infinite unending Wonder!" "Scorned yet clothed in radiant glory," "Mortal though He is Lord Jesus," "Thus the Word became the flesh," "Dwelling without end among us." "I wonder if they'll let us go." "You can stay here as long as necessary." "Tadek will sure stay with his uncle and aunt in Miechowo, while Kazimierz is in Starobielsk..." "I've brought a samovar." "This is good medicine." "It will help." "Thank you." "Mrs. Anna, come to me for a moment, please." "Go." "I'll watch over Nika." "Please." "The tea must've gotten cold." "Unfortunately, it has." "Listen to me, Anna." "Please don't get me wrong." "I have your lot and that of your sister at heart." "We talked about it, Captain." "That's absolutely impossible." "Yes, but the situation has changed." "You were afraid I'd seize the opportunity if you said yes." "Soon I'm off to the Finnish front." "It's not the way there like they say." "I've misgivings that I won't come back." "You cannot know about that." "Nobody can." "Maybe so." "As it happens, we know what we cannot know." "If you marry me, then without any consequences between us, as I'm leaving before long." "If I'm killed, you as the wife of a Red Army officer will find it easier to save yourself and your daughter." "I have a husband." "I won't marry you." "You a wife of a Polish officer." "It spells death." "I told you I have a husband!" " They are no more." " What're you talking about?" "I have letters from Andrzej, who lives and will return." "Anna..." "I know I don't deserve your trust." "We just live under the same roof." "I don't want anything for myself." "I'll tell you what I've no right to say." "Wives of Polish officers will go first." "Once, I wasn't able to save my own family, but I'd like to rescue you and your daughter." "Please trust me." "Please." " Take two." " Yes, sir." "Let's go quick!" "Nika!" " Where's my mommy?" " Quiet, Nika." "Open up!" "Elzbieta Aleksandrowna?" "Born in Krakow in 1909?" "The wife of the Polish Army officer Kazimierz Ignatowicz?" "Pack your things." "Jesus..." "What happened?" "Fire?" "What're you doing here?" "And you?" " I report, Comrade Captain." " I live here." " We've come to arrest..." " Who?" "Who have you come to arrest?" "Me?" "No." "Here's a warrant." "Anna Aleksandrowna, born May, 2, 1910... wife of the Polish officer Andrzej... has a daughter Weronika." "No such person lives here." " How come?" " No such person has lived here." "For over a year." "I've lived here... alone." " So we've come too late?" " Most likely." "Search somewhere else." "We certainly will." "Why is the girl crying?" "Don't cry!" "Don't you want to see your daddy?" "Be quick!" "You're going to your husband." "Niki." "Mommy, not a peep from me." "I know, dear." "I know." " Thank you." " You must run away." "They'll be right back." "Thank you." "The German High Command announces:" "The situation near Narvik hasn't changed." "German planes attacked British marching columns with MG fire and dispersed them." "Cracow, Spring of 1940" "A British cruiser was hit with a bomb..." "My dear God..." "You're here." "Are you happy, Granny, we'll be living with you?" "I am." "I'm happy... my darling." " Don't you have dolls, Grandma?" " Well, I didn't have a daughter." "This is your dad's teddy bear." "It was worst on the border." "I spent all my money and threw in the ring from Andrzej to boot." "When was the last time he wrote you?" "In March." "Everything crossed out by the censor." "I'll show you." "Bring me the bag, Nika." "Any news from Father?" "They let" " them write from Sachsenhausen?" " He writes in a way not to provoke the censor." "That he's fine, they feed them well, and he'll be back soon." " And you don't believe it?" " No..." "Yes." " I believe my misgivings." " What do they tell you?" "They've been treating us too well." "Let us celebrate Xmas." "It's suspicious." "Don't tell anybody." "That 2nd lieutenant tried to hang himself again." "The men are in bad shape." "We have to set an example." "How long?" "England and France will stand up for us." "They can't leave 20,000 officers behind the front line." "Cannons or tanks can be rebuilt, but a trained soldier is irreplaceable." "I just hope it won't cross the tovarishchi's minds." "Chin up, lieutenant." "You don't look well recently." "It's my kidneys and I get shivers." "Here's a present for you." " How come?" "And you?" " I have another." "Mother prepared me for the war as if it were school." "This is her handwriting." "My name." "Thank you." "I'll return it in a few days." "No need." "I really have another." "Mom," "Mr. Wieslaw's brought a package for you." " Hello, Madam." " Hello." "It's from Germany." "You have to sign the receipt." "One moment." "Here." "Thank you." " Please wait." " Not this time, Madam." "Please forgive me." "Read, please." "The Sachsenhausen camp commander regrets to inform you that on March 4, 1940," "Prof. Jan died in jail of an untreated cardiac defect." " Jesus' holy name be praised." " For ever and ever." " Here." " Thank you." "What's that list?" "The names of all they transport away." "I have everybody from the 1 st transport on April 3." "Men are easy to lose, but their families and the army are waiting for them..." " As they say, diaries don't burn." " Buttons..." "That's what will be left of us." "I wonder where they send us?" " To neutral countries maybe." " Where did you hear that?" "We were vaccinated against typhus." "With the Soviets that means" " we're off on a long journej." " Attention!" "I'm reading the following names..." "They've read your name." "Your things and off." "I'm staying." "Don't worry, Jerzy." "This is not the last transport." "You'll come on the next one and I'll get good lodgings ready." "Zygmunt Szymkiewicz, major doctor, a letter from a Health Dept." "Cracow, April, 13, 1943" "Roman Zajaczkowski land engineer His service papers were found." "Antoni Danda, military rank unknown, a Town Hall sec., a letter attached." "Dr. Henryk Peche, captain, physician." "Ferdynand Marecki, his student card and a telegram attached." "Edmund Baszkowski b." "In Kalisz in 1903, lawyer." "Marian Dobrowolski, lieutenant pilot, engineer designer..." " Goniec Krakowski, please." " I got the latest." "Here." "Stanislaw Jakubowicz lieutenant, no personal details." "Wladyslaw Deszczka, cartographer, b." "March 2, 1892." "Stanislaw Kaczmarek, pilot, 2nd lieut." "His weapons license and calling cards attached." "Piotr Martin engineer." "An inocculation certificate from Kozielsk attached." "Daszkiewicz, 2nd lieut." "ID attached." " He isn't there?" " No." "One cannot lose a husband and son." "Right." "My sonny." "He's not there." "But I don't understand why he didn't hide or escape." "You told me it was possible." " Why didn't you persuade him?" " You know I tried." " Why wasn't I there?" " You wouldn't've helped." "Andrzej paid the same duty to the uniform, as Father," " to the university." " But he should've been rescued." "My son is necessary." "You think that I don't know that?" "That I don't feel it?" "If he'd felt he was needed..." "I don't know, maybe..." "He wouldn't have left you, the child, me..." "Why do you speak as if he were no more." "He's not on that list!" "Do you hear?" "But that accursed list has the name of that Lieutenant Jerzy" " and the general, their commander." " So what?" "He's not there and that's that." "If he could save himself, even all alone, he did because that's what I feel." "I feel that Andrzej lives." "It can't be that something happened to him somewhere, which I don't know." "He is part of me." "And no part of me has died." "Yes, yes..." "A letter has come, Mom." "Official." "From the Germans." " Propaganda Abteilung..." " What can they want from you?" "In connection with the Katyn list." "They tell relatives to come." "Let's go." "On behalf of our leader Adolf Hitler," "I'd like to express my heart-felt condolences on account of the tragedy that befell your husband, the General." "It's an unprecedented crime committed by the Soviets on Polish POWs in Katyn." "The Führer ordered to return to you the Virtuti Militari cross." "Thank you." "Please see the statement and next read it." "News spread very fast of finding... bodies of Polish officers, including my husband's..." "The wife of the General," "I'll pray for the Soviet criminals to be punished..." "The conversation will be recorded." "I take it that everything has been written out here." "Your questions and my answers." "Exactly." "Read it out loud, please." "You can start now, please." "You can start now, please." "Read it!" "Madam, you need this statement as much as we do." "You wouldn't like to send your daughter letters from Auschwitz?" "Please come with me!" "The daughter stays here." "Sit down!" " Don't you leave me here, Mom!" " Wait here." "Please." "Behind the front line near Smolensk, the Katyn Forest, the site of a horrendous mass murder, where the butchers of Kremlin ordered executioners to commit a bestial murder on 12,000 Polish POWs, officers and noncoms." "A German Medical Committee along with a Polish forensic expert Dr. Praglowski ascertained the typically Bolshevik way, a shot in the back of the head." "The exit wound is in the forehead or in the upper part of the victim's skull." "Father Jasinski is performing exequies over the open mass graves." "A symbolic handful of dust from the General-Gouvernement is thrown over the graves." "All those Polish offcers were murdered in the spring of '40." "There are many Polish generals among the victims." "This bears out what fate awaited all European nations from the Bolshevik murderous plague." "Yet with his heroic attitude, the German soldier protects our continent." "To complete the list of names given before of the murdered by the Bolsheviks..." "Mom!" "Mom!" "... we give you further names of the victims:" "Wladyslaw Godziszewski, lieutenant, b." "June 22, 1895, high school teacher." "Lucjan Gawronski, captain," "Olgierd Druchowicz, major, electrical engineer." "Cracow, Jan. 18, 1945" " The hated Nazi flag hit the cobblestones of the Krakow marketplace." "Thousands of hands tore into pieces the symbol of German rule over the ancient capital of Polish kings." "Mom, see who's arrived?" "Our maid Stasia." "How elegant you look!" "Stasia..." " So we've survived." " Yes..." "Sit down." "We worried about you." "Well, it was hard." "We had to hide." "My husband took to the forest." "He was in the People's Army." " Could we help you?" " No, thank you." "It's quite different now." "My husband Edek can do a great deal now." "Your things remained here in the pantry, a whole trunk." "Ewa, fetch it please." "Madam, I'd like..." "You remember?" "I'd like to return it." "I promised to keep it and I did." "What have you brought us?" "Dad's saber..." "Thank you very much." " So I'll be going..." " Your trunk." "No, no, give it to the Red Cross for the poor." "My husband was nominated the Starosta of Piotrkow." "So I have to go." "I thought you decided to stay on as a maid." "I didn't see the General's wife throughout the whole war." "Now you are the lady." "Yes, Madam, please." "Dad!" " Andrzej." " Dad!" "Andrzej." "Nika..." "She's grown." "Forgive her." "She's looking forward to seeing Father." "I'm sorry to have disappointed you." " But your face..." " You recognize me?" "You're Jerzy, a lieutenant from my son's regiment." "Yes, a major now, but it's me." "But they said you were dead." "I saw the name and rank" " on the list everything..." " Yes, yes, but it's a mistake." "I live as you see." "Where's Andrzej?" "Do you know my son's whereabouts?" "Unfortunately," "I saw him in 1940 last when they took him to another camp." "That means..." "Nobody knows, and nothing is certain." "So many mistakes." "You live..." "Anna will be happy." "She'll be back soon." "I have some canned meat for you." "It can be of use..." "Thank you." "Jerzy." " Why, you are on the Katyn list." " I know." "I've come..."