"Edith Stein, born in Breslau on October 1 2, 1 891 , died in Auschwitz in 1 942, Number 4407 4." "What was Edith Stein like?" "Why did she die in a concentration camp?" "Many interpretations could be made about her life." "This is one of them." "The first day of January, in the year of Our Lord, 1 922," "Edith Stein, I baptize you with the name Teresa Edvige, in the name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost." "1 922, Breslau Station ( Germany )" " Good morning." " Good morning." "Thank you." "Edith!" "Mother!" "Mother!" " You're so thin, darling." " l'm just a bit tired." "I'm so proud of you." "A Doctor of Philosophy - my daughter!" "Mother, I want you to know..." "I'm a Jew and will remain a Jew... but I've converted to Catholicism." "Why?" "For what reason?" "I was looking for love and found it in Jesus." "In Him and through Him, God is reached." "You've betrayed us, like Jesus." "He was crucified to save us." "You had no right to do that." "I know you follow your choices resolutely, but I implore you... for my children and grandchildren, give it up!" "I'm sorry, Mother." "I can't give it up." "I can't go back." "A person can't find himself if he doesn't know God." "God gives me the strength of inner life." "Jesus!" "Jesus!" "Jesus!" " You are no longer my daughter." " Mother!" ""Heart..." "My heart, what is happening to you?" "What oppresses you so?" "What strange, new life?" "I know you no longer." "What you loved is far away..." "What afflicted you is far away." "Far away your fatigue and rest"" "Very good." "What is oppressing Goethe's heart in this poem about love?" "Would it be love itself?" "Changes produced by love?" "Goethe isn't able to resolve the inner tensions born of his new love which he defines as..." ""the chains of a power without limits."" "Also as a "subtle, magic thread which cannot be broken."" "For Goethe, a romantic experience is at an imperfect, irresistible time." ""Ah, when you are near me, I know well." "I mustn't and shouldn't love you." "Ah, when you are far away, I know well... I love you with all my soul."" "For the next lesson, I'd like each of you to compose a poem about the meaning of love." "Allow your mind and heart to work freely." "Thank you." "Good morning." "Pardon me for bothering you, Professor." "I'm unsure about "interpretation derived from the energetic... metaphyschological aspect of Freudian psychoanalysis..."" "Miss, how often do I have to repeat that there are assistants for this nonsense?" " l'm sorry, Professor." " Forget it." "Do you think women should enter politics too?" "There are no professions that women cannot practice." "A woman is not only a woman." "Each one has her own art of being and distinct talent..." "like men." "Exactly like men..." "Exactly like men!" "She just has to practice it." "Did you wish a career in philosophy or politics?" "Neither one, not the other." "Will you get married?" "What do you plan to do?" "Continue to live, search for the truth, as I've always done." "What are your relations, both philosophical and non... with Professor Husserl?" "Have you had contact with Rosa Luxemburg?" "What do you think of Mussolini?" "Why did you convert to Catholicism?" "Please, don't all talk at once." "Good morning, Professor Stein." "In Goettingen a few years ago, you said you were an atheist." "Do you remember that?" "Yes, I remember, Dr. Heller." "Do you remember losing your cross too?" "Yes, I remember." "Now you claim to have found it again... lsn't that true, Professor Stein?" "This is neither the time nor the place to talk about it." "To get back to the questions..." "Husserl... is my spiritual master and friend." "I've never met Rosa Luxemburg, but I've read her books." "Mussolini...is dangerous." "St. Teresa d'Avila's book lead me to Christian philosophy" "No, you're mistaken." "This is exactly the time and place." "These people are here to listen to you and understand, Professor Stein, how it came about that an ordinary Jewish girl was able to become a famous, respected personality who, today, finds herself at the center of attention." "Once you were just..." "Professor Husserl's assistant." "Now you're an internationally known philosopher." "Today, you hold conferences throughout Europe." "I suppose... your childhood dream has come true." "If my memory serves me well, you too were one of the brilliant minds of the University." "Professor Husserl considered you a genius." "I'd like to read what you've written recently." "You're not interested in philosophy, but in power... in a political career." "You'll never be satisfied, you'll always want more." "You know no bounds, Professor Stein." "It's typical of Jews..." "Having broken with tradition and your forefathers' faith." ""Alav ha Shalom"!" "Does that really mean more?" "Remember it wasn't faith I questioned, but the conformity of the way it was practiced!" "You used Catholicism the way you're using provocation now - to quiet your conscience!" "The years haven't changed you, Dr. Heller." "You're still trying to confirm something, outside yourself... which you haven't found within." "Thank you for participating." "I really liked your thesis." "It's a shame you had to give up your studies." "My father committed suicide." "The family didn't have enough money for me to continue." "What will you do now?" "I'd like to help my country." "This chaos frightens me." "Strikes!" "Protests!" "Corruption!" "Unemployment!" "Germany is sick and I'm afraid." "I have an awful feeling that I might be pushed to suicide too." "What's this?" "It's the badge of a youth group." "Being with them makes me feel secure." "No group, whatever it is, will ever restore order if each of us is not ready to change his own destiny." "Someone's got to start." "Go back to your studies." "Take my advice." "Come visit me sometime, if you can." "We can discuss... I have to go now." "Goodbye." "So your decision to get divorced is final?" "I have no choice." "Her entire family is Jewish." "I'm already preparing their departure." "And the children?" "The boy will stay with me." "He's blonde and won't be taken for a Jew." "But the girl has to leave with her mother." "What a shame." "Your wife is so lovely." "What a shame." "I can't delude the party." "If we don't set a good example..." "Give my best regards to your wife, Professor Hesse." "He who bears a cross on his shoulder and doesn't follow me, cannot be worthy of me." "He who wishes to follow, must renounce himself." "Dear Hans, do you remember my friend Moskovitz?" "Not well." "She died suddenly." "They say it was a heart attack, but that's not true." "She died with her boyfriend..." "double suicide." "You played with the idea of suicide too." "But I never took it seriously." "Now I shudder at the thought." "Please, promise me you'll never do it." "I promise." ""Look around you, at my Spain!" "The subject's happiness takes place in peaceful serenity." "The same as I reserve for the Flemish!"" "The peace of the cemetery." "Good!" "I see you know Schiller!" ""No, Marquie, you are unjust to me." "I am not and do not wish to become a Nero for my realm!" "Rise." "I wish to oppose you, not as a sovereign, but an old man opposing an arduous youth who exceeded his limits avoid my inquisition." "I would grieve if--"" "Please, you're hurting me!" "Please sit down." "I wish to be frank." "I have too much esteem for you to hide the truth." "Please, sit down." "Do you want to say my being here is no longer an honor?" "Let's say your popularity frightens some people." "My popularity isn't frightening and you know that." "I ask you to consider it a brief suspension." "I hope in the autumn..." "For a long time I couldn't teach because I was a woman." "Now because I'm a Jew... lt will be a great loss to our faculty." "Believe me, I fought before resigning myself to losing you." "Thank you." "I have to give you this summons." "Professor Heller would like to see you." "He told me you'd studied together in Goettingen." "Now he's been requested to be part of the Ministry's Central Executive Committee." "If the professor is your friend you have nothing to fear." "Good luck, dear Edith." ""l know you no longer." "What you loved is far away, what afflicted you is far away." "Far away, your fatigue and rest." "Ah, when you are near me, I know well." "I mustn't and I shouldn't love you." "Ah, when you are far away, I know well." "I love you with all my soul."" "I'm afraid, Hans." "For the first time, I'm really afraid." "Did the University send you away?" "Yes, but I'm not afraid for me, but for Germany." "Until now I've always been sure someone... would have stopped them." "What they're trying to do is totally insane." "Hold me, please!" "Leave with me, Edith, before the air becomes irrespirable." "I want to marry you." "I can't marry you." "Forgive me..." "Forgive me." "I love you, but I can't." "Don't move." "Tomorrow I'm going to Poland, to Lvov." "Will you come back?" " l don't think so." " l'll send you the photo." "I love you." "A fascinating sound, isn't it?" "My dream has always been to learn to play the harp." "You finally made it, Edith." "I follow your writings with great interest." "You preferred leaving science to serve power." "I had to." "Today one has to act, not philosophize." "On the other hand, at University I had the impression that instead of living life, enjoying all its aspects... we only philosophized." "Edith, remember... the time we looked for your golden cross in the water?" "I see." "Well, how are things going?" " Are you married?" " No." " And Hans?" " Why did you summon me?" "Let's go in there." "As you certainly know, the law of 1 933 deprives everyone of Jewish origin to discharge any didactic functions at the University." "Unfortunately, you're not an exception." "My conversion apparently continues to torment you." "I may be wrong, but didn't you once say that faith is an obscure light that doesn't fulfill the mind?" "You forget I'm a philosopher, therefore... if philosophy is the search for truth, you must recognize the presence of the other source of truth." "You're renouncing your dear Husserl!" "I'm not renouncing him." "He instructed me in the inductive character of phenomenology, and my intuition has brought me" "Your conversion if a farce." "No true Catholic would ever affirm attaining faith thanks to institution." "The mind can't produce the truth... it can only find it, Dr. Heller." "Without intuition of a vision more complex than its essence, even revelation is impossible." "And that's exactly what happened to me." "Forgive me, but these are...absurdities." "You were simply afraid." "That's why you chose God instead of the truth." "Stop laughing!" "The search for truth is the unconscious search for God." "Why are you laughing?" "Stop it!" "He finally stopped barking." "History is not on your side." "History is rarely on the side of philosophy and reason." "Don't pretend you don't understand." "You know as well as I do that Jews are responsible for the perversion of civilization." "The real perversion is that being imposed on Germans." "I'll write to the Pope." "You think the Pope will treat a woman seriously... who renounced her people, made choices of convenience, and is looking for protection - looking for it from me?" "How cowardly!" "Leave this country, Edith." "I advise you as a friend." "My power... and your beauty might still save you." "I've never sided with power, you know that." "Germany is my home." "I'll never leave this country." "Never!" "Germany belongs to the German people." "Can't you understand that there's no place for you here?" "If you want to reach Christ never look for Him without His cross." "That's not from me." "You, a Catholic... should know that phrase!" "You shouldn't hold me in such contempt." "They're absurd illusions, Franz." "Absurd illusions." "Don't touch it!" "Mother?" "Mother!" "Where are you?" "Dear friends, brothers and sisters of the families..." "Silberstein, Tadelbaum, Cohen, Stein, Loewenstein, all of you who are leaving Breslau, your home, to confront a long, difficult journey, for which I wish you good fortune..." "Never forget those who remain, who love you and will pray for you." "May God accompany you on your journey." "It's been a while since you visited your father's grave." "I know even if you can't forgive me, you love me." "That's important... so I don't want to lie to you." "I was dismissed from the University for being Jewish." "But I'm not leaving the country." "Next week I'm entering a convent." "Why, Edith?" "Why?" "For the Carmelites." "God establishes a rapport between Himself and the soul." "That's the essence of the Order." "The symbol of my life is the cross." "I want to be like a child." "A child's soul is like clay;" "it takes the form you give it." "I have to ask you something." "Your brothers and sisters are leaving forever." "They are suffering." "Don't mention this decision..." "We'll keep it to ourselves and discuss it later." "Mother, I'm Jewish too!" "I'm suffering too!" "Be quiet." "I remember the day Edith came home from school..." "She was about 5 years old, and said," ""l want to go to the grownups' school!"" "How about the time she sat on the floor and didn't obey Mother?" "We couldn't get her to move..." "we had to drag her away." "And when she cried for three days after seeing a drunk?" "The smallest and the biggest pest." "The most ambitious, wanting to excel..." "My behavior as a child was very particular." "Once I managed to convince Erna and Rosa to skip school." "At home we sang, danced and played." "Suddenly Mother came home..." ""Why aren't you in school?"" "Erna was scared, but I wasn't." "We told Mother the idea was yours." "Mother gave us a slap, saying, "Watch, God will punish you!"" "And you started screaming," ""There is no God!"" ""There is no God!"" "And you, Aunt Edith, what's phenomenology?" "What?" "I tried to explain what this famous phenomenology is, but I think I just created more confusion." "Do you really want to know what phenomenology is?" "OK..." "See the piano?" "At the moment it's just a place we use to put the cookies." "It only becomes what it was created for when someone opens it and plays." "Possibilities allow it to live." "But who makes it live?" "I do." "I know it can make music." "Without my knowledge, and yours, this poor piano would be condemned to remain a place where cookies are placed." "It's the last time I'll see you all together, my children." "You won't be alone." "I'm staying here with you, Mother." "We'll be back, Mother." "After all, we're in Europe." "This nightmare can't last long." "Mother, hold me tight." "My child, don't leave me!" "Anyway, we have lots of friends in New York who'll help us." "There are so many Jews that we'll feel at home." "It'll be a real adventure, and it's the wisest choice." "And you?" "What will you do?" "I've received an invitation from an American university." "So, you're coming to America with us?" "Yes, but not right away." "OK?" "Which university?" " Keep quiet!" " Mother, I can't lie." "I'm staying here." "The Carmelites in Cologne have accepted me." "I'll enter next week." "Carmelites?" "What's that?" "It's a convent, Elsa." "To save yourself, you've betrayed your people!" "But why?" "Tell us why." "You can always explain everything." "I can't explain this to you." "It's my secret." "Just when they're humiliating us in every way... persecuting us... you decide to abandon us!" "God separated us first to offer us better things." "The relation with God is through Jesus." "Those are empty words!" "Do you know who you're talking to?" "Your family!" "You've always been an egoist!" "Egoist and presumptuous!" "Leave her alone!" "The car's here." "Come, children, we're going!" "There's a lot of luggage to load." "Here we are, Mother!" "We're going!" "I hope you achieve what you desire." "I've always been proud of you." "Thank you, Jacob." "So your life was nothing but a lie." "Aunt Edith, why do you want to become Jesus?" "For love." "If you love me, join us." "I'll wait for you." "For you and Jesus." "I'll wait with Jesus." "You're still young." "You've got the world open to you." "You taught me to be good and fair." "As a Christian, my soul belongs to God, to Jesus." "But as a Jew, my blood belongs to my people." "The pain is breaking my heart." "I ask myself if you are my child." "I am your child." "I'm exactly like you." "You missed the firm hand of a man..." "Your father." "I did miss him." "But not anymore." "My soul is promised." "Don't come home anymore, Edith..." "Let me die." "You don't want to see me again?" " Take care of Mother." " Don't worry." "I made you something to eat." "It's in the big bag." "Thanks." "I love you, Edith." "I love you too, Rosa." " l'm tired." " Rudolf, carry him." "Another lazy bones!" "Quick!" "The service is starting!" "I didn't imagine it like this." "Help me, I beg you." "Give me strength." "I left everything." "My one desire is that God's will be done through me." "He decides how long my stay will be and what happens after." "I will be your Mother Superior." "You will discontinue the study and research of philosophy." "We don't care where you're from, or what you did before this moment." "In the convent iron rules are absolutely enforced." "You are 42 years old." "One joins the Carmelites as a vocation, not to withdraw from the world." "The novitiate is a very hard period, even for the youngest." "I make no exceptions." "For me everyone is the same." "I know, Mother." "For no reason are you allowed to enter the cell of another sister, or speak with her." "There are set days, places, and hours for that." "I don't yet know what drove you to come here, to a place with such rigid, severe rules." "I repeat, the Carmelites is not for withdrawing from the world, but exclusively as a vocation." "Forgive me." "The hardest choice is silence." "I won't talk again." "I'll pray." "You know she's a Jewish Professor." "It seems she's even written books." "I'd like to know why she came here." "I want to love Jesus." "Yes, I want to try too." "More soap." "Can't you see it's still very dirty?" "Remember, you can leave during the first year of the novitiate." "She's not young anymore." "I don't think she'll make it." "Go to your cell and pray for God to give your spirit strength." "I fear Mother Guiseppa more than God the Omnipotent." "She doesn't frighten me." "We are called to suffer with Christ, to collaborate on His work of redemption." "United with Our Lord, we are part of Christ's body." "Christ continues to live in us and suffer in us." "Hans..." "Erna, Rosa, Mother..." "Paul..." "Another life." "I have the right to open your mail." "It's a rule." "Sisters must be prepared for news which could upset their serenity." "My mother intended to write" "Never argue." "Only beginning with God can the spirit be understood... this mystery that always attracts us." "How spiritual existence is... we will discover in our knowledge of God... without it ever being revealed to us... without it ceasing to be a mystery." "Only what occurs deep in our hearts is purely spiritual." "I asked you to reduce your correspondence, and instead I note with regret that you write and receive letters about your philosophical inquiries, taking time away from your prayers." "Being the eldest of the Sisters, I feel it my duty to warn you about the grave danger of vanity." "What God asks of you is a little bit of humility." "Many Sisters believe you came to the convent seeking refuge, and in order not to share your people's destiny." "I ask you, from now on... to give proof of deep humility and obedience." ""lf you want to be everything, don't wish to be anything."" "What's wrong?" "What's wrong is to pray like this - it seems absurd, Mother." "You're alienating the novices from God." "Sisters, leave the refectory." "Sister Greta, you too." "It isn't up to you to judge how Mother Superior instructs." "St. Teresa d'Avila said many times..." ""Pray to establish an intimate dialogue with God."" "is a dialogue the repetition of the litany like a refrain?" "It isn't up to you to comment on St. Teresa's words." "Go now." ""lf you want to be everything, don't wish to be anything."" "That isn't from me, Mother." "Please excuse me, Mother Superior." "I have a communication for Sister Edith." "Your sister Rosa is waiting for you in the parlour." "Visitors are not allowed without my permission." "Have a little compassion." "My sister has come a long way." "She has a message from my mother, who is very ill." "In that case, go then, Edith!" "I can't even see your face." "Can you come out of there?" "We aren't allowed to pass beyond this grate." "So?" "How are you?" "Erma wrote from New York." "She also sent some pictures." "Look..." "Mother's ill." "Can't you come see her?" "My life no longer belongs to me." "You seem very tired." "Why doesn't Mother answer me anymore?" "Tell me, why?" "How can you expect her to answer?" "She keeps repeating that you abandoned her." "I pray for you two every day." "It isn't your prayers we need, but your presence..." "You!" "You talk about love, but what is this love of yours?" "Your mother is dying." "She needs you." "Your people are being exterminated." "Your family is scattered over the world." "And what do you do?" "You leave us to lock yourself up here." "To me this isn't love." "It's...meanness, egoism, insanity." "You with all your prayers..." "Please, don't talk to me like that." "Give me your hand." "I can't stand it anymore, Edith." "If you knew what was happening out there... I wasn't supposed to come." "Mother forbid me to come." "Why?" "Why did you abandon me?" "Forgive me..." "Mother..." "Doesn't death scare you?" "Blood..." "Blood!" "I can't!" "I can't do it!" "Control yourself!" "That's enough." "Go to your cell and pray to God." "The convent isn't a refuge." "Here one sacrifices one's life to God until the end." "Look for happiness elsewhere." "But remember, there is suffering everywhere." "Mother, are you throwing me out?" "No, I'm giving you advice." "Go with God." "She died serenely... faithful to her religious beliefs to the end." "I know." "Did she talk about me before she died?" "She didn't forgive me." "Mother always loved you." "But now I want to stay with you." "You can stay with me." "Thank you, Edith." "I will stay here with you." "Listen, my child." "Our superiors have consented to allow you to continue your philosophy studies." "They are also relieving you of your heavy duties until the day of your ordinance." "I don't need to continue my studies." "You are a woman of great qualities." "Our aim is to serve God." "Finish your book, my child." ""Dear Hans:" "Tomorrow is the most important day of my life." "I'll become Jesus' bride." "Rosa is going to stay here with me... and be the convent's concierge sister."" "I can't sleep." "I'm so afraid of tomorrow." "Because we're taking our vows?" "I'm afraid because the doors will close forever." "I don't know if I can renounce everything." "If you're not convinced, respect your doubts." "My parents tried to force me to marry someone I didn't love." "That's why I ran away to the convent." "But now... I'm thinking about love..." "children..." "Such silly things." "I was a terrible child, always fighting at home and at school." "I became an atheist and a rebel." "But you were a good girl." "I received a sign." "We get a lot of signs in our lives, but we don't know how to read them." "Mine came from St. Teresa d'Avila." "She took my hand, and asked me to cross the Seven Rooms." "The Seven Rooms?" "Each one of us has to surpass stages." "St. Teresa says the walk to arrive at the center of ourselves passes through seven abodes, or seven rooms." "In the first room... the soul is deaf and dumb." "Still a prisoner of the world." "Here the walk into the inner conscience begins... the soul begins its route." "In the second abode the soul fights against the attractions of the outside world." "It feels that the whole world is fleeting." "It could die for you, as St Thomas D'Aquino said... ln the third abode the soul purifies itself through meditation." "It is ready to accept suffering, and renounce the temptations of the outside world, but it isn't strong enough yet." "In the fourth abode... the imagination dominates the conscience... intelligence and memory weigh down the soul." "To progress all this must be renounced." "In the fifth abode, the lay world no longer has an influence on the soul." "It is free of any constrictions." "That's why I'm happy here." "But you have to take your walk." "The sixth abode is the room of suffering..." "But the soul has left all allures of the outside world and is waiting." "Waiting for what?" "For what is found in the seventh abode." "But I don't know it yet." "It's still ahead of me." "Don't sacrifice yourself for a thing not found on your road." "And the seven rooms?" "You can serve God otherwise, not just in a convent." "You mustn't be afraid." "Raise children." "Find your happiness elsewhere." "Thank you." "Edith Stein, are you here because you wish to unite your spirit to Christ forever in a monastic order?" "Yes." "What do you wish?" "God's mercy, the poverty of the Order, life with the Sisters." "Will you respect these wishes till the end of your days?" "Yes, I want to. I hope to." "I, Edith Stein, take a solemn oath of faith, and take vows of obedience, chastity... and poverty before God... and St. Mary the Virgin of Carmelo... until death." "From today on your name will be..." "Sister Teresa Benedetta of the Cross." "Teresa, the saint who helped during your conversion of the cross, for the cross that you wish to bear." "One who wishes to be part of Christ's life must undergo the crucifixion, be crucified like Him, deny oneself, abandon oneself to suffering, to death... as God commands or allows." "The soul, the ego, and freedom..." "The ultimate reckoning is the soul's right." "Personal freedom is such a big secret that even God halts with respect in the face of it..." "We reach God when the soul surrenders to Him." "And this surrendering is the most sublime act for our freedom." "With regard to the highest level of our personal life, the teachings of the Carmelites follow the theory that our inner world..." "is the place for absolute freedom." "Edith, come here." " There's a surprise." " Really?" "Yes, someone you're not expecting." "I wanted to show you my baby." "Isn't he beautiful?" "I'd love to hold him." "Sisters, Mother, there's an official delegation..." "They've come to the convent for the elections." "They are prepared to respect the rules of the Order." "We can vote without leaving Carmelo." "Those who wish... may consign their ballots to the gentlemen." "Personally, I have no intention to vote." "Vote..." "Vote against Hitler." "He is God's enemy." "He is bringing disaster to Germany." "A convent is not the place for political agitation." "Each person behaves according to her conscience." "There are two sisters missing:" "Inge Ficte..." "She's ill." "And Greta Wurtzel left the convent." "Doctor Edith Stein?" "Being a Jew, she has no right to vote." "But if you need my 'no'..." "So our paths cross once again, Doctor Stein." "Sister Teresa Benedetta, Sir." "All right." "I came here to meet you, and I can't even see your face." "You haven't set foot on this side of the grate for some time." "A shame." "You'd see happy people who believe in our system." "Order is working, taking the place of anarchy." "And the German people have regained trust and optimism." "Your new order is based solely on hate and lies." "It brings war and death to millions of people." "Professor Stein, this is no longer philosophy, but politics..." "You risk prison with such talk." "You know that, don't you?" "Listen well..." "There's only one solution." "You have to leave this country as soon as possible." "You don't frighten me." "Germany is my country... I'm staying here." "All right." "You have to fill in this form for the Gestapo, Dr. Stein." "I hope this is the last time I see you." "You're a sentimentalist." "And you're dangerous, from every point of view." "Goodbye." "Mother, please excuse me..." "Terrible things are happening." "All the Jews are being rounded up." "They took a woman by the hair, threw her to the ground, and trampled on her." "Young people are doing these things." "The pavement is covered with glass, and the windows of the stores are shattered." "What will happen to us, Mother?" "This is a night of horrors... and will last a long time." "We have to pray, Sisters." "Leave the gate open." "Let all those in who need help." ""The Night of Crystals"" "Bring water!" "And bandages!" "We're looking for Edith and Rosa Stein." "I know you love Edith." "Now she's in danger." "Give her a chance to save herself." "Did Edith send you?" "No, I came on my own." "Nothing can be done for you." "You and your sister overestimate my power." "I advised you to go to Palestine or America." "There are restrictive regulations." "I can't make any exceptions, not even Edith!" "Help us, Professor." "You can if you want." "We haven't done anything." "Leave immediately!" "Go to America, Holland, France, wherever you want." "As long as I never see you again!" "is that clear?" "New Year's Eve, 1 938 Carmelites of Echt (Holland)" "Someone is needed who takes on suffering..." "The suffering of those who hate and those who are hated." "I offer myself for my family and my people, for the living and the dead." "For everyone God has entrusted to me." "Only someone crucified can understand the Cross's mystery." "My Lord, why the Germans and why the Jews?" "They said they'd deport all of us if we don't hand you over within five minutes." "But it's insane." "How can I allow you to leave the convent?" "Don't torment yourself, Mother." "I'm ready to face my destiny." "But why?" "!" "They're hunting throughout Holland for the Jews who've converted." "It's their way of getting revenge on the Archbishop, who begged us in a letter to offer our protection to the Jews." "This is my spiritual testament." "You keep it." "Lower the tarpaulin." "We're off!" "You promised to take me to mommy." "Until we find your mother, I'll be your mother." "But you're a nun, you can't be a mother." "That's true." "I haven't had children." "But I had a mother." "Here. I made it." "Blow your nose." "Go on, blow." "I'm hungry." "Here." "Where's mommy?" "Finally, it's clear!" "I couldn't understand how you could meet death so serenely." "Now I understand." "Of course, what greater glory for a woman so thirsty for everlasting fame... than become a saint?" "I've harmed... I've harmed so many people in my life without wanting to." "My mother, my sisters... and you, too." "And for this I ask your forgiveness." "Forgive me." "Do you believe I never asked myself if my choice to share my adoration of Christ was really a sincere choice?" "Or if I'd renounced the world out of pride rather than admit my doubts?" "Out of fear of probing deep into my heart?" "I really don't know." "I'm not able to answer." "Edith, your heart is obscure." "What did you think you'd be able to find there?" "I just don't know." "Or maybe because..." ""lf the container isn't ready, it can't be filled."" "We learned that in philosophy, remember?" "Why didn't you search for a safe place?" "You're wrong;" "I did search... and I found one." "I don't understand you." "We hurt each other, Franz." "We fought each other like enemies all our lives..." "To get where?" "Goodbye, Edith." "You'll never know why I came here." "Save your soul, Franz." "You still have time." "Edith, look!" "We're in Breslau!" "We've come home!" "We're home..." "God... if we could get out and go home to Mother." "Mother!" "Don't look for me anymore on this earth... but in the Kingdom of God..." "1 942, Auschwitz Station" "Everyone out!" "Move it!" "What a racket!" "Jews are unbearable." "No, they're ridiculous!" "Don't cry!" "Don't cry!" "You mustn't cry!" "Left." "Left." "Right." "Come forward!" "No, wait!" "Wait!" "I can't." "I lost my doll." "Don't worry, Marie." "I'll look for it." "Left - life..." "Right - death." "The little one must live." "There's nothing to fear." "Right." "You, left." "Right." "Mother, I'm afraid!"