"Ernst!" "I thought it was you!" "Don't you recognise your friend anymore?" "Binding." "Oskar Binding, of course!" "Who else!" "Where have you come from?" " Russia." " Russia!" "I'd say that calls for a celebration." "Come along to my place." "I have a first rate cognac or anything else you want." "Anything at all." "Come." "For old time's sake." "I could use a drink." "You've worked your way up in the world." "District Leader Binding." "Not bad!" "Just goes to show you anything can happen." "Me, who couldn't even get a passing grade in History." "Political leader to keep the Mayor straight!" "Come on." "Cosy, isn't it." "And all mine, a milkman's son!" "Who would have thought that I, Oskar Binding, would be... an art collector!" "What would you like to drink?" "Brandy?" "Cointreau?" "Vodka?" "Gin?" "Kimmel?" "Wine?" "What?" "Anything, it doesn't matter." "What's bothering you, Ernst?" "Anything I can do?" "If there is, tell me, you know I've got quite a position here now." "Maybe you can help me, Oskar." "My parents are missing." "They were bombed out, I can't locate them." "How terrible." "I'll see what I can find out." "What else?" "Nothing else." "It's as good as done." "Come on, make yourself comfortable." "Take off your coat." " Frau Kleinert." "Brandy glasses." " Yes, Herr Binding, brandy glasses." " Where are you living now?" " At the old barracks." "A furlough in barracks?" "You must come and stay here with me." " Thanks, but I can't." " Of course you can, look." "Here you would have your own room and bath." "How long's it been since you had real soap and all the hot water you want?" "Seems like I've never had them." "Well you have them now." " Hertz." " Here." " Hobermeier." " Here." "Well, how do you like it?" " Immerman." " Here." "It'll do!" " Shroeder." " Here." " Here, let me take that." " Thanks." " Graeber." " Here." "Say!" "You've acquitted yourself well!" " Heller." " Missing." " Rainer." " Missing." "They hand those out to make us look good." "That how you got that little ornament?" " Holzmann." " Missing." " Steinbrenner." " Here." " Russia?" " Africa." " Riess." " Here." "So you were there too?" "Isn't that something." "Hahn." "Missing." "Second company reporting, sir." " Herr Binding?" " Yes." "31 present, 87 killed, wounded or missing." " The brandy glasses." " Thank you." " Lieutenants Kleiner and Haesser, dead." " Right, Sergeant." "Combined First and Second Platoons, Fourth Company reporting, sir." "29 present, 42 killed, wounded or missing." "Lieutenant Vogel's missing." "And if you want a woman, Ernst, or several women if that's your taste," "There's a chance some of the men were cut off and will get through later." "This is the place for it." "Let's hope so." "They're around here like flies, begging for favours." "Get your men into some kind of quarters." "Won't be here for long." "Offering everything they have." "Sergeant Muecke, dismiss the battalion." "Even if they no longer have it." "You should have seen the one in here yesterday!" "Battalion dismissed!" "A beautiful creature from the old aristocracy, with long red hair and a superb figure." "Pleading with me on her knees to get her husband out of the concentration camp." "But it isn't all fun." "You've no idea how lonesome it gets for a man in my position." "What's the name of this village?" " If you stay here..." " I'm sorry, I can't." "I don't know." "It had a name when we were first through here." "You see, everywhere I've been for news of my parents." "It even had people... and houses." "I've given the barracks as my address." "I understand, but remember, you always have a home here with me." "We've been through here so often, it's a wonder they don't make us pay rent." "And if you need anything, one has connections you know." "The first time we were coming through we were making 1 00 miles a day." "It was the great advance." "That's very good of you, Oskar." "And now it's the great retreat." "Is that what you mean, Graeber?" "Not at all." "If old school mates don't stick together, who will?" "What I mean is..." "now we're here again." "Can you really get someone out of a concentration camp?" "In retreat." "That's what you're saying, isn't it?" "Don't put words in his mouth, Steinbrenner." "It's easier for me to get them in than out." "But naturally I didn't tell that to the red head." "The only one talking about retreat around here is you." "You remember Professor Pohlmann?" "All the rest of us know that everything is perfect." "Of course." "I intend to drop by school to see him." "We're gonna annihilate the enemy this year for certain." "Don't." "Remember, he's the reason I had to quit school." "We annihilate them every year, sometimes twice a year." "He couldn't get it through his head that my work with the Hitler Youth." "Immerman, one of these days you're going to talk yourself straight into hell!" "Was more important than his lousy examinations." "It might be a pleasant change." "Well, when I became Party Adviser to the School Board, I returned the favour." "Sergeant Muecke said you're to quarter in the cellar over there." "I had him put in a camp!" "Naturally that meant that he was kicked out of his teaching post." "Thanks for getting Steinbrenner off my back." "He had me kicked out, so I had him kicked out." "Watch yourself, the Gestapo didn't put that dog here for nothing." "That's justice!" "If he turns you in as an alarmist you can kiss your furlough goodbye." "And he's still in the camp?" "No, we only left him there for a few months to teach him a lesson." "What furlough?" "I've been waiting for it for seven months now." "You know my soft heart." "The last I heard," "Or is it seven years?" "He was living in the back of the bombed out Jahnplatz Art Museum." "I felt so sorry for him I let him stay there." "Binding, what are you doing?" "Sacrificing my favourite bath salts." " Hey, Immerman." " Yes?" "What now?" "Lilac." "The perfect finish to a gentleman's bath." "Finish is right." "Holy jumping Jupiter!" "Looks like spring is coming." "That's the one sure way to tell." "The sun digs them up." "To your parents... and our friendship." "I'll put a couple of men on it first thing in the morning," "What's the matter, Hirschland?" "In a few days we ought to know something." "Still not used to the boulevards of Russia?" " How about another drink?" " All right." "And a bottle to take with you." "Three weeks he's been with us and everything still surprises him." "Ha!" "I know." "Spring at home means leaves on the trees, flowers." "That comes much later here." "First, you've got to get a good taste of mud." "Leave him alone, Sauer." "There was a message for you, I tore it off." "This isn't to be used to make dates." "It's a German uniform." "Dig him out!" "Here." ""Ernst, if you want to see me, I'll be home after 7 '."" "And careful with the shovels." " He won't feel it anymore." " He's one of ours!" "Elisabeth!" "He won't feel that anymore either." "Thanks." "Must be one of the January dead." "Remember that big snow storm?" "Couldn't find anyone afterwards." "It's you!" "I was all set for a battle with the crocodile!" "Nah!" "The January ones melted out a long time ago, the wolves ate them." "Ha ha!" "She's gone to a meeting with other crocodiles." "I bet you this is one of the November dead." "Come in." " January." " November." "I'm sorry about the way I acted last night." " Don't..." " There is no excuse for it." "I have such a terrible temper." "I try to control it, but..." "He's from our regiment." "Why didn't you just kick me?" "Get Captain Rahe." "I would have, if I hadn't of thought you'd enjoy it." "Careful there, it's a German officer!" "Even that he won't feel anymore." "You're early." "I at least hoped to comb my hair or change my blouse before you came." "It's Reike!" " I could go and come back later?" " No, no." "Please." "Sit down, won't you." "I'll be just a minute." "Did you learn anything about your parents today?" "No." "But I had one good break." "Bumped into an old friend of mine." "He looks like he's crying." "Party District Leader, no less." " He promised to do..." " The District Leader is your friend?" "His eyeballs are frozen." "He was a class mate of mine." "They're thawing now." "The milkman Binding's boy." "He offered to do anything he could to help me find my parents." "What was I supposed to say?" "No?" "It's Lieutenant Reike, sir." "Not only that, Elisabeth." "He kept asking what else he can do." "Bury him in the church courtyard." "Make a cross." "I thought if I handle him right I..." "Yes, sir." "I might be able to find out something about your father." "Send his personal belongings home." "That should be easy for him." "All he has to do is ask the Gestapo." "Four captured guerrillas have been sent here to be shot." "Or maybe he's one of them." "I'll need volunteers." "All I know is he's the person I've seen since coming home who's willing to help." "Very well, sir." "Volunteers!" "Step forward." "Murderers are never murderers 24 hours a day." "Some adore their mothers, some cry when their dogs are dying." "But it's enough when they are murderers for one minute a day." "I volunteer, sir." "At least for the people who are in their hands at the time." "Choose the others." "You're in command, we have no officers left." "What happened to you, Ernst?" "Are you blind?" "Or don't you want to see?" "All right, the rest of the firing squad detail." "It's nearly as dangerous to talk to you as it is to walk through a minefield." "Immerman!" "Sauer!" "Hirschland!" "Weiber!" "Graeber!" "Now, this came from Binding." "Shall we call it loot from the enemy?" "Or shall I pour it down the sink?" "We'll drink it." "I must have a corkscrew some place, but where?" "I'll show you how we do it in the Army." "That's one way to avoid a hangover I guess!" "Make the grave bigger, Grandpa, she'd like to be comfortable." "You should laugh more often." "Or does it only happen when a bottle of brandy is smashed?" "I thought I was smelling brandy, but it isn't, it's lilac." "I think they loathe us." "We're soldiers." "Why should we be called on to shoot civilians?" "But it can't be, it's too early in the year." "Let's go for a walk, Elisabeth." "You can always say no." "Get shot yourself instead." "It must be spring somewhere." "No one knows for sure that they are guerrillas..." "Not our worry." "We didn't sentence it, so we're not to blame." "I know just the place." "We can get a drink and sit a while." "That's the excuse for everything we do." "Or have you been out all day?" "No matter how rotten it is we can always blame it on..." "I've been sitting behind a machine in a sticky room with 50 other women." "Line up!" "We make Army overcoats." "The Labour Service asked me what I could do, I said, "I play the piano."" "So they put you to work as a seamstress?" "Yes, they must have heard me play!" "Look alive!" "There will be no more grumbling." "You are given orders and you will obey." "Without question." "Without complaint." "Closed." "I used to come here with my father." "He'd drink beer and talk with his friends while I went wading in the river." "I remember the boats going by, and the music playing..." "Please, Ernst." "No "I remember when" talk." "Lord and master of my life, keep from me the spirit of..." "This is where the lilacs must be." "Smell it?" "I'm gonna shoot over their heads." "Must be an early blooming variety." "That warm spell we had last..." "You won't be doing them a favour." "We've all tried that." "Just had to do it again." "I'm the only variety that's blooming early." "It isn't every day a district leader drowns you in his bath salts." "It's like executing them twice." "Sovereign Lord, let me see" "I think I'll volunteer to be shot to the moon." "My own sins and transgressions." "Let's go down to the river." "And not judge my brother..." "Leave the cow for me, will you?" "Murderers!" "The first star." "God will punish you and all Germans!" "What did you wish?" "That it wouldn't be an enemy bomber." "What have you done?" " lt isn't." " No, it's a star." "I pray to God that He will grant that your children will meet my sons." "My curse be upon all of you." "Is something wrong?" "They will shoot them down just as you are shooting us down." "No, nothing." "I just thought..." "Ask her what she wants." "She's cursing you and all Germans for standing on Russia's soil." "It's crazy!" "I'm just not myself at all." "For every Russian that you kill, they will kill ten Germans." "Well, whoever you are, I'm glad you're here with me." "For every home you destroy, we will destroy ten cities." "And smiling." " For each insignificant life..." " Shut up!" "Shut up, you lunatic!" "Don't stop." "It's the nicest thing I've seen in years." "Kill us while you still can!" "Ernst, look." "The tree!" "Kill us!" "But soon we will annihilate you!" "Ready!" "Up!" "Hirschland!" "Hold that rifle steady." "It's blooming!" "Long before it should be." "None of the others are." "Take aim!" "That boat house took a bomb." "The heat of the fire must have forced it to bloom." "Fire!" "Half the tree's gone but it blossoms as if nothing had happened!" "If only we could do what this tree is doing, Elisabeth." "Just trust life and go on." "If only we could do that." " I tried to have courage but suddenly..." " You have courage enough." "I don't." "I only pretend to have." "That's what we all do." "Hey!" "Vodka!" "Sergeant Muecke rounded it up!" "All right, so she's been unfaithful." "It's a reward for the firing squad." "What do you expect, you've been away for three years." "And so what?" "She's not made out of soap, she won't wear out." "I've made up my mind." "She'll have to give me a divorce." "Why should she be so stupid?" "As long as she's the wife of a soldier she gets 200 marks a month." "And a very nice death benefit when your ash can gets punctured." "Nasick, why don't you do the whole town a favour, buy a fireman's hat and go home so the Fire Department can go back to work!" "It's first class vodka, don't you want it?" "I told you to get out of here, we're trying to play cards." "Get away from him!" "Leave him alone." " Sauer!" " In a minute!" "Getting dressed to go out already," "Listen, do I tell the Sergeant you refused..." "Tell the Sergeant anything!" "Just put them down and get out!" " Same girl?" " Yep." "Gentlemen, let's drink a toast to the man who is smart enough to take my advice." " Sauer, you're holding up the game." " Quit yelling." "No you don't." "All right, idiots." "Do what you want." "Thank you, Doctor Boettcher." "Will you do me a favour?" "That won't stop the rest of us from drinking our part." "I want to go somewhere special tonight." "Berning?" "Do any of those wonderful places where you spent your time still exist?" "There is a law." "In war time, luxuries are not permitted." " Wagner?" " No, go away." "Of course, the officers who are supposed to enforce these laws." "Drink it yourself and stop bothering us." "Maybach, see what's on the radio." "Sometimes need a little luxury." "So there is such a place." "I was once its best customer!" "The Germania in Lindenplatz." "But you see?" "You cannot get in with this." "Turn it off!" "Turn that thing off!" "It's patched, it's not even pressed." "They're like old women, they'll be at each other's throats next." "You have to at least look like a rich private to be admitted." "It's always that way after an execution." "Turn that back on!" "I'll loan you my uniform, it's brand new and it was made by a general's tailor." "You do and you'll be wearing it on your head!" "It won't fit." "Besides, I'm in a hurry." "There's an official news broadcast." "Don't you know it's an order to listen?" "Now, nothing starts at the Germania before 9 o'clock." "I'm not in the mood." "We will have plenty of time to fix you up." "And don't waste your breath informing on me, Steinbrenner." "Feldmann here used to be a tailor." "Feldmann!" "Get out of your sack!" "Times have changed." "Our primitive Casanova needs some help - he is going to the Germania!" "I'm a crack machine gunner, the sort of talent that's needed round here... more than yours." "I open for twenty." "Yes!" "I pass." "That's the way it was supposed to look on me." "Of course, you do lack my air of distinction." "I said twenty." "Drum fire." "If it keeps building we can expect company." "But I should think in the dark you'll be able to get away with it." "Are we artillery observers or are we playing cards?" "Now remember, the old head waiter's name is Heinz." "I opened for twenty." "The wine you are to order is Johannisberger Kochsberg '37." "Tomorrow we will be back in the lines." "If there's a line left anywhere." "'37." " From the cellars of G.H. von Mumm." " Von Mumm." "Stop worrying about your furlough." "Not too chilled mind you." "At the rate we're going back, we'll all be in Germany soon without furloughs." "And order it as though you are accustomed to bathing your feet in it." "Either play or tell stories, make up your mind." "Now, remember my boy, it's easier to die than to live." "Are you telling me to shut up?" "If he isn't, I am." "Shut up!" "So, you do us all proud tonight." "Why don't we all shut up." "Thank you." "If you need anything, send for me." "Yes, you tell her tonight is your last night, for tomorrow you die!" "What's going on here?" "Tell her anything except your right name!" "We'll be waiting for a full report." "Nothing." "I'm available if you need help!" "And if her husband comes..." "Argument over cards." "On with the game." "Ha!" "Good vodka." "Wasted." "Cut." "I'm not the man I used to be." "In France I could spit in a high, beautiful arc." "Now I spit like a civilian." "I wouldn't care how I spit if I was a civilian." " Graeber." " Yes, Sergeant." "Ernst!" "Report to the captain." "You can't come up." "She has visitors." "Old crocodiles." "Your furlough's come through." "Why aren't you dressed?" "I had to see you first." " Hey, finish the hand." " Save it." "I'll be back in three weeks." "Graeber!" "What is the first thing you will do at home?" "What a question!" "Which?" "This one's mine." "I can be ready in five minutes." "Get deloused." "Take a hot bath." "Sleep in a clean bed." "Forget for three weeks there's a war." "This was my mother's." " That's all?" " Yeah, I got better ideas." "I'm not finished making it fit but it will only take another 30 minutes." "All right?" "I'll wait." "You knew I would." "Why aren't you inside?" "They're drinking the Sergeant's vodka, aren't they?" "No, they're not." "And what if they were?" "Not drinking it won't change anything." "And it won't bring anyone back to life." "Hirschland, don't think because you stood there disapproving with your big baby eyes that you're any better." "It's not that easy." "Good evening." "Quickly, please." "What are you staring at?" "Is old Heinz still in charge here?" "Yes, of course." "But..." "Why don't you stop thinking about it?" "Drive it out of your mind." "I don't know how." "Do you?" "No." "I don't." "And I don't want to talk about it." "I don't want to talk or think about the war for a long time." "Herr Reuter sent me." "That's an elegant new uniform." "Where did you get..." "Graeber." "At ease." "♪ It's much too late to debate what's right or wrong... ♪" "Here it is." "Thank you very much, sir." "There's no such place, Ernst." "Not anymore." "When was the last time you were home?" "Is there a war going on or am I..." "Over two years ago, sir." "Two years!" "Good evening, Heinz." "Table for two, please." "A great pleasure to see you again, I have a very nice table for you." "♪ ...and make this lovely time" "♪ A time to love ♪" "Hirschland, sir." "We'd like something that's not on the menu." "I have only what is on the menu." "Pity." "In which case, bring us a bottle of Johannisberger Kochsberg 1 937." "He's dead." "From the cellars of G.H. von Mumm." " Must have been an accident, sir." " No, the coward shot himself." "Von Mumm." "Not too chilled mind you." "Certainly not." "I can see you are a connoisseur in all things." "Muecke!" "Yes, sir." "Make out a report." "For you I have a fine Ostend sole, absolutely fresh," "Death by accident." "With a few parsley potatoes and a Belgian salad perhaps." "Yes, sir." "Take the boy to the church." "And a little Strasburg goose liver for hors d'oeuvre." " We are entirely in your hands, er...?" " I am Otto, sir." " Thank you, Otto." " Madam." "Graeber." "Ernst, where did you learn all that?" "If I were you, I'd leave at once." "The barracks." "From a man named Reuter." "The whole front's coming alive, leaves may be cancelled." "He's such a gourmet he even has the gout." "If you're gone, you're gone." "This is his uniform, made by a general's tailor." "Until I mentioned Reuter's name that doorman was going to throw us out!" "Places like this aren't supposed to be open anymore." "Suppose you were caught here, it may be all right for them but..." "How would they punish me?" "Not send me back to the front?" "There's nothing to be afraid of." "Not even the prices here?" "I've nearly two years' combat pay with me." "And only two weeks to spend it or so." "Two weeks or so?" "That soon?" "How much?" "Two weeks is a long time." "If you have to ask how much you don't want my services." "Nice and clear crystal glasses." "I have real soap left over from France." "The finest." "Easy!" "Remember we're on..." "Don't say it." "I've sworn to myself, the next man who reminds me we're on the same side loses a piece of throat!" "Attention!" " Very good." " Thank you, sir." "To celebrate your homecoming the Fûhrer himself has decreed." "Something wrong?" "If I drink before eating I'm liable to fall right under the table!" "That every man on leave is to be given a package of food." " On wine?" " On anything." "I drink so little." "It is a gift for your families as evidence that the front line troops are cared for." "Nonsense." "Here's..." "Here's to everything that's been missing from our lives." "And can even bring food home." "See you on the floor!" "It is your responsibility to comfort and cheer..." " ls it good, sir?" " It's wonderful." "Never mind!" "They're ours!" "It must be, because I'm thinking things that I haven't thought for a long time." "It is your responsibility to comfort and cheer your dear ones." "Like dancing." "Divulging of troop movements or positions is treason." "It's the wine, madam." "The sun that ripened it shines out again." "Idle criticism is treason." "It was a great year for wine, 1 937." "In short, you are to tell them nothing of the front." "That's the way to remember our great years, Otto." "Nothing." "By their wines, not their wars." "Understood?" "Certainly, sir." "And now, men with furloughs to Cologne," "Sorry!" "Tell me to stop." "Raise your hands." "No, go on!" "I guess that's one way of enjoying wine." "Cologne is at the present time restricted, your leaves are cancelled." "I can stop, I know I can." "My whole family is in Cologne." "Has something happened there?" "If I concentrate on something..." "Men with furloughs to Hamburg and Bremen, raise your hand!" "Look at that lovely goose liver, Elisabeth." "And that lovely silver which is not just silver anymore, and the music's not just music." "Check everybody's papers." "Well, whatever it is, I'm drinking to it." "The rest of you, get yourselves cleaned up and deloused." "And to Reuter the gourmet." "And G.H. von Mumm for his wine." "And to you." "To us." "To us, but especially to you." "Because your eyes are shining and you're more beautiful each time I see you." "Only, right now..." "you look like the next time." " Are we drunk?" " On one glass of wine?" "Begins to look like home, doesn't it?" "I'll be there in time for supper." "Not out of a tin mess kit either - supper served on real china plates." "The warning alarm, sir." "There was no preliminary alert." "Excuse me." "But please, do not be concerned." "The cellar here is safe." "Drink it down, all of it." "Forget the sirens." "My hiccups have gone." "Verden!" "All out for Verden!" "Doesn't this train go to the main station of the city?" "You'll have to walk the rest of the way." "You've got to hurry, sir." "Madam." "It's that way." "The same horse!" "Hasn't changed since I was seven years old." "♪ Life, let us cherish" "♪ While all the lamps aglow...?" "Ladies and gentlemen, I regret that the last song was... slightly off tone." "Enjoy the war my friends, the peace will be awful." "♪ Life, let us cherish..." "Everybody out!" "Quickly!" "Please!" "Our coats." "Go up!" "Do you want that wall on your head?" "Where's number 1 8?" "I can't seem to find it." "Where is 18?" "You mean where was 18." "Was is the word." " Don't you know that yet?" " No." "No!" "In what hole have you been hibernating?" "Help me!" "Help!" "The front." "I just got back." "Help me!" "The front!" "And what do you think this is?" "I'm a doctor." "Six raids we've had in ten days." "Six in ten days!" "Here, let me." "While you damn front line soldiers have been running away out there," " Ssssh." "You'll be all right." " Help!" "We couldn't." "This will help until the ambulance comes." "My wife and child couldn't." "They're dead." "Your hand, Ernst." "You burnt it." "1 8 is over there." "By that digging." "Just soot that came off my coat." "Let's go." "Are you sure your hand is all right?" " lt doesn't hurt?" " No." "Then I might as well get started cleaning your coat." "Are there people buried in there?" "No, we're digging for the exercise." "I'm looking for my parents." "Graeber." "Are they in there?" "How would I know?" "Where did this come from?" "The wine cellars." "Quick!" "There can't be much air left in there." "You simply took them?" "It is crowded enough for three in here, you are holding us up." "Why not?" "A soldier who neglects an open wine cellar is sick." "But I'm just..." "We'll go faster without you." "Now I know why we sew such big pockets in the Army overcoats." "Bend your backs!" "Keep working." "This area must be cleared by morning." "This is not 1 8." "It's 1 6." "That's 18." "There's nothing over there." "You're wasting your time." "Where are you going?" "They're from the concentration camp." "My father may be one of them." "You can see from up here." "Don't get into anything you don't have to." "No, he's not there, but somewhere he's in a labour gang too." "And all because he thought Germany couldn't win the war." "One day he said it to the wrong person." "That was his great crime." " May I have some of that wine, please?" " Of course." " Elisabeth?" " Yes." "Elisabeth..." "Why don't we get married?" "It's going to rain." "Didn't you hear me?" "There's nothing wrong with my hearing." "It's my sense of humour." "I don't have any about certain things." "I wasn't trying to be funny." "As the wife of a soldier you'd be entitled to 200 marks a month." "Your papers." "Plus a nice death benefit." "Why make a present of it to the State?" "I see." "Then it's settled?" " You lived here?" "At 18?" " I was born here." "Certainly not." "Do you know anything about my parents?" "Were they saved?" "That's what I like: enthusiasm." "But why not?" "200 marks a month." "Who knows?" "Maybe they weren't even in the house?" "Look on the door over there." "Maybe they left a message?" "I don't want it!" "I guess you don't." "Well, I can't say that I blame you." "What's a lousy 200 marks if you have to take me with it..." " Don't say that!" " What would you prefer me to say?" " That you understand." " I understand." "Do you?" "Because you don't have to offer me anything in order..." "I know those signs by heart." "That's not why I offered it to you!" "Heinrich." "Come to Uncle Hellmann, Thüringenstrasse, 4." "I simply wanted you to have it." "But don't you see, I can't accept it..." "Irma dead, Mother." "Are you Heinrich?" "Don't bother to spell it out!" "You just don't want me so..." "I'll go back." "Maybe you are Otto?" "Otto, we are at the primary school." "Ernst." " For God's sake..." " Go away!" "Let him alone." "I want you so much I ache." "Anything from them?" "No." "They didn't know I was coming home." "There must be a better way than this to find someone." "Not tonight." "Tomorrow you can start making the rounds." "There ought to be a record of them somewhere." "If they're still alive." "Elisabeth." "Well, goodnight." "Ernst!" "Boettcher." "Herman Boettcher." " Be..." " Boettcher!" "There is no Boettcher!" "Next!" "What do you mean there is no Boettcher?" "What am I?" "A cucumber?" "Morning!" "Good morning, and start talking." "Next!" "I'd like to know what my uniform's been up to all night." "Graeber." "Paul and Marie." "Worked in the tax office. 18 Hakenstrasse." "How about lending it to me a while longer?" "I want to take it to a wedding." "Deller, Glassmann..." "Nothing but bedlam." " Whose?" " Mine." "The filing system, everything that wasn't burned." "Schilling..." "Leave the bottle where it is, Schilling." "Some other time." "Got the... those blockheads in the Fire Department ruined with water." "You'd think they would show some respect for important records." "Graeber." "Paul and Marie." " Where are you going?" " I'm leaving." "Yes!" "Where are they?" "You needn't shout." "18 Hakenstrasse is all I have." "He's found his beloved, Alma." "What luck, Boettcher!" "Where did you find her?" " Try the missing person section." " I've been there." "On the street." "Then the food ration office, if they're alive, they've got to eat!" "She was simply standing there." "I've been there too." "And the Red Cross and the hospital." "I'd been running through twenty villages looking for her." "What did you say when you saw her?" "It's closing time." "Come back tomorrow." "I didn't recognise her." "I just passed her by and suddenly a voice said, "Herman?" "Skinny women, skinny women," ""Don't you know me?"" "ask them a question you're in for a strafing." "How could I be expected to recognise a woman." "It's the same every place, Graeber." "Nobody knows anything." "Who once was a proud 200 pounds." "Almost used up my whole furlough looking for my wife." "And now is a measly 1 1 2?" "I'm just starting." "You're the most ungrateful creature I've ever seen." "Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute." " How about a little strategy?" " Strategy?" "Who ever heard of loving a woman by the ton?" "You deserve..." "Whenever you ask for your parents, why don't you ask for my wife too?" "I deserve after two years at the front, my wife as she used to be." " I'll do the same." " All right." "But she's alive, you dope, you can fatten her up again." "See, that way we can cover double territory." "Her name is Alma." "You better write this down." "How?" "With what?" "Alma Boettcher." "With only five days left of my furlough?" "How?" "Excuse me." "I love my wife, but I needed all of her." "Skinny, skinny!" "Now take a look at Alma!" "Some woman?" "Built like a brewery horse and twice as strong!" "Goodbye." "All solid muscle." "Fightin' or lovin', the house shook!" "Pictures fell off the wall!" "Only reason I joined the Army was to rest up." "Think of it." "A woman like that waiting for me somewhere, and I spend my nights playing cards down at the infirmary" "I know I'm late." "I'm sorry." "But I wasn't satisfied just getting a day off with a bunch of ugly soldiers." "I asked for a week." "Of course, the answer was no!" "What's wrong?" "Hey, you got some place to stay?" "They told me down at the District Military Office." "This." "To report to the barracks for bombed out men on leave." "To save time I got the applications." "They require full information..." "That's where I am." "Come on, I'll get you to the barrack's infirmary." " The food's better down there." " But there's nothing wrong with me." "There's nothing wrong with me." "I happen to know an orderly." "...about our families." "He can get you in without even seeing a doctor." "Might cost some cigarettes..." "Our families?" "I see." "A doctor!" "Doctor Kruse, he's been treating my mother for years." "And because my father's in a camp you think that...?" "He's sure to know where she is." "They may check the Gestapo records." "I'll meet you at the barracks later." "If you're brought to their attention, someone may get a dangerous notion." "Those things happen." "I know they do." "Ernst, I want to go through with it." "You're not afraid?" "No." "Only, don't ask me why my hands are shaking." "Yes?" " ls the Doctor at home?" " Doctor Kruse no longer practises." "Well can I see him anyway please?" "I only want to ask him..." "Doctor no longer lives here." "But that's his name plate." "Take a seat, please." "Well." "That should have been taken down long ago." "Who is it?" "Frau Lieser, is there someone for me?" "Elisabeth!" "You are Elisabeth Kruse, aren't you?" "What is it you want?" "Well, I don't want to disturb anybody, but..." "Go out on the corridor and watch me from there." "Well, your father was..." "It's about my..." "Come in." "If you see me lay my cap down, leave at once." "Don't go home." "Go to the Jahnplatz Art Museum, Professor Pohlmann lives right behind it." "Wait for me there." " But Ernst..." " Please, do as I say." "I do know you." "Didn't you go to high school here?" " Graeber." " Yes." "Yes, I'm Ernst Graeber." "Your applica..." "What are you staring at?" "Haven't you ever seen a glass eye?" "Ernst Graeber, of course." "It's been years." "Yes, but... it's a different colour from the other." "It's blue." "At least seven." "I didn't really recognise you either." "It's not blue, it's brown." "My real eye is blue." "Just guessed." "You've changed so much." "I broke the other one this morning and had none to replace it." "Frauline Kruse!" "Aren't you ashamed?" "I had to borrow this brown one." "Entertaining a man in your room!" "Where is Frauline Kruse?" "The nerve!" "The nerve!" "She had to step out for a moment." "Everything's all right, isn't it?" "Who is that crocodile?" "I'll ask the questions." "Is she the daughter of Doctor Bernhard Kruse?" "An official tenant." "Bombed out of her own place and put here by the authorities." " Yes, but she..." " But what?" "Nothing." "They moved in three more since." "Doctor Kruse doesn't practise anymore." "Talked too much, didn't he?" "Don't you have anything to say about it?" "I was told I should be happy I'm allowed to have this room for myself." "Well, he did." "But he saved this eye for me." "She's a member of the Women's Corps of the Party." "We'll say he's retired." "I suppose that gives her special rights." "According to the official version, he is." "When do you want to get married?" "She'll probably come back to listen." "As soon as possible." "You know how short furloughs are." "You can get married at once." "Sign here." "Your papers are in order." "But Frauline Kruse has to sign too." " Are her papers in order?" " I already told you so." "What about my father?" "What do you know of him?" "Well, she'll be right here..." "Your father?" "My cap!" "I'll be back in a second." "Nothing." "What should I know?" "You have no news of him?" "I only arrived last night from Russia." "I was hoping to get some news from him about my parents," "Elisabeth!" "Wait!" "I can't locate them." "My father isn't here anymore." "Everything's all right." "We can be married right away." "What happened to him?" "Ernst!" "Nothing..." "He's not here, that's all." "He was taken away four months ago." "Where do you want to go on your honeymoon?" "We've got the whole rest of the day." "Do we have to go anywhere?" "They don't tell me where he is, or why, or..." "Why don't we go home to my place and not stir out until peace is declared?" "I thought maybe you knew something..." "Or maybe not then." "...you don't." "I'm sorry, I know nothing about your family." "Frauline Kruse!" "You have already filled one tub, I heard you." "You'd better go now." "How dare you use all the hot water!" "20 minutes I've been waiting to get in." "Frauline Kruse!" "Go!" "Answer the door." "Frauline Kruse!" "Open this door immediately or..." "They're coming earlier than usual tonight." "Preliminary warning!" "Preliminary warning!" "Yes?" "What is it?" "I want every light out and everybody to the shelter." "I did hear you calling me, didn't I?" "Quietly and calmly now, do you hear?" "Everybody to the shelter!" "Good evening." "Hurry!" "Hurry!" "Excuse me." "Frau Lieser." "There's a package for an Ernst Graeber." "Hurry!" "That's for me." "How dare you!" "How dare you!" "I am a decent woman!" "And while I'm in it this is going to be a decent house." "Parsley." "I'm going for the police this instant." "They were the only seeds I could find." "And before I return, that man better be out of here" "I wanted to see something green and lovely grow again." "And you with him Frauline Kruse." " ls there that much time?" " The shelter is in a basement." "I know this is going to upset you, but..." "my name is Frau Graeber now." "There isn't room for everybody so if you don't hurry you won't get in." "Ha!" "Do you think I'd fall for that old trick!" "What then?" "There's a community shelter on Karlsplatz, just follow the others." " You're not only shameless, you're..." " Read it!" "You'll have no trouble finding it." "I told you Frau Lieser wouldn't be happy till she saw our marriage certificate." "I'd rather wait for you, but er..." "Do those have to be watered just now?" "I can see she's delighted." "It's written all over her face." "Yes." "I won't be stampeded..." "Hurry, hurry!" "You wanted to go to the bathroom?" "Go!" "...Like them!" "Frauline Kruse, as block warden I warn you officially," "I couldn't have planned it better!" "You'll be reported if again you don't go to the shelter." "I'm even for everything she's ever done to me." "I hope that isn't the only reason you married me?" " What is it?" " From Binding." "Wedding present." "One of the few sensible things a soldier learns." "How did he know?" "Is to take cover when things start to fly." "Must have phoned the barracks." "Look at this." " Then take it!" " Don't be angry!" "I'm not angry." "Dutch chocolate, Polish ham, brandied peaches." "It's just that..." "I will not be frightened." "Champagne." "I don't have the proper glasses." "You don't have to be, I'm frightened enough for both of us." "Never mind that." "Any kind of glasses will do." "Those bombs don't give a good Lord damn who they fall on." "Just because Frau Crocodile happens to be the warden..." "In Paris we drank champagne out of our canteens." "It's more than that." "It's..." "Well, I..." "All my life I hoped one day to go to Paris." "I have to do something, no matter how small and laughable," "Perhaps for my honeymoon." "But we'd never be welcome there, would we?" "To defend what's left of my personal freedom." "Did they hate you very much in Paris?" "Because if I can, then others certainly can and..." "I was only there in the beginning." "And Holland?" "With its canals and sail boats." "You're a strange girl." "Would we be welcome there?" " I promised myself I would not run..." " All right." "Holland?" "I think not." "Let's walk." "We destroyed Rotterdam." "My father and mother went to Hildesheim for their honeymoon." "They told me about a thousand-year-old rose vine climbing up the side of the old cathedral." "That's destroyed now too I guess." "All aboard." "Kindly step to the rear." "So even if we could go on a honeymoon there's no place for us, is there?" "To the rear please." "Keep moving." "Welcome, friend." "I'm glad you could make it." "It's all been destroyed by bombs or hatred." "Elisabeth." "Are you enjoying yourself?" "I might if I could figure out how you breathe in here." "I know, I'm sorry." "You don't." "We have all been trained not to breathe during the raids." "To us." "Wherever we are." "To us." "No self-respecting cave dweller would!" "Kindly step to the rear of our pleasure car." "Move on please." " I saw that in a movie once!" " So did I!" "Only I forget who cleaned it up." "You feel it, Ernst?" "It's fear." "I'm pretty sure it was someone with shoes." "Better let me." ""Shortening of line successful." ""Heavy losses inflicted on enemy at the Prut River."" "Sounds simple, doesn't it?" "Not a word about our losses." "Thank God you weren't there." "Men I knew better than my own family." "Watch out for the broken glass." "Ernst?" "Let's both try to forget everything outside this room." "Excuse me." "Frau Langer?" "Remember me?" "Ernst Graeber." "Yes!" "Ernst Graeber." "Yes." "Do you know where my parents are?" "This is the first night of our marriage." "Maybe we'll have the same dream..." "They're dead." "...that time stands still." "My Lena and my August, too." "And in our dreams we might find a place where people won't hate us." "You knew them both, didn't you?" "Dead?" "And won't ask our nationality, only if we love each other," "How did it happen?" "When?" "Did you see it?" "And that will be our passport and visa enough." "There was nothing to see." "It was all... fire." "Fire..." "Shrieking!" "You there, soldier!" "I didn't see my Lena either." "I've been waiting for you to show up." "I have something for you." "They wouldn't let me near her." "Why would they do a thing like that, Ernst?" "It came in the mail for Graeber." "It was sent to Ernst Graeber at the front and forwarded from there." "Why?" "Why?" "Must have just missed you," "Herr Langer..." "She... she still can't grasp it, Ernst." "Can you?" " It's from my mother." " Your mother!" "Or you?" "There's no return address." "If you can, you are no better than the one..." "They're alive!" "My parents are alive!" "...who caused..." "This was sent the day they were being evacuated!" "They don't know where to." "They'll let me know their address as soon as they have one." "She says my mother and father are dead." "Is that true?" "She tells me not to worry!" "She doesn't know, Ernst." "She thinks..." "I'm very glad for you." "...that everyone who isn't here must be dead." "I'll take your notice down." "There are so many others and so little space." "Because our children are." "She says things." "We've been reported because of it." "Have you seen my parents at all?" "Yes, two or three weeks ago on the street." "Not since then." "How did they look, were they well?" "Herr Graeber?" "They were alive, Ernst." "Yes?" "I've something for your wife." "It came after she left for work." "I'm sorry, Herr Langer." "I promised I'd see that she get it." "I'm sorry about your..." "I'll tell her." "I know she'll be deeply touched." "A summons from the Gestapo." "She's to report tomorrow at 4 o'clock." "They are flying past." "Did those people know anything about your parents?" "No." "Thank God they didn't attack." "They are going somewhere else." " Arnold?" " Yes?" " Did you turn off the gas?" " I don't know." "That means you didn't." "Dinner will be burnt to a crisp." "Life goes on again!" "When the all-clear sounds, if we're near the door, we can get out sooner." "Frau Lieser isn't home yet." "How can you tell?" "If she were home, we'd be hearing her radio by now." "The home front relay a broadcast." "She turns it on full to blast it into the ears of all the neighbours." " Professor Pohlmann." " What is it?" "I don't know how you stand living with her." "You ought to move." " I'm Ernst Graeber, a former pupil." " Graeber...!" "I can't." "As long as I'm here I can hope that my father will come back." "If I went away it would be like giving up." "What do you want?" "Can I see you for a few moments, Professor?" "I need your advice." "I no longer have the right to receive students." "I must talk to you, Professor." "Thank you." "There's no one else I can go to." "Please let me come in." "Say, would you like to go somewhere?" "For a cup of tea or something?" "Anyone see you come back here?" "You're just home on furlough, I'm sure you want other company than mine." "No." "Only the workmen out front." "Workmen?" "Good night." "They may be workmen but one may not be." "Good night." "I'm being watched, Graeber." "Elisabeth!" "Come back another time, but make sure no one is around." "Knock twice slowly, then twice more quickly." "Here's something for you." "Graeber?" " It's food." "And I thought..." " Yes." "I know those packages." "Yes." "If the workmen ask you anything, tell them I wouldn't talk to you." "But..." "I'd like you to have it." "Or even open the door." "I've nobody else to give it to." "And that's the only reason you're giving it to me?" "You, soldier." "The shelter's a block over." "Come with us." "Hurry!" "What's the matter with you?" "It's always food packages, cigarettes and French perfume." "In broad daylight?" "You soldiers expect every woman to..." "They're going to make sure they get the factories this time." "How do you know what I expect?" "I wanted to give you this because I thought you'd like it." "Not because I have to buy my way around." "I'm sorry, but fighting is not my idea of fun." "Not even with you." "Goodnight." "Good evening, soldier." "Why don't you tell me all about it?" "Here, you take it." "And you never saw such legs!" "Long, beautiful and slim!" "And such eyes!" "And such teeth!" "Like a white gardenia flower." "So, I opened the bottle of brandy." "50-year-old Napoleon, expensive, but this was worth it." "It took only two glasses." "That Napoleon!" "So?" "Well, and then?" "Well that's as far as a cavalier can tell a story and still be in good taste." "It's an obscenity, Reuter." "Betraying your wife..." "Idiot!" "How can a man betray his wife when he doesn't even know if she's alive?" "If she were here, I wouldn't betray her." "I am simply the victim of army life." "I'm a martyr." "Gentlemen, we haven't welcomed Graeber here to our club." " Schilling, the bottle." " Here, here." "This is home made potato schnapps, it's an insult to the stomach but it's all that's available." "Give me that!" "You know the doctor told you to lay off this stuff." "Everybody always wants to take care of me." "You crazy fool!" "Clear out!" "All my life, caviar and champagne - now, in the Army, I get the gout." "Which in turn saves my life." "Is that the uniform factory?" "It was." "What are you doing on the streets?" "It's better to be sick here than healthy at the front." "My wife works there." "Was there time for everyone to get to the shelters?" "Give me that..." "You keep quiet!" "I drink this to save my life." "There was a power breakdown." "Just before the alert." "Come on." "We've got more important things to do than waste time on him." "Most of the workers were sent home." "The overcoat section too?" "Give me a hand." "How should I know?" "Now I can check all the villages." "They're crowded with people from the town." "Don't they keep a record of where people were sent?" "Records may be good enough for you, but not for me." "Why don't you go home and find out?" "When you know your parents are safe somewhere, you can relax." "But you can't relax just knowing your wife is alive." "She's got to be with you." "Especially when she weighs 200 pounds." "It's simple for you." "You grab the first girl that comes along and everything is fine." "But with me, where do I find a woman like my Alma?" "At the restaurant, down the street." "The waitress." "And she weighs over 200 pounds." "Fat." "Tired, flabby, fat." "It's frightening." " Frau Lieser, have you seen my wife?" " I don't know." "Did she get home?" "Is she in the shelter?" "What shelter?" "We were flooded out, can't you see?" "But my Alma..." "You could break a finger trying to pinch her." "And now somebody else is breaking his finger," " You don't know my Alma." " I know, I know." "She's waiting some place only for you." "Like Nasick's wife." "Hey, Nasick, tell them." "Tell them how the whole Fire Department was helping you wife wait for you." "Reuter, one of these days, as a special favour to Nasick," "I'm going to cripple your other leg too." "Graeber." "Take my advice, don't be a fool and waste your whole furlough like Boettcher." "Enjoy your life while you can." "Have you any idea how long your life is?" "These days, who does?" "Three weeks." "As long as your furlough, three weeks of life." "Then, death holds the trumps." "Why, you've been home three days already." "That's three out of twenty one." "Why that's as much as ten years of normal life." "Ten years of waste." "Come on, let's get out of here." "Records?" "Ha!" "We can't even get them buried." "If the air raids continue I don't know what we will do." "There is no space." "Did you try the other cem..." "Ernst!" "Ernst!" "Ernst!" "Elisabeth!" "Thank God you're here." "I went to the factory, they wouldn't let me get to you." "I saved all I could." "Thank you." "Well, I suppose we'll sleep in the streets tonight." "But not this one, Ernst." "Any other I won't mind." "Why don't we go to the Jahnplatz Art Museum?" "It's an elegant ruin as ruins go and I want to see Professor Pohlmann anyway." "Pohlmann isn't home." "I hope he'll like us for neighbours." "When I was seven years old I wanted to be a gypsy, just to live like this." "A quiet night, a bed and a woman..." "like you." "That's what we used to dream about in the field." " Did you get a letter?" " And what a letter!" "In all the excitement I forgot to tell you about it." "It's from my parents." "They were being evacuated, they didn't know where to." "Then they're alive!" "And you forgot that." "How could you?" "Is someone there?" "It's Pohlmann." "It's me, Professor." "Ernst Graeber." "We were bombed out and I..." "We?" "Someone is with you?" "My wife." "I was married a few days ago." "I see." "It's all right, Josef." "Ernst, Josef." "It's better not to mention other names." "I can't take you and your wife inside." "You would be in great danger if you were found there." "With a man who is wanted." "I'm a Jew." "Nothing may happen tonight." "The city is always in confusion after a raid but one never knows." "Professor, I must talk to you." "Come in for a few minutes." "Have you any idea why the Gestapo would want your wife?" "Her father's in a concentration camp." "Then they must want information." "What would you do, Josef?" "Hide." "That's why I'm still alive." "In any case, interrogation by the Gestapo is something to be avoided." "Josef is a specialist in these things." "Couldn't I go in her place and find out what they're up to?" "They'll tell you nothing, it's your wife they want." "I know someone they would tell." "Oskar Binding." "He's offered to help me." "And he has connections, Gestapo connections." "He's bragged to me about them." "To me too." "And he proved it." "I'm supposed to go back to the front in ten days, and if I go, she'll be alone." "I'll have to see Binding in the morning, I don't know what else to do." "Thank you for seeing me." "Ernst." "You said if you go." "Are you thinking of not going back?" "I must find out what will happen to my wife." "Until then I..." "If you desert, they will shoot you." "There's a chance you could escape alone, but not with your wife." "That's practically impossible." "If you know anyone hiding you would be risking penalty of death." "Are your parents alive, Ernst?" "Yes, but I haven't been able to find them." "They would find them." "Your wife too." "And they would use them to get you." "So I must go back, just as before." "And do the same things as before." "But how?" "I don't believe in anything I was taught anymore." "Tell me, Professor, is there anything left to believe in?" "Yes, there is." " What?" " God." " You still believe in him?" " More than ever." "You never have any doubts?" "Of course I have." "Without doubt, there would be no need for faith." "How can anyone believe in God with all that's happening here?" "God is not responsible to us." "We are responsible to God for all that's happening here." "If that's true, Professor, how much am I responsible?" "Isn't there a time when taking orders stops and personal responsibility begins?" "When duty turns into crime and can no longer be excused by blaming the leaders?" "I have to make a decision, Professor." "I must know!" "No one can make that decision for you, Ernst, not even your teacher." "Each man has to decide it for himself." "But first you must face the truth, no matter how grim." "The war is lost, Ernst." "And more terrifying, it must be lost before our country can regain its soul." "I'm not making it any easier for you, am I?" "No." "Harder." "You're smiling." "Why aren't you screaming?" "I am screaming, you just don't hear it." "Graeber." "Graeber!" "Are you awake, Graeber?" "If you care to, you may wash up inside." "Herr Pohlmann has some coffee on, such as it is." "If it's all right, I'd like to let her sleep a little while longer." "Does she know about the Gestapo summons?" "I thought not." "Graeber." "If you find she's in danger and need a place to hide her..." "Yes?" "Meet me at Saint Cunibert's." "I'll have an address for you to go to." "You'll find me up in the little storeroom of the northern tower." "I suggest you leave your belongings in the church before going anywhere this morning." "That way you can have your wife meet you there without alarming her." "Thank you." "And be careful, especially when you talk to Binding." "Come in!" "Come in!" "Well!" "Do come in said a spider to the fly." "Come in!" "Ernst, boy!" "What a time to come crawling!" "I know it's early but when I heard the piano..." "That's been going on all night." "What a party you've missed!" "But I'm glad you came by." "Now relax!" "Let's have a drink." "Good, isn't he?" "I don't know anything about music but everybody tells me Heini is a master." "He's even been invited to Berchtesgaden where he played with such great art he made the Fûhrer cry." "Don't take my bottle!" "Mustn't take bottle from baby baby." "Heini, I want you to meet my friend, Ernst." "On furlough from the Russian front." "Ha!" "I had a great time there, finest time I ever had." "Their vodka is 1 20 proof, better than gasoline." "We poured it down their throats, made flame throwers out of them." "You should have seen them jump!" "Spitting fire!" "It was fun, baby!" "Great fun." "Tut tut tut." "Careful with that." "From our own recipe." "We call it the layer cake." "First you have the prisoners bring a layer of wood." "On which they lay down." "Then, one bullet for each." "Heini, careful with that!" "And you're ready for the next layer." "Who also bring their own wood, and so on." "Sprinkle liberally with gasoline." "And..." "Herr Baby, your piano needs tuning." "This note is flat." "Mad fellow that Heini." "He's the Commander of the camp here now." "I don't enjoy that sort of thing." "You know me, much too soft-hearted." "You think it's all right for him to do it?" "I don't think about it." "I'm not responsible for what other people do." "No, none of us is ever responsible." "That's what we tell ourselves at the front, too, when we're ordered to shoot hostages." "Your vodka, Ernst." "You've shot civilians?" "Yes I have." "Drink!" "You're one of us." "I guess I am." " Heini!" " Late, baby, late." "Duty calls." " Shall I phone for your car?" " I want to walk." "Ernst could take my car and drive you..." "I said I walk!" "Think I can?" "He's in one of his moods." "The concentration camp will be hell tonight." "Another..." "layer cake?" "What's the difference how people die?" "They're equally dead." "You've killed lots of them yourself." "Maybe not the right ones." "Ernst, I'm very drunk." "I don't understand a word you say." "So don't say anymore." "You're right." "I..." "I'd better not." "Where are you going?" "You're always running away." "Goodbye, Oskar." "Who do I see about this?" "This is for Elisabeth Kruse." "I'm her husband." "It came after she left for work this morning, I thought..." "Room 72." "Cellar floor." "Your wife is the daughter of Bernhard Kruse?" "Yes." "Sign here." "Kruse." "Under your signature write, "Husband of Elisabeth Kruse"" "and the date and registry office of your marriage." "Sign." "The Kruse package." "For what am I signing?" "The receipt for the ashes of Bernhard Kruse." "Cause of death... heart disease." "Sure." "What else?" "Complete discretion is to be exercised." "And, er... no death notices in the papers." "Understand?" " Josef." " Well?" "It was this." "Her father's ashes." "I went to Pohlmann's, he wasn't there." "Pohlmann has been arrested." "He saw them coming." "He ran into the street to draw them away from the house so that I could get away." "A cigar box, it's almost like a coffin." "Usually they use old tin cans or paper bags." "You knew him?" "He was our family physician." "A fine man, and this is all it comes to." "What do you think I should do with it?" "She'll be here soon." "There are graves in the church garden." "It's consecrated ground if that's what you want." "What will happen to Pohlmann?" "And you?" "If I'm not caught, I'll survive." "You must hate us." "Hate." "Hate makes one forget to be cautious." "Besides, I remember the time before... the Germany I grew up in and loved." "And there's Pohlmann." "Am I to hate him?" "Or Pastor Brenner who hides me here?" "Shall I hate them?" " Are there many like them?" " Yes." "Not enough, but many." "It isn't hopeless." "You say that there's h ope!" "Of course." "I'm alive, isn't that proof?" "You'd better go now." "It will be kinder if you've buried that before your wife comes." "Good luck, Ernst." "Good luck, Josef." "Is it your wish that the child be baptised and brought up in this faith?" "Yes." "I baptise you Christina Renata in the name of the Father," "the Son, and the Holy Ghost." "Amen." "May the Lord bless you and keep you." "Amen." "Ernst, I've nothing but good news!" "There's no work until the factory can be moved." "At least three days!" "That's wonderful." "We can sleep late and do anything we like." "It's a miracle, isn't it?" "It would be if we had a place to sleep." "We can't stay here, they only take families with children." "But I only told you the first miracle, the second you have to see to believe." "It's not very far, we..." "What are you talking about?" "You're wasting time!" "Let's get our things and go." "It's hardly touched." "Even some of the windows are in." " lt must be a mirage." " No, no it's real." "I'll show you." "Frau Witte!" "This is my husband." " Good evening, Herr Graeber." " Good evening." "Yes, he's everything you said." "He is handsome!" "And his eyes..." " We're not late, are we?" " Late?" "One is always on time!" "But first you'll want to take your things to your room." "How did you find this place?" "By accident." "The street I meant to take was blocked." "I really don't serve meals anymore, not for two years, but I couldn't say no to your wife." "You too?" "So I decided the butcher wouldn't say no to me either." "In the soup, you'll find a little piece of sausage." "It's my daughter's room, her name was Ilse." "It was the second air raid she didn't come home." "I never reported it, I didn't want anyone else in her room." "But I want you to have it." "Please, let her stay on here, I have no one else." "Thank you." "When you are ready for dinner, give me five minutes warning so I'll have the table set." "I want our house to be exactly like this one." "Tiled stove and... everything." "Can't you see it, Ernst?" "Our families together for Sunday dinners, children climbing all over them." "Everybody talking at once." "I didn't know you wanted children so much." "It's your children I want to have." "In times like these doesn't that frighten you?" "Other things frighten me more, like not having them." "My father's brought a thousand babies into the world." "But wait till you see his face when he holds ours." "How he'll spoil them!" "What is it?" "Nothing." "Ernst?" "What aren't you telling me?" "There's something!" "You're going away." "No, I would have told you that." "Then what?" "Is it something I did?" "Something I didn't do?" "My father." "Dead?" "Dead." "There were still a few bottles of wine left in the cellar." "And I thought I'll..." "Shall I serve dinner now?" "Yes, Frau Witte, please." "Soldier, you must be insane." "New orders come through every hour cancelling furloughs." "But you're not satisfied with even all your furlough!" "You want it extended." "Sir, my wife..." "Broke her leg?" "Is having twins?" "Or double pneumonia?" "Which?" "We were just married, sir." "We've had very little time together." "Even if it meant one more day, I had to take the chance to ask." "You're due out on a troop transport." "The train leaves at 6 in the morning and you must be on it." "Report here at 5." "Even Reuter would approve of Frau Witte's wines." "Berndtcassler, 1 935." "According to Reuter, the perfect wine for lobster... if we just had some lobster!" "Don't open it, Ernst." "It doesn't do any good." "This one will." "I'm not really crying." "And if I do cry, don't worry about it." "It isn't sorrow." "I'm happy." "So much has happened in these weeks," "I can't press it all into myself." "I've tried, but it won't go." "Tonight you must be patient with me." "I wish I'd taken you out of the city, to a village or somewhere." "Even if I didn't have to work at the factory, I'd want to stay here." "Because I'll need to be some place where I've been with you." "Do you want to sleep now?" "I can sleep on the train all the way there." "Then?" "Will you ever have a bed?" "The best I can hope for after tomorrow is a field cart or a sack of hay from time to time." "It's not that bad." "You get used to it soon enough." "And summer's coming." "It's the winter that..." "As soon as I hear from my parents I'll send you their address." "If they're anywhere close, try to visit them." "I will." "They're gonna love you." "Kiss them from me." "Everyone to the shelter!" "Lights out." "Herr Graeber!" "Herr Graeber, the air raid shelter is around the corner on Leibingstrasse." "Ernst!" "No matter what happens," "I don't want to spend my last night with you in a cellar." "Could we stay?" "I understand." "I'll tell the warden that everyone is out of the house." "Ernst." "What happens if the planes destroy the station?" "Or maybe the train?" "They'd make us walk." "Darling, please don't come to the station tomorrow." "Last time, my mother went with me the train was late leaving and there was this nervous, weeping woman saying the same things over and over." "Not my mother as she really is at all." "No, we shouldn't do that to each other." " ls this seat vacant?" " Sure." "Maxl, say goodbye to your daddy." "The child, must be tired." "Go along, Elsa." "He can wait." "I wish you had stayed home." "Fourth Company!" "Graeber!" "Over here!" "Immerman!" "Well, if it isn't the furlough boy!" " Sauer!" " Yes?" "You crazy fool, why didn't you stay home?" "The rate we're running you could have waited for us to join you." "What brought you back to this muck?" "How did you find us?" "Came up with an engineer outfit." "Been looking for you guys for two weeks." "Relax." "Sling that rifle back on your shoulder, we haven't had anything to shoot at for days." "They keep pounding us with artillery, when they run out of shells, we rest." "And pretty soon they've got more shells." " Sauer!" " Yes, sir." "Get those men out of there!" "Move out of there." "What are you doing?" "Graeber!" "I don't know how you got here, but I'm glad." "How was it at home?" "I know." "Come on." "Come on, keep moving." "Come on." "Relax, boy." "They're just looking for us." "They haven't found us yet." "Sauer, I think I'm catching cold." "Don't worry, your insurance is paid up." "Yeah, but my wife's too stupid." "She wouldn't know how to collect it." "Hey, Sauer, look!" "Beer!" " I'll get it." " No, no." "I'll get it." "Hey, this must have been a brewery!" "Keep moving!" "Sauer, Graeber, move..." "Sir." "Keep moving." "Keep moving!" "Sauer!" "Keep moving!" "Go on!" "Stay here and rest." "Break rank." "Mail!" "Mail!" "Emmerich." "Dead." "Zender." "Dead." "Dead." "Immerman." "Smith." "Graeber." "From my wife!" "Keep moving." "Pick up your feet." "We found them hiding in a cellar, sir." "I'm sure they are guerrillas." " Did you find any weapons?" " No, sir." "Then how can you be sure?" "We'll hold them until we can turn them over for questioning." "But where?" "The grain storehouse by the lake has an outside bolt on it, sir." "All right." "Take them and..." "Graeber." "Yes, sir." "Take charge of these prisoners." "They are to be locked up and guarded." " Lamas." " Yes, sir." "You'll show him where." "Krüger." "Nothing for you, sir." "There's nobody to write." "You should have gotten to us yesterday, you'd have a lot less to carry back." "Why don't you get yourself some rest?" "Fine." "I could use it." "'I'm writing this sitting under the bombed tree by the river." "'It's growing and living again as though it had never been scarred." "'You told me we must be like that too, and we are." "'We're going to have a child, Ernst." "'And the thought of our child shuts out all else." "'Except you." "'Frau Witte says it doesn't matter to her what we call the baby 'as long as it's a girl!" "'I will now write to your parents offering them a vote too." "'You sent the address just in time, so I...'" "Graeber!" "Graeber!" "Get back to the platoon." "We're pulling out." "Where are you going?" "We're not gonna hold them with us." "Get going, I'll finish them off." "I'm responsible for them." "All right, then you do it." "I'll let you have the honour." "It's no honour." " But it is an order." " To me it isn't." "Do you know who you are talking to?" "I know exactly who I'm talking to." "Go!" "You're free!" "Well, go!" "German beast!"