In all these photos, there's nobody whose name isn't Simon.
We were all one big family then.
These photos were all taken at the beginning of the 1930.
These are the grandparents...
...Mathias, the village's blacksmith and his wife Kath, Katharina.
That's Paul.
The son who had gone out for beer five years earlier...
...and had never come back.
That's his wife Maria and his two little boys...
...Anton and Ernst.
That's Anton again.
Anton had to join the Hitler Youths.
Maria said, "Anton, this uniform doesn't suit you."
And Kath said...
..."Anton, promise me you'll never put that uniform on again."
As if anybody could make that kind of promise in those days.
Kath also said, "Tick, everything's on tick."
That went right round the village.
She was brave. But we were all scared for her.
This is the Simons' house with the smithy to the right.
That's Wiegand.
He had to be the first in the village to sport a Hitler moustache.
And his son, Wilfried, was packed off to Berlin...
...so that he could become something in the S.S.
"One day you'll bow to him", Wiegand used to say.
And the family grew and grew.
Everyone got married.
That's Lucie. Eduard married her in Berlin.
She's from the highest circles of society.
But Kath said, "My eye."
The Führer's birthday.
The first birthday, he had as a Chancellor in 1933.
We celebrated it.
Wiegand said, The village looks to the Führer.
Only, I wonder whether the Führer ever had any regard for us...
...except to look down from his picture.
And Lucie... She was from the big city.
If she had to live with Eduard in the sticks...
...then at least he was going to be somebody.
Where could he become somebody?
In the Party and that's where she pushed him.
Cars, they all had cars.
Wiegand as usual had the biggest.
Three cars in front of the house.
Then the telephone came.
They put up telegraph polls all over the place.
There was a telephone wire on every house.
Here, the post office men are just taking a break...
...and Eduard took a picture of everything.
THE BEST CHRlSTMAS EVER
Mister Mayor, did you say something?
- Is that Berlin? - No, it is my mate.
Besides, they could have shut off half of Hunsrück.
There have been so many fires here in the past two years.
I say we must stick to the truth.
I was burnt out twice in the inflation time...
...and I wasn't insured.
Those difficult times for farmers are over now.
I'll explain to you what our farming policy is...
...and what a healthy basis it is for our entire policy...
...and how at one stroke we'll get rid of all our Weimar Republic debts.
I heard district leader Nadisch...
...and the farmers' leader Orth in Simmern.
They talked on Palace Square.
I noted everything they said.
They spoke about debt conversion...
...and the farmers...
...and the laws about entailed estates...
...but, frankly, I don't understand all that.
That's why people like us from the Party...
...are here to explain to you.
We make a distinction between farmer and landed proprietor.
The farmer with his own farm...
...is sacrosanct and protected.
What Jews and speculators sowed during the Weimar Republic...
...we now refuse to harvest.
Yes, that's official.
Is that you?
What, you're not Wilfried?
No, I thought...
I want to speak to Wilfried Wiegand...
...my son.
Here is your father. I am telephoning from Schabbach.
We have a telephone in the room now...
...on the wall to the left of the door.
Don't shout.
- What? - Don't shout like that.
No, he doesn't mean you.
How are things in Berlin? Tell us.
From here, I have a wonderful view over the capital.
Have you? Well, damn me...
...you're quite a fellow.
Wilfried, are you still there?
Hans, what are you doing?
- Lost your way? - No, just looking.
Then go on looking. Take a look at everything.
What's wrong with your eye?
If you want a proper look, open the other eye.
I can't, it is always closed.
My boy, you're a born sharpshooter.
I wouldn't know.
This is the rear sight and this is the front sight.
Anyone else has to close one eye to shoot with this...
...but you needn't.
See that man with the pick?
If he tries to run, I aim at his back.
When rearsight and foresight are aligned...
...I squeeze the trigger and he falls down dead.
A normal person must shut one eye to do that, but you needn't.
- Where are you from? - Schabbach.
Then take your bike and go back to Schabbach.
Thank you again, it's been a charming evening.
It's hard to believe you are not my uncle, Gauleiter.
Eduard...
...see the film's developed first thing tomorrow...
...so our hostess gets the pictures as soon as possible.
You'll see. Eduard's a brilliant photographer.
The pictures he's taken of the workers' life in the Hunsrück.
I didn't know that. We must arrange an exhibition.
Gudrun, put a note on my desk tomorrow.
Eduard, you don't understand money.
Leave it to me, I'm used to it.
Some have a knack with money...
...others have their minds elsewhere.
All my life I've dealt with money.
But not with the Jewish bank, Lucie.
They're people too.
Careful, Lucie, the chalk pit's somewhere here.
Do you know how many windows our house will have?
No idea.
Fifty-two. Like the villa at Usedom.
I counted them once when I was eight.
Our house will be nicer than the Gauleiter's.
I'll be happy when it's paid for.
Is that the foundation stone laid already?
They only do that with big constructions.
What a pity.
I'm so cold. I was freezing at the Gauleiter's.
Let's lay a stone in secret, just a little one. I'd be so happy.
Let's lay a foundation stone.
Do you know how it is done?
You make a cavity in the foundation...
...and put a souvenir in it.
For posterity.
When they excavate it, they'll know why we built it.
Here's a cavity. Got anything on you?
It is as if fate decreed it. You've got the Hunsrück gold.
But no one knows if it's really gold.
Just a minute.
But that's not watertight, it won't hold together.
Wait, I have an idea.
We're building our house on something we're not sure is gold.
Oh, at a quick glance everything's gold.
That's been my experience in life.
Herr Simon, that's sabotage. Don't you agree?
From Simmern to Kirchberg...
...all the important official lines.
Hans, tell me why you did that.
It made such a lovely crack.
I thought so.
Did you hit them every time?
Yes, every time.
Officer Martin, take it easy.
The boy is talented.
The money we spend to educate a talent in the state.
It's worth a few insulators if he learns to shoot so well.
We must look at the positive side.
Sabotage, I say.
Laugh it off.
You can leave the gun here. I'll look after it.
Marie-Goot, get over by your washing.
I'll photograph you bleaching.
Hold the watering-can and look at me.
That's good. Go on sprinkling. Smile.
One more. Look at the camera.
That must be young Hans.
I thought it was you. Did you fire?
A bull's eye from that distance?
Let me shoot, too.
Missed.
You shoot, Hans. Show me.
I want to see this.
Hans, you're a crack shot.
DECEMBER 1935
They're sure to have something. Let's see.
German handicrafts for your 1935 Christmas gifts
Maria, is it true that in your sister-in-law's villa...
...there's a dining-room, a smoking-room...
...a study and a conservatory?
Does Eduard really go into the smoking-room to smoke?
Eduard doesn't smoke.
- His wife does, I'm sure. - Lucie doesn't, either.
Were you ever in the study or aren't women allowed in?
I don't like going in there.
People are saying all sorts of things...
...that her Berlin relations paid for the villa.
- Is that true? - Well, I don't know.
I don't want to poke my nose in.
I'd never cross their threshold, it's too posh for me.
When I pass their house...
...I think I'm passing a church or a monument.
But I must say...
...Lucie goes to Koblenz for stockings...
...though my shop's full of them.
She's a city girl, perhaps she's happier doing that.
Anton, take off your jacket.
People are saying things in the village.
She's not been out for days. What's up?
I don't know. Anton, try this coat on.
It suits him. lt's wonderful.
Maria, you won't be wasting money on that coat.
I've sold at least a dozen like that.
Do you like it, Anton?
What have you wished for as a Christmas present?
Something technical.
He's mad about technical things, aren't you?
I want a steam engine with belt transmission.
It'll be such a Christmas.
I've never seen people buy so many presents before.
Remember what we got? A new apron for the old doll...
...and a wrinkled apple with a fir twig on it.
Horst, where's your mummy?
The Mayoress is ill.
Ill? Where is she?
Lucie, what's the matter?
Oh, Maria, what I'm going through.
I can't move.
A headache?
That's not the word to describe it.
Where's Eduard?
Don't talk to me about Eduard.
He's the other half of my suffering.
Anton, take off your coat and play with Horst.
Leave us alone, please.
Gudrun, where have you been?
But Eduard's been quite successful. Don't be unfair.
A man must be his wife's superior.
I worry myself sick because I'm superior to him.
But he's somebody, he's the mayor of Rhaunen.
I wanted that to be a springboard for Eduard.
What do you think this house was built here for?
This house is as unfulfilled as I am.
I feel the way you see me lying here.
Is this house paid for?
That's not the point.
The point is that Eduard doesn't bother about his official duties.
He's only interested in photography.
He keeps on about his great exhibition...
...under the auspices of the Gauleiter...
...instead of asking the Gauleiter...
...about promotion in the Party and administration.
What sort of family have the two of us married into?
The two of us?
Why do you say that?
But, Maria, your husband.
He's Eduard's brother.
You know nothing about him now.
We women have to do everything on our own.
You can't say that, Lucie. It's not fair.
Now listen.
You, Eduard and Horst come to Schabbach for Christmas.
We'll kill a goose. Then you'll see how things are.
Maria, you're a good soul.
Mother, what's wrong with Lucie?
She has worries.
But you needn't go to bed with worries.
But in the cities people do go to bed when they have worries.
Mother, why are you sitting in the dark?
I was thinking about Eduard.
We've just come from there, from the villa.
It's all on tick.
Someone came home from Berlin today, looking like a young lord.
Wilfried?
Isn't it a bit big?
Well, Ernst, do you like it?
Hands out of pockets. Hitler Youths don't do that.
Is Herr Simon in?
Wilfried, come in.
I've brought a Christmas tree from Berlin.
But our woods are full of trees.
This is special; it smells of the city.
You cut it secretly in the wood on the way here.
I bought it at the Berlin Christmas market...
...right next to Dr Goebbels.
And I was thinking of you.
Where's Lucie?
Lucie, where are you?
Just imagine that.
Wilfried, you look quite different.
Eduard, look at him.
He's been promoted.
He stood beside Goebbels and bought us a Christmas tree in Berlin.
Wilfried, I still see you as you were...
...standing in short trousers on Hitler's birthday.
And I said, "Wilfried, get some big city atmosphere in your nostrils."
And now you stand here and you've done that.
I feel so homesick when I see you standing there.
Well, sit down.
You don't have to remain standing, Herr Obersturmführer.
But you've achieved a lot, too.
Just look at this house.
Patience.
I'll give you a guided tour in a moment.
Eduard, please get us a bottle of the good Bernkasteler.
Meanwhile, I'll show Wilfried the house.
You'll appreciate the wine.
This is our drawing-room.
What do you say now?
It reminds me of an evening...
...I spent at Dr Lenich's of the State Film Office.
What, Wilfried Wiegand mixing in film circles, too?
You're quite a fellow.
Our house is like a harbour...
...still awaiting the big ships.
Or like a flower bed, awaiting the month of May.
The things you've learnt in Berlin.
His Worship the Mayor is back.
Staying on leave? Tell us about yourself.
I can tell you...
...because very soon I have to talk to you officially.
Have a drink first.
- Excellent. - That's a nice drop.
This matter must remain confidential.
It concerns the first day of the new free Rhineland district.
The free Rhine? Is the Führer going to march into the Rhineland?
We're not allowed to know that. Nor you, Eduard.
But I can tell you this.
In a fortnight, three of our most important leaders will call in here.
Who, Wilfried?
Rosenberg, Frick...
...and Ley.
All three?
They're passing through here?
You're responsible for the Bundenbach-Stipshausen section.
When and at what time?
On the 16th of January, about noon.
But then they'll be feeling hungry.
They can stay here, in our house, for a while.
Wilfried, to please me...
...get them to come here, to pay a visit.
This house is ideal for such guests.
Edu, say something, too.
Lucie, there'll be more than the three of them.
Their entourage could number hundreds.
That's Eduard for you.
Whenever the stakes are high, he loses his nerve.
Well, it's not impossible.
Wilfried, how nice you're back.
How nicely they've decorated it, Pauline.
Have you been in a Catholic church before?
Yes, I have.
I've never seen so many lights.
It's really quite festive.
How beautiful the crib is.
Shall we kneel, too?
Horts Wessel, your memory also burns bright on this holy Christmas night.
With your death you gave us the belief we feel...
...which henceforth no power can steal.
Belief in a great time to come, though it seems far away to some.
Oh, German Christmas, at home and beyond.
You forge anew the sacred bond.
The Glittering Christmas tree will gleam...
...it is the children's favourite dream.
With tinsel and with baubles smart...
...it will make happy each child's heart.
And joyously into our ear will pour...
...the lovely Christmas songs of yore.
Oh, German Christmas, feast of love.
Feat of belief in heaven above.
You've been our favourite feast so long...
...now storm troops join believers' throng.
So let one prayer arise from here...
...make our armband's meaning very clear.
O Father in heaven, protect us still...
...as you've always done and always will.
Help us to conquer enslavement and pain...
...so that finally we're free people again.
Our faith, so sacred, so immense, will not waver, to the last defence.
For we must, we want to free our land...
...so that as pure German stock we stand.
Adolf Hitler, lead our way with pride to victorious liberty by your side.
Isn't that the most beautiful thing there is?
A Catholic Christmas Mass.
I looked at the children with tear-filled eyes.
I've never been in the Catholic church...
...but that was the best Christmas ever.
This year it's been the way we always wanted.
When I think of our turnover in the last three weeks, my God!
Eduard, after closing time today I sold another three gold watches.
Isn't that amazing?
You know, Lucie, when I look at people...
...there's a different belief in their eyes.
Wilfried, stop your silly speeches.
Look happy.
Now let's all go and eat together.
- What are we having, Granny? - A goose.
Alois, you weren't in church.
In my church at home it was better.
Let's have a drink before Katharina comes in; she always nags.
The storm trooper sits by the family heart so neat...
...and finds that, since Hitler, life's once again sweet.
The children are so happy with their toys.
Is that nice, Ernst?
Look, Uncle Eduard, a propeller.
- Ernst, let's build this. - No, we'll build an aeroplane.
A great golden goose...
...gobbled with gusto...
...is a good gift from God.
Here's the goose.
That looks tasty.
Look, water comes out of the valve.
Will you put it beside my bed when I go to sleep?
Don't worry, Anton, no one will take it away.
He can't believe it.
But it's true, Anton.
You haven't something wrong with your lung again, Eduard?
Are you getting you're breath back?
Mother, home is really the nicest place to be.
- Still recognize the Bell-Ringer? - Of course.
At the back of the church there are at least ten motor-bikes.
And cars like you've never seen them. They are huge.
There was one just like the Führer's.
Maybach cars. A black one, a red and a yellow.
Red! That was brown.
I know who's in them, though we're not supposed to...
...Rosenberg, Frick and Ley.
Who?
Don't shout, we're not supposed to know.
- Rosenberg, Frick and Ley. - Eduard never told me that.
Gudrun, go to your room, I'll do that.
I'm trembling all over. My knees, too.
The Reichsleiter paid me a sweet compliment.
He said I've got the flair for big occasions.
Didn't he say that, Wilfried?
I can confirm that. And he's right, too.
The Herr Reichsleiter is so charming.
They're all so charming.
I thought the Minister of the lnterior would look older.
He looks just the job for the right woman.
No one's to go to the study.
The Reichsleiter told me to ensure that.
They mustn't be disturbed.
In a bigger place or a hotel...
...this trip couldn't be kept a secret.
I'm proud of you, and that I could make this suggestion.
Edu, say something, too. Didn't I always tell you?
When we've got the house, we'll get the right life in it.
We'll remember this a long time.
Rosenberg, Frick and Ley.
And your uncle Gustav Simon.
A Gauleiter for an uncle, and he won't believe it.
No time for lunch, the gentlemen are going.
Dear lady, please accept the gentlemen's thanks and my own.
We apologise for the swift departure.
The Führer's colleagues were most comfortable in your lovely house.
The undisturbed seclusion...
...discussing difficult political problems in private...
...pleased the gentlemen very much.
Their best wishes and thanks once more, from the heart.
We prepared all this food for nothing.
Dear namesake Simon, we'll meet again soon.
You must achieve some task, Eduard. Task!
But what sort of task?
That's the only thing to gain you advancement, a task.
Maybe we could organize an extra waste-paper drive...
...or give a prize for the prettiest farmhouse.
You must start at the top, not the bottom.
We need something that requires special forces of nature.
I've got it. Keep quite still.
We must have a catastrophe. It will only work with a catastrophe.
But what sort?
An earthquake, a flood.
No, better, a railway disaster.
Lucie, we don't get earthquakes here, and you can forget the railway.
A forest fire.
We've got woods like California, they're always burning.
I can see you organizing the rescue operations...
...getting in all the papers.
But in the Hunsrück nothing ever happens.
Nothing to help you get on in the world.
Our house has come out very well.
THE BEST CHRlSTMAS EVER