Central Studio of Children and Youth Films
named after M. GORKY
By commission of State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers
on Television and Radio Broadcasting
SEVENTEEN MOMENTS OF SPRING
Part 11
Starring
Stirlitz - Vyachaslav TIKHONOV
Mueller - Leonid BRONEVOY Bormann - Yuri VIZBOR
Pastor Schlagg - Rostislav PLYATT Kathe - Yekaterina GRADOVA
Schellenberg - Oleg TABAKOV
Krauze - Vladimir KENIGSON Scholz - Lavrenti MASOKHA
Narrated by Yefim KOPELYAN
Stirlitz.
I'd like you to stay...
for a minute.
Bern, Switzerland
No, Mister Krauze, no.
As a former state official of Germany,
you're responsible not only for its past.
You should think about the future of our miserable country.
Dear Pastor, I'm a politician
in emigration.
Unfortunately.
A person who is absent is always wrong.
I'm no more interesting to London, to the White House,
because there the politicians possess real power
and I'm devoid of power.
No one loses professional skills as quickly
as a politician devoid of power.
Who, do you think, is a serious
politician now in Germany,
after Hitler has liquidated the best representatives of the opposition?
The most serious German politician
is Himmler.
He's the disgrace of Germany.
He possesses real power.
- Will you allow me? - Sorry.
A politician possessing real power is a force.
The equivalent politicians will deal
only with him.
Do you really think that Americans and Englishmen
who profess Christ
will agree to negotiate with Antichrist?
Dear Pastor, politics doesn't use
such terms as Christ, Antichrist, good, evil.
Politics presupposes the observation of the balance of forces.
Here it is.
Read it.
My friends
helped me to get the recording of the conversation
of the SD important representative, Count Gogenloe.
He's Himmler's close friend.
He spoke with one of the leading American intelligence men here,
Mr. Dulles.
It was a year ago.
Already a year, my friend. Please.
I forgot my glasses.
The main idea of the conversation is the following:
Both sides realize the threat of Bolshevism.
Both sides are concerned about Germany's future,
and the issue of preserving National Socialism
should be regarded
in perspective.
Perhaps this paper was cooked up by the Nazis.
I don't believe it.
I'd like to agree with you,
but I have all the reasons to believe this document.
Hitler is living out
his last days, as a political figure.
And Goring and Bormann
might be thinking about how to seize power.
Of course, I don't believe that Himmler can become
some special figure and come forward.
But certain circles in the West want it to happen.
But I think that the wide public opinion
will never agree to the fact
that democrats would negotiate
with a person who embodies all the horrors of National Socialism.
Yes...
In spite of that, I'm still convinced
that Himmler is the most powerful figure in today's Germany.
I cannot imagine how they can sit together
at the negotiation table, on the one hand,
and how they can keep
Germany in obedience
without Himmler, on the other hand.
Do you think that
such negotiations are possible?
They are in progress now here,
in Bern.
They are carried on by Himmler's personal representative, Karl Wolf,
and the representative
of American intelligence,
Dulles.
How exact is your information?
Dear Pastor, as a rule, a politician in emigration
uses well-verified rumors.
Are you sure that the negotiations are a real fact?
Yes.
My German friends asked me to probe
a possibility of serious talks with the allies
in order to stop bloodshed.
Who are the people
who asked you to do that?
They are honest people.
They are the people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
party functionaries and even people fro the SD.
By the way, the people from the SD
who helped me to come here,
warned you, Germans,
not to believe Himmler.
You must not believe him at all.
You should never negotiate with him and his people.
Fine.
I've got a question.
Do you...
believe the people who sent you here?
I fully believe the person
who sent me here.
Listen to me then.
My friends...
My friends
inform me about the issues
which have been touched upon
during the talks between Dulles and Wolf.
Take a special note of this document.
Top secret. Bern, to Dulles.
I suggest to codename the operation with Wolf
<>.
Chief of the US Strategic Services, General Donovan.
Bert Yukhansson, Sveevegers Street, 7.
Stockholm, Sweden.
Aunt Elsa stayed with us in Bern, in Lausanne. She is well,
bit feels homesick, and every week writes letters home.
Gustav.
In two days the following message would be read in Moscow.
In Bern and Lausanne the talks between Himmler's representative,
Karl Wolf and Dulles are in full progress.
I'll inform you about the details every week
through the established channel.
Now answer my question.
Where's pastor Schlagg?
You should've begun with that.
I know better what to begin with.
I know you were overexcited, but don't be tactless.
Gruppenfuhrer, I'll allow myself to be open with you.
Allow yourself? What about me?
I understand
that all Bormann's telephone talks
are submitted to the Reichsfuhrer, after Schellenberg's inspection.
I understand that you must
carry out the Reichsfuhrer's orders,
even if they may be inspired by your friend and my chief.
I'd like to believe
that Bormann's driver was arrested on the order of your superiors.
I'm sure you were ordered to arrest that man.
Why do you think so?
You were ordered
to compromise me by all means,
for any reason, in any combination,
so that I couldn't meet with partaigenosse Bormann.
I noticed how you've planned your day.
Everything was as usual.
But you didn't have any inspiration, because you realized
who would gain and who wouldn't,
if my meetings with Bormann come to an end.
I'll tell you why,
only when I come back.
I'm short of time now. Bormann is expecting me at 5 p.m.
I don't think you'll gain,
if you get rid of me.
Where do you meet with Bormann?
Near the Natural History Museum.
- Will there be the second driver? - No.
We know that he was recruited by Schellenberg through Gestapo.
Who are <>?
We, the patriots of Germany and the Fuhrer.
You'll take my car.
You'll go to the meeting with Bormann in my car
for the sake of your security.
Thank you.
Put a Dictaphone into your brief-case and record the talk with Bormann.
Discuss with him the driver's fate.
You're right.
I was forced to use the third
measure of intimidation to him.
After that you'll come here, and we'll listen to the recording.
The car will be waiting for you near the museum.
It's not wise.
Do you know where I live?
Here's the key. Go there.
Last time Bormann drove me home.
If the driver
had admitted it, you wouldn't have tortured me
for 7 hours.
What if I had carried out the order?
Then your tortures
would've stopped
7 hour ago.
If it had happened, Gruppenfuhrer,
you would've been face-to-face with many enemies
here, in this building.
And I'm not sure
that you'd have won.
Hail Hitler!
Stop it. I'm sick and tired of it.
I don't understand.
Stop fooling around.
You understand everything very well.
The Fuhrer is unable to take decisions.
And we shouldn't mix up
the interests of Germany with Hitler's interests.
Do you realize...
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes.
I do realize.
There's no bugging equipment here.
And no one will believe you.
You'll never dare to blab it out.
But you...
if you don't play a more delicate...
game than the one you want
to impose on me...
you should realize it.
Hitler...
has brought Germany to a collapse.
And I don't see any way out from the present situation.
You get me?
I don't see...
Sit down, sit down.
Sit down.
We have 20 minutes left.
You need only 10 minutes to get to the place.
At the most, 12.
Do you think Bormann has his own plan of saving the country,
different from the Reichsfuhrer's plans?
Think about it.
Himmler's people are exposed abroad.
He demanded results from his agents and he didn't take care of them.
And not a single person from German-American,
German-British and German-Brazilian establishments
was arrested.
Himmler has no chance of disappearing in this world.
Bormann has.
That's what you should think about.
And explain to him as tactfully as possible,
that he can't do without professionals,
when everything, very soon,
comes to a crash.
Be seated, please.
The majority of Himmler's deposits in foreign banks
are controlled by the allies.
Bormann has 100 times more deposits, and no one knows about it.
Helping Bormann to defeat his enemy,
try to guarantee your own future.
Himmler's gold is nothing. It's a cover for Bormann's gold.
Hitler understood very well that
Himmler's gold was out of control.
He realized that it served the immediate tactical purposes.
But Bormann's gold, the Party's gold, is not for lousy agents
and <> ministry drivers
who bring them mistresses under Schellenberg's object lass,
but for those intellectuals
who will understand in the long run,
that there's only one way in the world, the way of National Socialism.
The party's gold is a bridge to the future.
It's a message to our children who are now one month, 1-3 year old.
Those who are 10 now don't need us and our ideas.
They will never forgive us for hunger and bombing.
Those who are babies now
will consider us a legend.
And a legend should be fed.
We should create story-tellers who'll interpret our words
for those who'll live in 20 years.
If somewhere, instead of <>,
you'll hear
<>
when someone's addressing you,
be sure that in that place we'll start our great rebirth.
How old will you be in 1965? About 70.
You're lucky to live up to those days and play your game.
70 is the age of prime for politicians.
I'll be about 80.
That's why I'm anxious about the next 10 years.
If you want to make your stake
relying on me,
remember: Mueller from the Gestapo
is an old, tired man who wants to live out
his last years
somewhere on a small farm with a blue swimming-pool.
To have it all, I'm ready to play games.
And there's one more thing.
Remember it and don't tell Bormann.
It takes time for one to get from Berlin to a small farm
in the tropics.
Soon many of the Fuhrer's lickspittles will run away and get into the trap.
But when the Russian cannonade rumbles
in Berlin
and soldiers fight for every house,
it'll be possible to leave
without slamming the door.
To leave
and carry away the secret of the party's gold
which is known only to Bormann and the Fuhrer.
And when the Fuhrer passes away...
one should be useful to Bormann.
Bormann will be the Monte Cristo of the 20th century.
Now there comes the struggle of endurance, Stirlitz.
But the real cause...
is only one.
Only one.
Simple and understandable
human nature.
You may go now.
Thanks.
What is it?
Bittner'll give you're a Dictaphone near the car.
And don't tell me that you're confident of Hitler's victory.
No, don't answer.
Just think
about my words.
And mind the fact,
that I've recruited you in 5 minutes
and without any tricks.
We'll talk about Schellenberg later.
Tell Bormann that you cannot do without me in Switzerland.
In that case,
he'll need YOU.
And I'll be in the way.
No.
He realizes that I won't be able to do anything without you.
I don't have too many agents in your chief's department.
Well?
They checked up all the district, but didn't find her.
What do the agents at Stirlitz's place say?
No one called, no one came...
Let them stay there for a while.
When Bormann's car...
When Bormann's car
reaches Babelsberg, tell them to leave.
And let them stop controlling the flat.
Tell the police to arrest all young women
with a baby.
If you see a baby, arrest them.
- Are there any photos? - Yes, they're sent out.
03.16.1945 (19 hours 55 minutes)
- Your ticket? - I don't have any money.
It remained in the apartment destroyed by bombing.
Really?
You should go to the refugees' center.
I'll do it.
Wake up! Air-raid!
What happened?
- The air-raid. Let's go. - Where?
To the air-raid shelter. Let us carry your babies.
No.
- They'll stay with me... - Hurry up then.
- Help me, please. - Yes?
My house is destroyed.
It's been ruined. I don't even have diapers.
I'm listening to you.
Well... I don't know what to do.
- Help me, please. - I'll try to.
Up to what extent can I rely on him?
We'll think about it in due time.
It's interesting.
And where's the talk about the driver?
The tape ended.
I couldn't tell Bormann: <>.
I told him that I'd come to know
that it was you who'd done his best
to save the driver's life.
What did he answer?
He said that...
the driver got broken after the tortures,
and he couldn't believe him any more.
He was not interested in that issue, so you've got a free hand.
Keep him in your prison
just in case. Let them feed him well.
We'll see what to do next.
Do you think no one will be interested in him?
Who?
Bormann.
What's the point?
The driver?
Waste material.
I'd keep him just in case.
Where's the Russian <>?
She would be very useful now.
How is she? Has she been taken from the hospital?
How can we use her?
She'll do what she has to do in the radio game, but...
That's true.
How about you managing
to connect her
with Wolf in Switzerland.
No?
- Utopia. - Perhaps.
I'm simply imagining things.
And then...
- On the whole... - What?
Nothing.
I was just analyzing your suggestion.
I transferred her to another place. Let Rolf work with her.
I don't think you need her now.
Has he overdone it with her?
A little bit.
And he was killed for that.
It's my business, Stirlitz.
Let's...
make a deal.
What you need to know from me,
you'll know.
I don't like it
when someone's peeping into the key-hole.
From what side?
I don't like it when I'm taken for a halfwit
in the old Polish preference game.
I'm a player
but not a halfwit.
Always?
Almost.
Fine.
We'll discuss it too.
Please, play once again this part, about 8-10 meters.
Al right.
Shall I make some more coffee?
Yes.
- Some cognac? - No, I hate it.
It contains tannins.
- Really? - Yes.
And vodka just warms you up. I like it.
Just vodka. It's good for blood vessels.
- Will you write down the text? - No, I'll remember it.
There're curious turns there.
Does Dulles know that Wolf represents Himmler?
I think he does.
<> is not an answer.
If I had real proof
that they regard Wolf as Himmler's representative,
we could seriously talk about the breakdown of the coalition.
If the Western allies agree to deal with Himmler,
I will need the recording of their conversation.
It can be handed to Goebbels.
And if it's used on the radio,
I cannot foretell
the development of the events in the Kremlin,
London and the White House.
And here, in Berlin?
It goes without saying and doesn't bother me.
Can you get such a recording?
First Wolf must assure us
that he is Himmler's envoy.
Why don't you think that he gave such assurance to Dulles?
I don't know. It's a supposition.
The enemy's propaganda is slighting the Reichsfuhrer.
They think he's a fiend.
They will probably evade the answer whom Wolf is representing.
The main thing that they will be interested in how strong he is
and whom he represents in terms of military power.
I want them to find out whom Wolf represents from Wolf himself.
From Wolf himself.
At least from you.
To carry out the operation,
I need to know and to understand the initial goal.
We can avoid it, if I work with a group of agents,
when everybody brings his piece of information,
with the exact picture taking shape out of that material.
In that case I shouldn't know the general goal.
I'd simply do my part of work.
Unfortunately, we don't have this opportunity.
Do you think Stalin will be glad to find out
that his Western allies are negotiating
with Himmler?
Not with a group of generals who want to capitulate,
or with that scoundrel Ribbentrop
who is totally demoralized,
but with a person
who'll be able to make from Germany a stronghold against Bolshevism.
I don't think Stalin will be glad to find out about it.
Stalin won't believe, if I tell to inform him about it.
What if the enemy of National Socialism will inform him about it?
Say, your pastor or someone else?
Should we choose a candidature with Mueller's help?
He can choose a worthy person and organize escape for him.
Mueller is always trying to make me a favor.
I know that he is in a difficult situation now.
He cannot make stakes as I do.
He's too conspicuous.
Besides, he's subordinate directly to Himmler.
If one understands all the difficulties,
you'll agree that no one will do this work better than him,
in case he feels that you're supporting him.
Yes. Yes. These are the details.
Now the main thing.
Your task is
not to hamper the negotiations but to help them.
Not to conceal the link of the Bern plotters to Himmler,
but to reveal it.
To reveal in order to compromise
Himmler in the Fuhrer's eyes,
Dulles in Stalin's eyes,
and Wolf in Himmler's eyes.
If I need some help,
whom should I contact?
Carry out all Schellenberg's orders. It's a guaranty of success.
Don't forget about embassies. It irritates them.
My party advisor will know about you.
What if I need some help...
against Schellenberg?
Only one person can render me such help. It's Mueller.
To what extent can I rely on him?
We'll think about it in due time.
03.17.1945 (05 hours 18 minutes)
This phone doesn't work.
- Where can I make a call? - At the neighborly station.
Do you desperately need to make a call?
- Yes. - Let's go then.
Extremely dangerous criminal.
Katherine Kien is wanted by the police.
All right.
I'll use only this channel.
As far as your last question is concerned,
I think that in a few days,
say, in 2-3 days
I'll give you the exact...
- Excuse me, Gruppenfuhrer. - It's all right.
This is Stirlitz.
This is me.
Yes.
I...
Yes, partaigenosse.
I'll be in no time.
Yes.
This is me.
Where shall we meet?
What's the best way to get there?
I'm in the subway, at the police station.
What?
I came here to call you.
Where is it?
It's Markischesmuseum.
All right.
There was no time to lose.
If his phone-talks were still overheard, Mueller would get the information
only in the morning. But it was hardly possible.
It was not in Mueller's interests.
He told too much to Stirlitz for him to be afraid of being controlled.
At the moment the most important thing was to save Kathe.
Now only Kathe.
All right. Understood.
Thanks.
Maybe you'll wait for me?
And Scholz will go and report to Himmler
that I was absent for more than three hours.
You didn't tell me that he was going to call you.
Didn't you hear? He wants to see me urgently.
Right after the appointment come to my office.
Do you think Scholz started working on the master?
I'm afraid it's so.
He's silly.
I've always kept silly and dependable secretaries.
But it's good only when you're winning.
But at the end of the fight everyone's trying to save himself.
A fool.
He thinks I want to die as a hero.
The Reichsfuhrer isn't any better. Even Scholz knows about
his searches for peace.
Some more coffee?
No, thank you.
03.17.1945 (06 hours 05 minutes)
Half an hour later Kathe with the kids was in Stirlitz' car.
For another half an hour he was driving around the city watching
if someone was pursuing him.
Listening to Kahe's story,
he was trying to guess whether her release was a part
of Mueller's devilish game,
or it was a case known to every intelligence man
and which could happen only once in a lifetime.
Katya, move to the back seat.
What happened?
Nothing happened. Everything's fine.
Everything's fine now.
Now we're winners, aren't we?
Be careful.
Just a moment, just a moment.
I'll take her from you.
Make the kids comfortable and try to get some sleep.
I won't turn off the heater. I'll lock you in here.
Where are you going?
No one will touch you in my car.
- Where are we going? - It's not too far away.
Try to fall asleep. You should have a good sleep.
Tomorrow there will be many worries.
What kind of worries?
Pleasant ones.
Stirlitz stopped the car one block away from Schellenberg's house.
<> repeated Stirlitz.
<<I wish he hadn't gone to Himmler, or to Gerhard.
I wish he were at home>>.
He had to convince Schellenberg
that he must go to Switzerland.
He had to get immediately all the necessary
papers.
Brigadefuhrer, Mueller knows about Wolf's mission in Switzerland.
Are you nuts?
It's impossible.
But how do I know about it?
By the way, how do you know about it?
Mueller offered me to work for him.
Why did he offer it to you?
I suppose his people spotted the pastor.
Sit down.
His people spotted the pastor.
It will save us. I must go to Bern.
I'll <> the pastor,
and after my signal you should recall Wolf.
Go to Bern. Immediately.
What about the documents? Shall I use the <>?
No, it's silly. You'll get into the hands of the Swiss police.
At the end of the fight he'll be licking the Russians' boots.
Go to our office and choose the most reliable document.
I'll make a call.
No. You'd better write it.
Have you got a pen?
You'd better use your pen.
I'm not awaken yet. That's the reason.
Stirlitz was driving to the border. He had two passports:
One was his own, the other - of his wife, Ingrid von Kirstein.
Frontier outpost.
Von Kirstein, please.
Will you help me, Ingrid?
Are you deaf?
Find out what's up.
Frontier-outpost.
Observation post.
Pain, my pain, leave me
At least for a while,
Like a blue-grey cloud,
Go to my home,
From here to my home.
My country, my sweet country,
Show yourself
in the distance.
I'd like to reach you
At least some day.
Very far away, very far away
It's raining during sunshine.
Right near the river in the garden
The cherries are ripe on the trees.
Somewhere far away in my memory,
It's warm, like in my childhood.
Though my memory is covered
With so many layers of snow.
Thunderstorm, appease my thirst
Until I'm drunk but not dead.
Now again, as if for the last time
I'm looking in the sky
As if seeking for an answer...
Pain, my pain, leave me
At least for a while!
Like a blue-grey cloud,
Go to my home,
From here to my home.
End of Part 11