I was born on April 20, 1925, in Peine,
Germany, Europe,
fourth and youngest child of Azriel Perel,
the owner of a shoe store, and his wife Rebecca.
I was born on April 20, 1925, in Peine, Germany, Europe...
You won't believe it,
but I remember my circumcision.
"My God, God of our forefathers."
"Let this child live,"
"this child..."
Solomon.
Solomon, son of Azriel.
I remember my birthday fell on the same day as that
of the future Chancellor or the 3,000 Year Reich, Adolf Hitler.
Father could shave his beard.
Not now, he wouldn't.
Come on, catch me!
Solly!
Hurry up!
What are you doing?
Come out! Is it your Bar Mitzvah or mine?
You must cut wood.
Right away.
Bertha was jealous of me. She wanted to be the boy.
Had I known, I'd have leaped out of the tub...
Can't we close up?
In a half-hour.
Kathi!
What are you doing here?
And you?
I was bringing beer. They broke all your windows?
Get some clothing from my house.
My father forbids me going to your house.
Wait!
Here you are.
Isaac was looking for you.
My father was from Lodz,
so we moved there.
He got us Polish passports; from now on, we were Poles.
I knew the Germans had killed Bertha,
but I didn't want to go to Lodz.
Police!
We lived over a cinema, The cashier, Miss Basia,
made me her pet,
and let me in for nothing.
I wanted to be an actor, like Clark Gable or Eugeniusz Bodo.
I wondered if her hump was flesh and blood.
At first I was happy about the war.
The police would forget the bicycle incident
and father wouldn't get angry.
Don't open!
Please, don't open!
David!
You deserted?
I never even found my unit.
It's incredible. I wasn't even given a rifle.
They said there aren't enough to be giving them to Jews.
The Germans will win.
In a day or two, they'll be here.
All of this is your fault!
You said we were safe here, that they won't make war.
Yes, it is my fault.
The boys must leave. Solly mustn't fall into their hands.
Where will they go?
Towards the East.
As far as possible toward the East.
They might ask us.
It is written
that a son never leaves his parents in difficult times.
It is also written
that the son must obey his parents.
And your duty is to watch over your brother.
And you?
Couldn't we all...?
Nothing will happen to us.
Stop it!
They can't carry all these jars.
Come, we'll be back soon.
Isaac, my feet hurt!
Come on, Solek. It's war!
Solek!
Wait for me!
Wait for me on the other side.
Don't be afraid!
Where are you going? The Bolsheviks are there!
The Russian army!
They invaded from the other side.
They made a deal! Hitler has sided with Stalin
and gave him the East! There is no more Poland!
It's the Soviet occupation.
Wait! I'm coming back with you!
The Poles preferred Hitler and wanted to turn back.
The Jews swam towards the Bolsheviks.
As for me...
Help!
Take it easy!
I was saved by a Russian soldier.
The next day, seated on the bank, I waited for my brother Isaac.
But he never came.
The soldiers took me to the Grodno orphanage, where I stayed two years,
with other Jews, Poles, and Russians.
They turned me into a Soviet patriot and a good Communist.
Young pioneers,
for the struggle in the name of Lenin and Stalin.
Be ready!
Always ready!
Long live comrade Stalin!
Long live
the Republic of the Soviets!
From your father?
Yes, he's prisoner of the Russians.
Solomon Perel!
Thanks to the Hitler-Stalin pact, I received letters.
My father wrote;
"Dear son, we are happy to know"
"that you are well and are studying."
"All is well here. We now live in the ghetto,"
"as do all the Jews."
"Don't worry about us."
"Thinking of you gives us courage."
"Are you eating Kosher? Never forget who you are!"
"Do you observe Shabbat? Greetings to your teachers."
"Your mother sends her love. -- Your father."
"P.S. Our address:"
"Knupfergasse 7."
Your origins?
You left them out.
Jewish.
Idiot!
We know that.
We want your class origins.
You didn't indicate your class origins!
He doesn't understand.
My father had a store.
Bourgeois.
Solly's making an effort... He's doing a lot of social work.
I'll prove I'm a worthy Komsomol.
Accepted into the Komsomol? Where's the badge?
There are no more.
Stalinist puppet!
Know what would happen if I reported that?
Bastards!
The landowners and the bourgeois keep the people in ignorance,
encourage religious superstitions,
and with the aid of popes, priests and rabbis
smother all revolutionary instinct.
Which is why we call religion the opium of the masses.
It's not true!
That God doesn't exist!
He exists!
And where is he?
He exists, that's all.
In heaven.
Does anyone else share this opinion?
You're alone in your beliefs.
Filthy Poles!...
What is it?
A conspiracy?
This discussion is pointless.
Science has proven...
Dirty Jew! You're the ones
who crucified Jesus!
You're an obscurantist and a racist!
Polish fascist!
Lords!
Aristocrats!
Do you know what Lenin said about antisemitism?
That it's a crime as bad as counter-revolution!
My brother was killed
by the Germans!
When I go back to Poland...
Hell...
will freeze over first.
Poland
no longer exists.
That's a lie!
All right.
Let's try a little experiment.
You all know how to pray, don't you? Then pray:
Lord, as a sign of Your existence,
send us candies from heaven.
What are you waiting for? Go on!
Lord,
send us candies from heaven.
Louder! I heard nothing, and your God is way up in heaven!
Now, repeat after me:
Beloved comrade Stalin, send us candies!
War!
Hitler has attacked!
You're crazy! Dirty slut!
I'm requisitioning the truck!
Climb in, boys, quick!
This is sabotage!
You are sabotaging the orders of the Soviet leaders!
Your leaders
have flown the coop!
Do what you want!
On your feet!
Hands up!
Jews step forward! You don't understand?
Jews, out front! Get a move on!
Faster! Move it!
Papers!
No! Armenian!
I am Armenian!
I'm not a Jew! Check it, please!
Good idea!
We'll check it.
Armenian?
And what is that? Wanted to bugger us with your cock?
What'll they do to us?
They'll shoot Jews and political prisoners.
I know, I was already captured. The camps for the others.
It's shameful to spread panic!
Destroy your papers!
I'd rather die
than renounce the Party.
Die then,
for the homeland,
for Stalin!
Let's see those.
Hands behind heads!
Papers!
Quick!
Where are you taking me?
They were stolen.
You speak German well.
I am German.
What are you doing here?
Maybe he's a Jew?
I am German... a pure-bred German.
A German from Grodno.
From a Bolshevik orphanage.
I can smell Jews.
I'm a German from Grodno.
The Bolsheviks put me there.
Schulz! Carry on! I'll take him to the sergeant.
Amazing to find a diamond among such filth.
Who's asking you?
You made your report, move on! Nothing to do?
You're not in a Jewish School!
Name?
Peters. Josef Peters.
Stop, idiot! Your parents are German?
We say jawohl!
Where are your parents?
But he came from an orphanage.
Bolsheviks would have killed them.
Don't cry, son.
They'll pay for this.
Enough!
Your papers, my boy!
You can do nothing without papers.
You an idiot?
He's not a Jew!
Send the kid!
Josef, Good Heavens!
Your name is Josef?
Go on!
You speak Russian.
I ordered Jews out of line.
This one's playing dumb.
Captain, I know Russian.
Tell them he's not a Jew, and if they touch him,
they'll pay for it.
He's not a Jew. And if you touch him, you'll regret it.
Watch it, Russian trash!
Take this Jew away!
Both of them!
I said he wasn't a Jew! He's the son of Stalin.
What's the matter? Translate!
He said that...
that he's the son of Stalin.
What does it say?
"Dzhugashvili Yakov..."
"son of Yosef..."
Stay here!
Don't move! You, move along!
Faster!
Where did you learn Russian?
In school. In Grodno.
I was a Komsomol...
Now you obey these Fascist pigs?
What did he want?
I didn't understand, it's dialect...
He'd better watch where he spits.
He can get a bullet for insulting a German.
I've orders to drive them to the headquarters.
Come on, kid! You're our good luck charm!
You witnessed the Reich's victory. The son of Stalin!
You know what that means?
Smile!
He speaks perfect Russian.
He'll be useful.
You must be hungry.
Perel!
He's a Jew!
What does he want?
He says there's a Jew here.
Where?
He says I'm the Jew.
Who is a Jew?!
He says it's me.
You know him?
So what does he want from you?
I don't know.
Ask him.
Why, Zenek? Why do that?
What? Aren't you a Jew?
And me a Polish fascist?
Isn't that so?
A fine answer!
Stop!
Still alive, Jupp?
The Captain wants to see you.
Let him speak first, answer only yes or no.
Stand at attention- he insists on that. Don't turn around
when he paces.
And not a word
about the Communist school. He hates them like the plague.
Watch it, you can't fool him. One look and he knows everything!
Peters, to the company commander!
I'll be damned!
Age?
16.
My men are fond of you.
Who was your father?
My father...
my father was a shopkeeper.
And... you're all alone? No relatives?
Would you stay as our interpreter?
I want to serve our German homeland.
You'll have plenty of chances.
Know who we're fighting this war against?
Against Russia?
Against France? Against England?
No, my boy. Against the Jews.
It's our Jewish war, our holy war.
There's no more lebensraum. We must free Europe of Jews and Bolsheviks.
Understand?
You can be proud
to take part in this holy war.
What'll we do with them? Kill them?
Who?
The Jews.
We'll see.
They'll be expelled. To Madagascar or Siberia.
Don't worry.
The Führer will find a solution.
Don't look.
No, let him look!
Look, Jupp!
These swine
killed your German parents!
They took your house! See how they pay.
Look at the animals! You must learn to hate!
I felt then how lost I was.
Who was my friend, my enemy? Why be kind to me
and at the same time
kill so horribly?
What set us apart?
A simple foreskin?
"I feel German pride"
"in spilling my blood for Führer and homeland."
"German pride"?
Sounds a bit flat, no?
Be lyrical or patriotic. From your description of her, the latter.
You can add-- What'd you call her?
How I call her?
Yes, when you're alone with her.
"My little Pussy."
OK, go on writing:
"For you, my little Pussy,"
"I'd like to..."
"A shudder passes through me."
"The stern heart softens."
"And I weep..."
"And all I have, stands off afar."
"And all I lost is real."
"My guiding star."
That's way over her head.
Not tired?
Not yet, and you?
I'm taking the watch.
The stars...
The same as in Germany,
but farther away.
I was never there.
That's true.
You'll make it. Not me.
Why?
I'm joking. We'll go together.
We'll go to Berlin.
What did you do
before being a soldier?
"Philosophy have I digested."
"The whole of Law and Medicine. Theology, alas, thrown in."
"From each its secrets I have wrested."
"Poor fool, with all this sweated lore. I stand no wiser than before."
Know it?
Sure.
I'm an actor.
A real one?
Obviously.
And in movies too?
Is it hard playing somebody else?
Easier than being yourself.
Jupp, wait!
I won't do anything!
Wait!
Don't run!
You're circumcised.
You're a Jew?
My God...
No, get up.
Don't be afraid.
Forgive me.
Forgive me, I couldn't have known.
Everything will be fine.
I'll be a like a friend, like a brother.
There now, calm down...
Don't cry. Don't be afraid.
The Germans aren't all the same. There are other Germans too.
During the holidays you lived
a week in the huts?
Jews don't have houses?
It symbolizes submission to God.
It's proof
of our faith in providence.
Bertha loved this holiday.
I hated Pessach.
Had to eat eggs dipped in salt water.
It made me nauseous.
I wanted to know...
Do you still pray, as at home?
Religion is the opium of the masses.
Could I play a Jew?
You look too stupid.
Racist!
The Russians are still on the other side.
We just flushed them out of here.
Jupp, over here, fast!
Take the phone.
They didn't cut it!
You understand?
Says he screwed her three times, and the fourth...
And then?
The other asks where she is.
So, where is she?
In Brunsk. Says the Germans are there.
Cut the line.
Russian shit! My shoes!
He's aiming at a German cycle
with two soldiers, he's going
to burn their ass.
Stay there, I'm coming!
My helmet...
You see, you kissed me after all...
Retreat to the forest!
And so I lost my only friend... "the other Germany,"
He left my life like Kathi, the hunchback Basia, Inna Moyseyevna,
my father and mother, Bertha and Isaac -
all those I'd loved.
I won't go on. I can't go on.
I want to be myself, to be among my own kind.
Comrade! Can you hear me?
Who is it?
Help me! I said I was a pure-bred German,
but I'm from the Grodno Komsomol.
I'm a Jew... They'll kill me if they find out.
Where are you?
The trench by the bridge, beneath your fire.
We forgot the line! Been listening long?
You killed them all.
Ullmayer, the sergeant... Robert...
Good work!
Hey, Komsomol, can you hear me?
At nightfall we stop our attack.
Get over to the river and across the bridge.
There are seven of us on a hill here.
Take a rifle. Have one?
Hold it up so we recognize you. We'll keep you covered.
And cut the line! Right now!
Jupp! Son, you took the enemy position!
And instead of deserting
I became the hero of the company.
Captain, I'd rather stay here with my comrades...
You've shown enough courage.
Now you must go to school, study.
And at last see the Reich.
It's an excellent school. You should be proud to go there.
When the war is over...
If you want to...
I wrote to my wife... we have no children...
We want to adopt you.
We have land in Pomerania, you'll like it. At ease!
For my wife.
A special Party envoy came out from the Reich
to bring the hero of the Reich, future son of Captain von Lereneau,
aristocrat and staunch antisemite, to the most elite Hitler Youth school.
Good luck, Jupp! Greetings to the Reich! Write to us!
I won't offer you one. A guy from the Hitler Youth doesn't smoke or drink.
Does it bother you?
What else doesn't he do?
I guess as a war hero you are entitled to act like a man from time to time.
Like a German man.
Like a real German soldier!
Puff on mine, if you like.
How handsome you are.
Do you know?
My pure, little golden boy.
Papers.
The young man's temporary papers.
Born April 20...
Lights out, please.
You were born the same day as the Führer.
You are dark-haired like him.
My darling...
so soft and tender...
to touch him with my hand...
his hair, his lips...
My Führer!
Assembly!
Attention!
We welcome the German of pure breed,
Josef Peters,
freed by our troops from a Bolshevik orphanage.
Interpreter and soldier,
he heroically served the homeland.
We proudly welcome him into our ranks.
Are you ready to swear allegiance to our Führer Adolf Hitler?
I am ready.
I swear before God
by this solemn oath
to give the Führer
of the Reich and the German people,
Adolf Hitler,
Commander-in-Chief of the Hitler Youth,
total obedience
and, in case of danger,
to be ready
to give my life.
You can lower your arm.
Our new comrade will see
that the Führer has created a community
where all Germans are brothers,
the world's strongest community.
We salute him with a triple-
♪ Sharpen
♪ the long knives
♪ on the pavement stone!
♪ Sink the knives
♪ into Jewish flesh and bone
♪ Let their blood flow freely...
Don't know it?
Didn't sing it at the Eastern front?
No.
We'll teach you... You'll learn everything here.
Schwarz!
Look after Peters!
He's your room-mate. Get him a uniform and show him around.
Nice to meet you.
My pleasure.
It would be harder than at the Front.
My cover could be blown at any moment, and then...
"Sink the knives into Jewish flesh and bone"...
My flesh...
For you.
Be seated!
You're the new hero?
What's your name?
Jupp. You?
Leni.
It's enough to be from the Front...
She's the hottest bride in here, but unapproachable.
Isn't he cute?
We pray before meals?
Eat correctly, with knife and fork.
The knife in the right hand,
the fork in the left.
No noises when drinking, no crumbs.
Respect our German bread.
Enjoy the meal.
Attention, Goethke!
How do you recognize
a Jew?
Be seated.
Quite simple.
The composition of Jewish blood is radically different from our own.
The Jew has a high forehead,
a hooked nose,
flat back of the head,
ears that stick out,
and has an ape-like walk.
His eyes are shifty
and cunning.
He never looks you in the eye.
He waves his hands,
makes wild gestures.
He fawns before you.
But the minute you're distracted,
he leaps at your throat!
The Nordic man
is the gem of this earth,
the most glowing example
of the joy of creation.
He is not only the most gifted,
but the most beautiful.
His hair is clear like ripened wheat,
his eyes are blue like the summer sky,
his movements are harmonious,
his body is perfect.
Call me a gem.
Science
is objective,
incorruptible.
As I have said:
understand racial differences thoroughly
and no Jew will ever deceive you.
Step up.
The eyes...
Study his skull,
his forehead...
his profile.
Through generations, his ancestors blood
mingled with that of other races,
but one can still recognize his distinct Aryan traits.
From this mixture
came the East-Baltic race.
You don't belong to the most noble race of the German people,
but you are an authentic Aryan.
A special bulletin!
The heroic battle of Stalingrad is over.
True to its dying breath,
to its oath, the 6th Army, under the outstanding leadership
of Field Marshal Paulus, fell due to
the superior numbers of the enemy. Generals, officers,
and simple soldiers fought side by side
until the last bullet.
The army's sacrifice was not in vain.
Our soldiers died so that Germany may live.
How do you whistle?
Like this.
Like that?
You don't know the Reich, you don't understand.
We have complete liberty here. Our school, for example.
My father is a teacher, Han's is a mason.
And Hermann's is a baron.
There is no difference among us, we have the same chances.
Understand?
We are brothers, true brothers.
I'd like to eat all of it.
But they're out of plaster.
You have no imagination. And I have too much of it.
I can't stand to see it.
Are you still there?
I can't see you.
I'm going. See you tomorrow.
Leni's sweater gave me the idea of pulling my skin down
and attaching in with a thread.
If it stayed in place, I'd never be recognized,
and could live like them.
Come in.
My mother. Jupp...
Let's sit down.
For you.
I couldn't accept such a lovely gift.
I have enough.
The captain's wife sent me a package...
we have land...
They want to adopt him!
Fine, we'll eat it together.
Papa...
died in battle...
Sit down then.
I was told you have no parents?
- Are they-- ? - I don't know where they are.
Didn't the Bolsheviks kill them?
Gerd told me...
Yes, they were taken prisoners,
and then they got run over by a truck.
Anyway, that's the official version.
Nice picture.
Really? It's me.
My cousin was a painter.
He even met the Führer, in Vienna!
Leni resembles me.
Her father was dark-haired, like you.
Lord,
forget not those who suffer and are hungry.
Comfort the lonely,
and give your blessing
to the orphans. Amen.
Eat, Jupp.
Your tears are salting the ham.
It's nothing.
It's been so long since I've been
in a real home.
Hurt?
No, it's nothing.
Lucky you. Tomorrow's the annual medical visit.
Leave me alone!
Medical visit?
The queer felt my balls again.
We have to undress?
Of course.
My tooth!
What's wrong?
My tooth, it hurts so bad. I can't talk...
I need to go to the dentist!
Strange, it looks perfectly healthy.
The threading of the skin didn't work.
Pus formed under the thread, and the skin slipped back.
I couldn't flee my own body. I still had to hide.
No possible intimacy. I couldn't love Leni.
You pricked me!
The golden insignia! I didn't know!
If you like, we can...
I want to, Jupp, understand? I really want to...
You're much too young.
You're stupid...
I must go home.
I'll walk you.
If you like.
You're really crazy.
Catch me!
I didn't know there was a Jewish cemetery here.
If I ever catch a Jew...
What then?
I'll cut his throat.
Because he's a Jew.
Captain von Lerenau...
Hitler says we needn't kill them. We'll send them to Madagascar.
Lice are for crushing!
The Führer said...
The Führer didn't lose a father in the war against this vermin.
You hit me...
to defend Jews!
Forgive me.
Nobody hits a German woman!
Nobody! Ever!
Especially a limp dick like you!
Bertha!
Father!
Mamma...
I'm back.
Isaac?
You have to hide yourself. They're coming!
He's Jewish too. That's why he keeps his hands in front...
Look for us in the Lodz ghetto, Knupfergasse 7!
Don't give me away!
What happened?
You screamed. You had a bad dream.
What did I scream?
I didn't understand... Russian...
I won't visit the Captain's wife.
I'll go to Lodz... to Litzmannstadt...
Why Litzmannstadt?
Lots of pure-breed Germans there.
I may find somebody
from my family.
To reach the other side
you must cross the ghetto by tram.
Tram stop's over there.
Off limits, even to Germans.
Sit down, you're in the way.
Mother...
Opening the windows is not allowed.
I wanted some fresh air.
Fresh air?
In the ghetto?
Had it been my mother?
I crossed the ghetto often, but never saw her again.
Good! Next, forward!
You have to do better than that!
Fine, again!
Bad, Peters!
Try again!
Next, forward!
Is Leni at home?
She's rarely here. She's making packages for the Front.
Excuse me, I'll be going.
No. Come in.
Sit down. I'm nearly finished.
May I help?
Thanks, I've finished.
In case you hadn't heard... Leni is pregnant.
She read that each German woman must offer a child to the Führer,
and thought it was her duty.
She's been avoiding me lately.
It's been hard.
Leni is fond of you, Jupp.
Obviously.
Goethke...
Goethke, your teacher, said the father must be a Nordic type.
My husband's family has many Italians,
and Leni was afraid the child wouldn't be racially pure enough
to be accepted by the Lebensborn association.
She's giving it away?
She's offering it to the Führer.
And you're letting her?
What can I do?
I no longer understand my daughter.
I love Leni.
So do I.
I have only her.
So do I.
I thought so, at least.
It's Gerd, isn't it?
Leni said you wouldn't go past a certain limit.
I said it was a sign of respect...
but maybe...
You think I didn't want to?
I'm not made of stone. I have feelings too!
Tell me.
Are you really German?
I'm a Jew.
I knew it. From the beginning.
I swear I won't betray you.
I had to tell someone.
I couldn't stand it anymore...
Don't tell Leni.
Children today
are so different...
Scum! Get up! You call yourself a friend?
What's the matter?
I didn't want to!
Where were you?
Bring your papers to the police.
Some detail to be cleared up.
I'll walk you. If we're fast, we can arrive before class.
Name?
Which Peters?
My parents came to Grodno from Latvia.
I knew a Peters,
but from Danzig.
So many papers are missing there...
Serviceman...
Certificate of German Purity?!
It's still in Grodno...
We must request it
to avoid problems.
If the Russians take Grodno, you're in for it.
So maybe...
Our General Staff has a brilliant plan:
To fake a retreat on all fronts...
and then, when all seems lost,
the Führer gives the signal...
and with our miracle weapon, we annihilate the enemy!
I saw the Führer only last week.
He is confident in our victory.
I'll write today to Grodno.
After the victory, we will need 10,000 trained young men,
and you are one of them!
Only a miracle could save me now.
1945 THE RUSSIANS INVADE BERLIN
They'll kill us all!
The Americans take prisoners,
the Russians execute!
For the Führer!
What's gotten into you, Jupp! Shoot, dammit!
He's been hit!
They'll get it! Shoot, Jupp!
Jupp, shoot!
We're surrounded!
Where are you going?
You're mad!
Stop!
I'm on your side!
Where did you learn Russian?
At school, in Grodno... I was a Komsomol.
Traitor! Spy!
I can explain. I was hiding... I'm a Jew!
A Jew?
If you were a Jew, you'd look like this.
Look.
Look!
Corpses, heads... These children, see them?
And this! Look at these heads!
Hung, shot...!
I didn't know.
I thought... Madagascar...
I didn't know.
One more who didn't know.
Give me that, Arkady.
Let's go.
He's yours. Do what you want.
Shoot him like a dog.
Solek!
My parents and their neighbors were killed
two weeks after my leave in Lodz.
Isaac remained for the liquidation of the ghetto,
then was placed in a concentration camp.
While I was shouting Adolf Hitler
and courting Leni
my family was already dead.
We're going over to the Americans.
I'll try to get you clothes from the camp.
It won't be hard.
Understand?
But don't ever talk about what happened.
Nobody will believe you.
Lift your head.
A new life is beginning!
Help me.
From that moment on I decided to be only a Jew.
I left Europe and emigrated to Palestine.
And when I had sons, I didn't hesitate to circumcise them.
♪ How sweet it is to sit
♪ Surrounded by your brothers...
♪ How sweet it is to sit
♪ Surrounded by your brothers...