January, 1945. World War II is in its sixth year.
In the west, the Wehrmacht's Ardennes offensive has failed.
In the east, the Red Army's decisive offensive began on January 1 2th.
Two weeks later, it will free the Auschwitz concentration camp.
American and British air power controls German airspace.
British bombers are now able to attack German cities at will.
And yet, there are still cities
almost untouched by the bombs.
And if the British air force
is going to drop 2000, 3000 or 4000 kg bombs
then we will reply in one night
with 150,000, 180,000, 230,000...
If they declare they're going to launch
a massive attack on our cities,
then we will annihilate their cities!
There are a lot of people
who say that bombing can never win a war.
Well, my answer to that
is that it has never been tried yet.
Germany, clinging more and more desperately
to her widespread conquests
and even seeking foolishly for more
will make a most interesting initial experiment.
- And the morphine? - It's finished.
- What? - All gone.
Pincers, forceps.
Shrapnel in lower abdomen.
Loss of blood.
Clean and disinfect.
- Air raid. - Scalpel.
- We have to move. - Then he'll die.
Americans. Everyone to the cellar.
Scissors, forceps.
- Dr. Wenninger? - Go on. I'm fine.
- What about him? - To the cellar.
Go.
- And you? - You can't operate alone.
- Go, Anna. - No!
Make sure he doesn't bite through his tongue.
You have to be strong. We don't have any morphine.
I know you can take it.
Hold him here.
Forceps.
Purse-string suture.
We did it!
Those damn Americans. This damn war!
I should take better care of you.
- When do you finish? - Eight. Why?
Later.
Sounds promising.
Alexander the Great. My hero.
See you later.
Dad?
Why the red crosses on the roof? They bomb hospitals anyway.
Surely a mistake. The bombs were meant for a refinery.
Freital or Ruhland. 20 minutes, my office.
Right away.
Are you alright?
The medicine is still not here.
We had to operate without morphine.
I know. I'm doing what I can.
- Good work by Alexander. - Yes.
Next time you go to the cellar.
I thought Dresden won't be bombed.
No more of my children shall die.
Please go and see how your mother and sister are doing.
Mom?
- Are you alright? - Look. She just dropped it.
I'm sorry, Ma'am.
- It's only porcelain. - Only porcelain?
- It was a Scheurich. - Heinz, come here.
- What time is it? - 1 2:30.
Did you sleep upstairs?
Yes.
...the Soviets reached the Neisse river near Görlitz.
I was helping refugees all night at the main station.
Dresden and Cottbus,
and a series of railways in the Rhineland
were bombed during the night.
- Bastards! - Turn that off, Eva.
Eva!
Mom, I have to get going.
- Can't you stay a while? - I'm on duty.
You should take care of yourself.
And you should do up your buttons.
What you would you do if there were no war?
I'd go away--
Italy.
Florence.
A little hotel on the Arno.
With a view of the Ponte Vecchio.
Don't!
The Uffizi and the cathedral during the day and at night...
The promenade!
They say no one whistles at girls
better than the Italians.
La bella bionda!
The four of us could go together.
Sorry, silly of me. How is it at home?
Well, we're alright. New horrors every night in the news.
- Did you ever think about... - ...divorcing him? Never.
You are very brave.
Cheers.
Alexander.
My conqueror.
- Let's dance. - American music?
Why don't we just hang a white flag out the window?
Can't we be happy for five minutes?
You know what happens if someone sees you?
- I am 24. - Stay how you are.
- Anna, I'll be off. - Stay a while.
No. Excuse me...
- Bye. - Bye. See you tomorrow.
Good night.
Darling, I...
I'll stop in later.
Look there!
He's dead.
- Chocolate! - A whistle!
Look!
Oh, a pistol!
- Give me that. - He speaks German!
You bastards bomb our women and children!
My wife burned in Hamburg.
No Swiss rules for her!
Another one!
Morning.
- Morning, Nurse Eva. New patients? - Yes. One moment.
- Here. - Thank you.
Morning, dear.
I brought breakfast.
So late?
Sorry. You were waiting last night.
I entertained myself.
Says He:
'I am the resurrection and the life.'
It's time you made your peace with God.
Rest in peace.
Remember how we met three years ago?
Sure. Your first day here. A fresh graduate.
- You examined me like I was a patient. - You said you couldn't breathe.
I said it was warm and we should open a window, not my blouse.
In any case, I think it's been long enough.
- Was that a proposal? - What?
You just proposed to me.
It sounded like a proposal.
Alexander,
conqueror of the Amazons, ruler of...
I... I want children.
- What about my degree? - Your father says it can wait.
- You discussed it with him? - Yes.
- Your parents are very excited. - Then it's all been decided.
No, of course not. The...
Shouldn't you kneel and recite a poem?
- A poem? - Yes.
In certain circles it is customary to court your maiden with poetry.
Like so...
- Kneel down. - No.
Yes, Alexander, please. Kneel down.
Now give me your hands.
Repeat...
-No. - 'And lo...
- And lo... - They shall live and multiply.
- And will not be bent by time.
And will not be bent by time.
- And they shall grow... - And they shall grow...
...like the fruit of the forest.
- ...like the fruit of the forest. - The earth mounded with sweetness.
The earth mounded with sweetness.
- Thus holy are... - Thus holy are...'
Pardon me. l...
Tell my father to wait. I am being proposed to.
I'll be right there. We're done here. Thank you, nurse.
They are not German, are they?
Jewish son of a bitch! All this is your fault!
'Jew-boy, Jew-boy, tell us quick,
how you pull your dirty tricks!
Jew-boy, Jew-boy, for your crimes,
You'll have to pay for sure this time.
Jew-boy...'
Wounded coming in, 15 or 20.
We don't have beds. What about the front hospital?
Maybe we are the front hospital.
What's going on with him? Oh, God, he's lost a lot of blood.
Take him inside, quick.
- Careful, please. - Thank you, nurse. I'll take over.
Dead. Dead.
- To the back. - Watch out.
Don't stand there.
- Anna, I'll be upfront. - I'm in surgery.
Good morning.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
- Good morning, Miss Anna. - Good morning.
I'm sorry, we're almost out of coffee.
- Carl? - What?
Yes, I'll take care of it.
My God, less and less personnel, more and more patients
and barely any medicine.
What about the morphine?
Yes, I've already complained about it. Hopefully, tomorrow.
Sit down. It's not good for your stomach.
I'm about to leave for work.
Morning.
Maybe Eva could use her connections.
Connections?
I know an adjutant--
Gauleiter's.
- Really? - You could ask him.
Perhaps we will need him for something else.
Could someone please fill me in?
What?
All right, he proposed.
I'm so happy for you.
Come here, my child.
I love you.
What do you think about announcing your engagement
on our wedding anniversary. And before that, we'll go shopping.
- Magda, we don't have money. - On your next day off, I promise.
Lucky you.
Let me guess: otherwise you would have taken him?
I have to go.
See you later.
Maria!
- Anna... - See you.
I told you not to.
NURSES' QUARTERS
You!
Where are you going?
Do you know how little time we have?
Yes. Breslau... I know.
Wait.
Daddy?
My heart of gold!
How was your day?
'Two Jews are to be executed. Just before, they hear
that they won't be shot, but hanged instead.
'You see?,' says one, 'Not even bullets they have now!'
The four-week rations have to last four and a half now.
'What's the difference between India and Germany?
In India, one man starves for his people.
In Germany, the people starve for one man.'
From your girlfriend again?
You know what?
We should be happy to have this ham.
- Morning. - Morning.
Tell her!
Eva talked with the Gauleiter's adjutant.
Really?
- Good morning. - Morning.
- Tell Alexander to come to my office. - He promised Eva
that your engagement party will be sumptuous.
- Carl... - Strength through joy?
Triumph of the will.
- I hope it wasn't a sacrifice for you. - One must think of others.
How did he manage not to be sent to the front?
I know who that's for.
- Maria should have divorced long ago. - Anna, where are you going?
Don't say you forgot. It's your day off today.
- I just-- - You promised.
Yes.
- May I? - Yes.
Careful.
A Meissner service at that price!
Marvelous! My husband will be thrilled.
I COMMITTED RACE CRIMES WITH A GERMAN WOMAN
Don't look!
Do you love him?
Yes.
- I just want you to be happy. - I know.
Finally we are getting to know his parents.
- Is the food not all right, Miss Mauth? - Oh no, of course it is.
We don't have to pay with food stamps here.
You can't tell that they're not real raisins, can you?
- Eva. - The station is a madhouse.
What they say about the Russians!
Beasts!
They've reached Breslau now.
The English bombed Mönchengladbach, Karlsruhe and Wiesbaden.
My sister found a leaflet:
'We'll bomb you and your cities,
each one worse than the last.'
- You see who the terrorists are. - You get so worried.
They say we'll win,
but with all the 'realignments' what can one think?
You know what the Gauleiter does to defeatists?
I was only saying...
People are working night and day for Germany's victory.
Of course.
- Must you? - She wouldn't stop.
The cinemas are closing tomorrow. I got tickets for today.
'The Great Love.'
Wonderful. A bit of distraction.
- Mother, I really have to... - No. Today is our day together.
Come on.
Don't you have to work?
Help win the war?
We'll win it two hours later.
From the invasion front:
The south coast of England seen through a telephoto lens.
This is the V1 in action!
The German surprise weapon, Germany's answer
to Anglo-American terror bombing.
The V1 begins its dive.
The V1's storm sweeps over southern England.
Wait till the new weapon is ready!
London and the south
are under constant attack by the V1s.
American newsreel images
show the effects of German revenge.
According to foreign sources, London is covered
by the highest concentration of flak ever seen...
It's not the end of the world!
Even if it's sometimes gray,
Things will be brighter,
It will be blue again!
Through all the ups and downs,
Even when it hurts our heads,
It's not the end of the world...
Hello?
Every night I pray to God to destroy this place.
What?
I said, 'Every night I pray to God to destroy this place.'
Simon Goldberg, how can you talk such nonsense?
Eisenmann said the British threatened to get serious
- if Germany won't capitulate. - We've held out so long.
1 2 years. We can't give up so close to the end.
- A couple of weeks... - They'll kill us all before then.
That's what makes us Germans great, our thoroughness.
After a half a million, they'll manage the last 200 Jews too.
When you're neck deep, don't hang your head.
Nothing will happen to you as long as I don't divorce you.
You could have.
Now you tell me, when the Aryans are losing.
Yes?
Everything alright?
Yes.
Daddy, we have to talk.
I was remembering when you learned to walk.
Here, with this funny little
proud face.
And now my daughter is grown up.
He would have made a good doctor.
A good doctor protects life
and doesn't sacrifice his own by volunteering for the front.
I know what you did, Anna.
You put off medical school for me
because I needed nurses. That wasn't easy for you.
I have to tell you...
The day will come
when you'll hate me.
Why? Why would I ever hate you?
Anna, we have to think of ourselves now.
- I love you, my child. - I love you too.
- So what did you want to say? - Nothing.
Don't you think Mom has been taking a few too many pills?
She can take a whole box of those.
Every day.
Yes.
See you tomorrow.
You're very strong.
You were lucky.
It went through.
A centimeter to the right and it would've hit your liver.
You'd have died.
Listen, I...
I don't know who you are or why you're here.
I don't want to know.
But I can't help you anymore.
You must leave.
Thanks.
So...
Good luck.
And when someone asks for help?
Do you know what Solomon said?
'Withhold... Withhold not good from them to whom it is due.'
Yes, but he continues:
'When it is in your power to act.'
But how can you go on living when you don't help?
- Everything okay? - Yes.
Where were you? I was looking for you all morning.
I was checking on a patient.
I was worried about my future fiancée.
Did you speak with your parents? Are they coming?
They don't know yet If they'll make it.
So what?
Your dad will need a little longer for his portraits.
What do you think? Should I come by tonight?
I'm a bit tired.
Okay.
I love you.
Hurry!
One checks here... one here.
Identity check. Show me your papers.
Your pass, please.
Can I help you?
- We're looking for a spy. - A spy?
- Where's this go? - The basement, but no one's there.
- Should I show you? - Please.
Have a look around.
Hello?
Is anyone here?
- What are you doing down here? - Professor Mauth.
I am the hospital's director.
- We're looking for a spy hiding here. - A spy?
They gather information and pass it on to the enemy.
- What kind of information? - You'd better leave that up to us.
- How dare you? Stand to attention. - If I may, sir, we are not
under your jurisdiction.
- What? - The Gauleiter has ordered...
I know his orders.
I am his personal adjutant. So,
- any spies here? - Perhaps there are...
No, of course not, sir.
Very good.
Well then...
Dismissed.
- Daddy, what... - Take the gentlemen upstairs.
- ... shoot that arrogant asshole. - Yes.
- Come on. - Out of the way.
Buddy.
Can you hold my hand, buddy?
Not long now.
I am the last... All the others already...
It's not enough. My customers want twice as much.
Here we have Wilhelm... he has a cut to the throat.
Cool it down.
Disinfect. I'll stitch him up.
Holler, Kurt. Suspected fracture...
Get him ready.
Richter, Gotthold. Projectile wound in thorax.
Pneumothorax. Sit him up and drain him.
What's this? Prepare him.
We could also...
Wipe up the blood. Let's see...
Clean and disinfect the wound.
Anything else?
Yes. Mayer, Hans. Shot to the head.
What's this?
A stomach wound.
My fault. I must have mixed them up.
- Are you Hans Mayer? - Trauma.
Disinfect and bandage it. Any more new ones?
No.
Do you want to talk?
Better not.
Where'd you get hit, buddy?
What can a soldier dream of?
He dreams of a girl,
Kissing her under the forest trees,
During a tender rendezvous.
He loves her so,
No matter how far away,
He only thinks of her.
What can a soldier dream of?
He dreams of their reunion
Under the silent forest trees,
Where the lovers go...
My type.
Carl.
Oh, thank God.
About time.
PROPERTY VALUATION
What's that?
Our future. In Basel.
That was the second payment.
Here. For our new clinic.
Actually, your new clinic later.
We'll send the women ahead
and join them when they're safe in Switzerland.
- Without morphine the patients-- - I know.
- I am a doctor. - Just like me.
And a father and husband.
You too, soon.
I can't.
You say you can't?
But when I saved you from enlistment
you didn't have a problem.
Don't tell the women.
Especially not Anna.
Shot in the stomach.
Emergency surgery, theatre 3.
- What is it? - His stomach lining is torn.
Alexander, we can at least try.
We can't leave him to die.
He's dying. We hardly have... It's a waste of medicine.
- If you won't, I will. - What?
You're a nurse. I'm the doctor.
Never criticize me in front of the other nurses.
You are so cold.
Cold? Thousands are dying here.
You can't cry over every single one.
- What's with my brother? - What?
- What's with my brother? - Shot in the stomach?
- Is he better? - Sorry. He didn't make it.
Oh, God.
Hey.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
An engine-driver?
Fireman?
- When I was your age I wanted... - Circus.
In the circus.
You know who is the best juggler in the world?
Enrico Rastelli.
Guess how many balls he can juggle.
Five.
Again.
Seven?
Ten.
No one's ever been able to juggle ten balls since him.
How do you know him?
I met him once.
Did you know I'm a magician?
See?
You didn't know.
Here's another one.
We were playing. I didn't know it was...
- Will they shoot me like... - Whom?
Like the man who said we'll lose the war?
No.
You won't die.
And now?
Are you hungry?
Wait here for me.
That's why.
That's why you wouldn't speak.
You're English.
A spy.
If I'd known, I'd have handed you in.
You still can.
Hey, here you are.
What are you doing here?
- What is he doing here? - I was...
bandaging him.
Be careful.
- Is something wrong? - No.
- And you? - No, me neither.
We will work our hands to the bone
and fight to the last breath
before allowing the enemy
to occupy Germany
and force his will upon us.
They shot us.
First Claus, then me.
- They shot us. - I see. Have a seat. I'll make tea.
They shot us.
Sit right here. Call Dr. Wenninger.
- It isn't wrong to love someone. - No, it isn't.
- They shot us. - A doctor is coming. Stay calm.
- I don't want to go back. - You don't have to. Don't be afraid.
- Hide me. - We'll take it from here.
- Let's go. - Stop it.
She is wounded. She needs help.
What did she do?
She hid her husband, a deserter.
- But a loyal German reported them. - She stays here.
My father, Dr. Mauth, is the director.
Wait until I get him.
Leave that woman here. This is a hospital.
- For helping a deserter you get... - I don't care.
Halt.
Dr. Wenninger. Assistant director. I need her for an operation.
We have soldiers from the front.
Surely you want us to help them?
The Führer needs every soldier.
You can get in big trouble very quickly these days, nurse.
Alexander, that woman-- they'll shoot her.
Rules are rules.
Don't turn around.
You're trying to get out!
You don't talk much, do you?
I understand.
What would Berlin be if it were a piece of art?
An etching by Churchill
based on an idea by Hitler.
I don't like it.
Maybe like this?
Do you like it?
Anna. It's your engagement.
Yes.
Will you finish it by tomorrow?
Also, take the seams in a little.
Stop. Identification.
I don't even know your name.
Kiss me.
- Did it work? - What?
The soldiers. You don't have papers.
If they check, they'll think you're a deserter.
- You there! - Come on.
- Stop. - Let's go.
Stop right there!
Come on!
What can I do for you?
We're looking for a lieutenant and a woman.
- I'm alone here. - Are you sure?
I've been here a while. I would have seen them.
This is a house of God.
I'm sorry, I have to play the organ.
- Would you like to listen? - We're on duty.
We are all on duty these days.
Yesterday...
I was just--
I don't remember anymore.
See there?
That's the Zwinger.
And there is Hofkirche.
And down there is the Johanneum.
And there--
that's our Circus Sarrasani.
Are you going to tell me your name now?
You must forget me.
You will be engaged tomorrow.
Yes.
No. No.
Anna, I have to tell you something.
I'll call it off. I'll call it off. We'll go somewhere--
I am a British bomber pilot.
What? You're not a spy?
No.