That's nice.
I got him!
- Good!
Berlin has always been one of Europe's
most important cities ... a center.
And right here in these rooms you're in
the center of the center, so to speak.
Government buildings are so close, you
might meet the Chancellor for breakfast.
The radiance of the next millennium
streams through these very windows.
This way, please.
The wallpaper will be removed,
and the walls will be plastered.
Rudi, take your hands off that!
Rudi, where are you?
The photos and the chair are mine.
You can burn the rest.
You've got all my things?
- Yes, don't worry, Mrs. Wust.
I'll be with you in a sec.
There you are.
Lovely skirt.
One last look?
You'll get used to it, Mrs. Wust.
Just get yourself settled,
and then come down and meet the others.
Do you like to play rummy?
Mrs. Wust?
Where is she? Mrs. Wust?
Where are you going, Mrs. Wust?
Be sensible.
Stay here!
- I gotta leave.
- Where are you going?
No, no, no!
- Stay here! Be sensible!
Where are you going?
Where are you going, Mrs. Wust?
Ilse?
Yes, well, I'm Ilse.
In November, 1943, my girlfriend Felice
and I went to hear Beethoven's Ninth.
The Berlin air battle was in its 3rd week,
but life's full of contradictions.
War didn't interest me at all
that evening.
All I had on my mind
were Felice and her elegant perfume.
Something wrong?
Ilse?
I said I couldn't babysit tonight,
because I had to look after
my sick father.
So that's Mr. and Mrs. Wust.
- No.
- No?
Not Mr. Wust.
Pretty.
Very pretty.
Not in the middle of a movement!
Nobody leaves the stage!
Where are my glasses?
- We won't find them now.
I won't leave without them!
- Women!
Once the alarm went off,
Felice took a close look at Mrs. Wust
who I was working for during
my domestic year. She was irresistible.
Are these yours?
- Yes, thank you.
Ernst! Ernst! Here!
I almost never wear them, but ...
Just the same.
- Thank you.
- Thank you. Come on.
Please, use the side exits...
Don't get your hopes up.
She tries it with everyone,
but she always stays with her husband.
Lovely eyes.
- Especially
when the Hitler Youth marches by.
Felice Schragenheim? Miss Schragenheim?
Your father was a good doctor.
Watch out for yourself.
Good heavens.
Faster! Faster!
Here.
Come on.
The 50 best photographers were sent to
photograph the most beautiful buildings.
They'll destroy everything.
Here you are. For our English friends.
Are you crazy? What is this?
The latest transport lists from Hungary.
Have Schmidty photograph them.
Till tomorrow.
- Felice.
You've lost all sense of danger.
That's not good ...
for any of us.
No one could disguise herself
as well as Felice.
She worked for a Nazi newspaper,
wrote countless poems
and never let anyone with shiny
long hair, like myself, slip away.
I sometimes thought
Felice was lots of people.
The moment I got hold of one,
I was betrayed by another.
She was hard to hold onto,
and only with her grandmother
was she gentle as a lamb.
Aaron, your lips are blue.
Drink this. It'll do you good.
I don't believe it.
Grandma!
- Why won't she listen to me?
I've told her at least ten times,
"Stay in the house. Don't go out
on the streets. Don't come here."
Grandma!
Half of Berlin is burning.
Don't tell me you weren't in the cellar!
Sit down!
- Were you in bed?
Were you at a concert?
- What does that have to do with it?
Then don't talk about danger!
- No. Ilse and l...
And not with your mouth full!
Sorry, Ilse. I know.
Grandmothers are always a problem.
When she was a child, she wanted to ride
her sled backwards over a cliff.
Right, Felice?
- Only once.
Anyway, it was my sister's idea.
She's in England now! And where are you?
- On the moon! Nothing'll harm me there.
Ilse, why are some people crazy
and others not?
- I don't know.
What about her fianc?
- Who?
Her fianc. She's engaged.
What's he like? Who is he?
Can he support her?
What does he look like?
Handsome, tall, black hair ...
When will he take her away?
Soon, Grandma. Very soon.
Madam,
could we possibly have the rest
of the potatoes?
Ilse, take care of her, won't you?
I had such beautiful dreams about you
this morning. I would give anything ...
... to kiss
your gentle hands ...
... and perhaps above your neck.
Above your neck ... Even a little more.
Well, Mrs. Schrader? Still in one piece?
We shot down 41 planes,
but my toilet is gone.
How's my editorial coming along?
- On the desk in front of you.
My little Mrs. Schrader,
what would I do without you?
Around 5,000 apartments in one night.
Total chaos at Party Headquarters.
Everyone's nerves are worn raw.
If people knew what was going on
out there. It's dog eat dog.
Like some?
- No, thanks.
But Goebbels is a genius.
Last night he said
that great people leave their mark.
And when they're gone, the mark remains.
What do you say?
Brilliant.
Keep your eye on it.
- I will.
You're so beautiful.
I had such beautiful dreams about you
this morning, and I would give ...
"... anything to kiss your gentle hands,
and perhaps above your neck ...
As deeply as a rose."
Not too bad, is it, Ilse?
"I only want to be alone with you,
embrace you and tell you again ..."
Bernd! Eberhard!
It wasn't the mountains, dummy!
It was at the zoo, zoo, zoo!
Then I won't play anymore.
And I'll wreck your castle!
That's enough! lf I hear one
more word from you,
I'll send you to the maneaters
in Bavaria!
Got it?
- Mommy, who is the General?
Quiet!
"I want to find stars
for you and for me.
Shall I tell you why?
I love you.
You are so beautiful. Jaguar."
No one has ever ... I mean ...
No one has ever written me like this.
Who could it be?
Ernst?
What's wrong?
Should I see if I can get any semolina?
Semolina? Now?
- Yes.
Now!
Want to see something?
Here, have a look.
How can you write such letters?
I only wrote one.
How did she react?
Anything dramatic?
Come on, tell me!
Ilse, it was just for fun.
Nothing but good fun. Nothing else.
Is it "fun" that she can smell Jews?
Is it "fun" that Jews are to blame
for every bomb that falls?
Did she really say that?
- This morning.
What a coincidence.
- Why?
I have a date with her.
- You what?
Maybe she really can.
- What?
- Smell Jews.
Felice, could anything ever stop you?
Oh yes. A lot.
What have you got there?
Oh no!
Thringer? My beloved Thringer sausage.
Is it real?
Yes, from the newspaper office.
This is for you.
The rest is for Grandma
and your parents.
See you later.
God! Ilse. He'll be here in 5 minutes.
Where are my glasses?
- There.
Where?
- Over there.
I'm so nervous. My God! I'm so nervous!
Ilse, how do I look? Good?
- Sure. As always.
Hm?
- Attractive as always.
Bernd! Eberhard! Are you crazy?
I cleaned this room 10 minutes ago!
Take your soldiers! Where are your shoes?
- I have them on.
Off the sofa! Get out of here!
Eberhard, put your shoes on!
We were playing.
- Out!
Get out of there. Ilse!
- Yes?
No! No! Who did that?
- Not me.
- Me neither.
It was a present from Gnther.
He's going to kill us, all of us!
Doesn't matter.
Get your coats on and go!
But not to the zoo again!
- Yes, come on ...
Stop! Who does this belong to?
Me.
Here. Put it on outside.
See you later, my little pet.
Have fun, dear. Give me a kiss.
You, too. Bye bye.
When her beaus came,
Mrs. Wust behaved like a teenager.
She cleaned and scrubbed all day,
so that nothing
would interrupt her tender rendezvous.
Romantic to the bone, she thought
that Felice's letter was from him.
She feverishly awaited the moment
when she could throw
her hungry heart at his feet.
Incomprehensible!
So much trouble for a man.
I tell you something.
They just don't get it.
All anyone ever talks about is food.
We don't have this ...
Hello.
- Or we don't have that.
How's it going, boy? Heil Hitler!
Do you love me?
Tell me, do you love me?
Look at this. Come on, look at it.
Isn't that a tree? Huh? Isn't that a tree?
Princess, isn't that a tree?
Heavens! Is it your husband?
Lilly!
- It's my father!
And my mother!
What?
Where to? Don't you have a balcony?
- No! No! In there!
What's wrong? Are you ill?
- Ill?
Yes ... I mean no.
I was just on my way out.
Where are the children?
- At the zoo.
- Again?
They were there last week.
- And the week before.
Is Gnther here?
- No, he left his things here.
I didn't know he came.
- I didn't either.
And good riddance! Let him talk about
wonder weapons and final victories
when he's on the front where
nobody knows what's going on.
Oh, cut it out. You're the one
who keeps babbling about politics.
8,500 tons of explosives in two weeks!
And it's going to go on like that
until that scum is finally gone.
Are you talking about German soldiers?
Who is that?
- Yes, well ...
it's Captain Ernst Biermsl.
Did you hear that, Lilly?
Those of us on the front have no idea
what's going on.
And the answers are all right here.
You and your drinking buddies,
you know what's going on, right?
Regardless, I'd like to know what
you're doing in my daughter's bedroom.
Dancing Bavarian jig.
I'm reporting you.
What do you say now?
Nothing.
Now you can smell death
like your son-in-law.
Where's the door?
That was a bit too much, wasn't it?
- Why?
You ... You weren't serious in there?
People like you and your kind won't
be around much longer.
But ...
You ...
You ...
Go!
Go! Go!
Lilly!
- Why don't you shut up for once!
Lilly, where are you going?
- To the zoo to get my children!
At least then I'll know what I'm good for.
Heil Hitler.
Not even Hitler and his bloodsuckers
could keep Felice from her old habits.
Her favorite meeting place
was the "Hotel at the Zoo"
where there were so many uniforms that
the race question did not even come up.
That was the real Berlin:
Outside, people were dying,
and inside they were playing
the proper tune.
On behalf of First Lieutenant von Deeken
I'd like you to join us for some wine.
Wine? How did you manage that?
Did you sell your castle?
There are ways and means.
May we? There are no strings attached.
- What a shame.
Just kidding.
Most of us are going back tonight.
In two hours.
May I ... May I go back with a "yes."
But only if you stay at your own table.
- Thank you very much. Thank you.
It's alright, sweetheart.
It's only your nerves.
It won't be long.
I'm certain.
Perhaps you'd like to freshen up,
alright?
Go with her, Klara.
Are you crazy?
What if somebody comes in here?
I sleep on sofas, chairs, everywhere.
Wherever you like.
But I don't want to smell bad,
understand? I need something clean.
Do you have to scare us like that?
- Here. Where is Felice, damn it!
What's up?
- All this is for Schmidt. Stamps,
five passports,
blank Red Cross passports.
- For when?
- Immediately.
Did they notice anything?
Hey!
Good evening.
You'll be okay in a minute. I'm sure.
What's wrong with her? Hungry?
I suppose you didn't have any breakfast,
did you, girl?
I don't understand what you mean.
She looks like a girl who should buy
some food stamps.
We don't understand.
How much?
Ah, we can be friendly, too.
What are you? Jews?
She's a Jew, and so are you.
Would you please sell us some?
You little phony!
How much?
- 200.
That's ... too much.
- Make it fast.
Heil Hitler.
Exciting times, aren't they?
Ilse is in the hotel.
Mommy, I made lots of boats.
Nice of you to come so soon.
- Shut up!
Here's to the Germans,
the most honest people in the world.
You'll all destroy yourselves.
Ilse, come on. Sit down.
Come on.
To the girls.
Oh no. It's time to go.
Why? lf we aren't allowed to go
to the theater, let's enjoy Mrs. Wust.
Sorry, Mrs. Wust. We were at the zoo,
and I met some girlfriends.
I wasn't aware you knew each other.
- Ilse has told us so much about you.
About me? What's there to tell?
For example, that you have
a Mother's Cross in silver.
Bronze.
Oh!
- And that your children
love to go to the zoo.
And that you have
a superb sense of smell.
Mrs. Wust,
could you tell me what I smell like?
It's nice. It smells somehow ...
Is it French?
Bravo!
I'd better go. Sorry to have bothered
you. I'll take the children.
We'll come along.
To my place?
- Yes.
Everyone?
- Mrs. Wust.
We won't bother you at all. Ilse has
told us such wonderful things, and ...
Klara, dear, tell her.
Don't be ashamed in front of Mrs. Wust.
My girlfriend had a terrible mishap,
and she needs a bath urgently.
That's not so bad.
It can happen to any of us.
- Yes.
You see?
Waiter! The check, please.
I don't know why
we met that day at the hotel,
or why Mrs. Wust was looking
for her kids that day.
But who really knows
why two people are drawn together?
Thank you.
Three times I was told
to send them away, but I just can't.
Where's your husband?
- On the Eastern front.
Do you think about him often?
- Oh yes, all the time, actually.
All the good men are gone.
If you have one, hold onto him.
That's what Gnther says, too.
- Pure jealousy.
He just wants to keep you from picking
up a young guy with disability papers.
You know all about it, don't you?
Felice! Mrs. Wust!
Over here! He'll give us a lift.
You have to live your life now, Felice.
It's very important.
Now.
Let's go. You're freezing.
Hi, Grandpa.
- Hi, Grandma.
I'm glad you're still here. This is ...
- Lotte.
Klara. How do you do.
That night I realized
Felice's letter wasn't "just for fun"
and amusement.
Old man Wust invited a few neighbors
and played the piano.
After a while, he and Felice
got Lilly to sing us a song.
She stood and sang.
But in reality something else happened.
She took Felice away from me.
With every moment, more and more.
"Oh, your world is so beautiful,
Father, when it shines so golden,
when your radiance falls upon the earth
and paints the dust until it glistens.
When the redness that flickers in the clouds
sets upon my silent window."
You can't be serious.
- What?
To flirt with her.
Flirting is always serious.
It's love which sometimes ...
- What?
... looks funny.
Well, that's it.
That was highly dramatic! Impressive!
"We were stupid, not you!"
Ilse, we're in the street.
- I am. You are. Don't say "we!"
You're celebrating New Year's Eve with
her. Should I make the bed for you two?
I'm good at it. It's my domestic year.
- I didn't want to hurt you, Ilse.
You don't have to apologize.
She's good for you, Felice.
She can do what we can't.
I hide you.
But with her you talk about love.
The main thing is, you feel good. I hate you.
What does she have that I don't have?
Nothing, absolutely nothing. She isn't
better or worse than any of us.
How can you say that? How?
Has she risked her life? Would she lie
and steal and fight for you?
Do you think she'd take the risks
my father takes?
She has no idea what it's like listening
to every idiot who comes up the stairs.
But you know how it is, Felice.
Your behavior just makes me sick!
So send me a bill.
I'm sorry.
- What for? You're right.
"God created the world, Felice.
You didn't."
That's what my father always said to me.
My sister, my mother ... they all agreed
"Felice is crazy."
And do you know why?
Because for me
nothing can be taken for granted.
No God.
No car that picks me up,
no Ilse to help me,
and no "thank you"
I have to tell her every day.
You want something special, and I'm not.
I am ungrateful
and desperate for admiration.
Say whatever you like.
But don't make me a victim,
because it's my goddamned, mediocre
little right to be free.
As long as I can.
- It's alright.
No, it isn't.
You condemn Wust, because
she has no cause. Is that a crime?
Did she ever harm you?
Married at twenty?
Four children? Is that the problem?
Or is it the lovers?
He fools around, and she should suffer?
No, Ilse!
You don't know anything about her.
Maybe she knows more than you think
about people and death and life!
I gave you my friendship, Ilse,
and my love. That's all I have.
Who loves whom?
- What?
My father was really a communist
and a helpful person.
But when Felice asked him politely
if he'd heard of Sappho, he looked at her
with all the Kremlin's wrath
and threw her out.
Well, look at you.
- My father threw her out.
- Bravo.
She's moving in with Mrs. Wust.
- Shut up!
Why? No one would suspect you, if you
were with a conformist!
- Jealous?
Why jealous?
She's constantly nibbling on you.
I'm the one who should be jealous.
- Are you?
- No.
You see? She doesn't care.
Whatever you do, she doesn't care.
You're early, aren't you?
- Sorry.
My lover always says goodbye,
as if it were the last time.
Lotte and her men!
- Don't start that again!
Hey, Schmidty!
How can we get in the mood
with music like that?
- It was never a problem for you before.
Here, I don't want anything
to do with it. Get dressed.
But why? Everything's gone perfectly up to now.
- I'm giving you 3 minutes.
Stefan, I have 5 people
who have to get away.
I've always said, steal them wherever
you like, but not from official places!
The Red Cross!
- Stefan, please!
4 weeks.
We could all be dead in 4 weeks.
- That's very possible.
I want to see more of the fat one. Our soldiers
want something to hold onto.
- Who's fat here?
- Dumb question.
What does he mean by "hold onto?"
- "Hold onto" means ...
"hold onto it."
What do you think the soldiers do with the pictures?
- They look at them.
Very good. And then?
- They pin them on the wall.
And then?
They look again.
- Is she joking?
- No, she really is that stupid.
Yes.
I have to go to the editorial office.
What's keeping you?
- We're ready.
Lotte!
- Yeah, go ahead.
Next week? Promise?
- Slut!
Why? The cellar of the newspaper office
is excellent.
There are cots, bed sheets
and sometimes even milk.
I'll just say my house was bombed.
And then I bent down
very close to her stupid face and said,
"If you want to buy a dress
for 400 marks,
that's your business." Half her villa
burned down, in the middle of Dahlem!
My father said she could bathe
at our house whenever she liked.
Madam?
- Yes.
Could we see your identification?
What are they doing? What?
- Talking.
I'm sure I have it ...
- Where are you coming from?
I had it in my pocket.
Alright, what's your name?
I'm going back.
- Keep going! Don't turn around!
What's your name?
Stop!
Ilse, get her away! Fast!
Fast!
Now that the Jewish mania for
destruction has shown its hideous face
in the deeds of those aerial pirates,
even the weak and cowardly elements
among us have realized
that National Socialism is our people's
greatest and only hope.
The world can mock us,
but it will tremble when it realizes
what tremendous feats
this people is capable of.
Lower Rhineland ... Yes, that's it.
Your head ... I've always wondered
where you come from.
Here you are.
Drink it.
No, thanks.
Go on.
Drink ...
You're safe here.
Listen, Mrs. Schrader.
We'll make a deal.
Forget your bombed-out apartment,
and I won't tell a soul that you have
the most beautiful smile in the world.
I've often wondered
what goes on in your mind?
I haven't found an answer yet.
But I'm sure that one of these days,
you'll give it to me.
Hello, Mrs. Wust speaking.
Hello? Who is there?
Gnther?
Gnther?
I'm a bad boy, Lilly.
It isn't easy, I know.
But it's my apartment, my pipe,
my wife ...
my children. I'm home, you see?
I'm home!
I want you and your hands
on the arch of night,
to send you all the love
I've ever felt inside.
Whoever I may have liked before
I feel ...
since I met you.
Perhaps ...
Perhaps in all the others ...
it's only you I've always loved.
Only you.
Now the night comes to an end ...
Alone, alone, alone.
But I think of your hands ...
and tenderly I fall asleep.
We found that among her things:
no name, no clues, nothing.
Have it analyzed by Department 4c.
Something always turns up.
Berlin was at its end.
Death and destruction were everywhere.
Still, we wanted to celebrate
New Year's Eve like everyone else.
Felice managed to get herself
and Erika's beauty parlor invited
to Mrs. Wust's.
Imagine that disgusting, sweaty
little lieutenant ...
chewing on our pretty Marlene
as if she were a sausage.
At least better than the actor Rhmann!
- Rhmann!
"I break the hearts
of the vainest women,
because I'm so tiny and so greedy
and so passionate."
Felice!
Just what I expected.
You don't miss any opportunity, do you?
Did they really shock you?
- Oh no. They were very ...
Very what?
I'd like to go.
Your tickets, please.
Did I disappoint you?
Would you rather I call off the party?
- No.
I'm looking forward to it. Really.
Keep going onwards, onwards, my ladies.
This is neither French nor Scottish
nor Italian.
It's my good old German rosehips,
home-brewed and extremely effective.
If Churchill thinks he's done us in, he's wrong.
Not while we're dancing.
Stop jabbering and sit down.
- Boy, Hilde. You're really drunk.
Things are really hopping here!
Who ... who are these people?
Girlfriends ...
They are all girlfriends.
Look at that brave soldier!
- Happy New Year.
Look at that.
Say, Sweetie. Is that your spouse?
Happy New Year, darling.
Jesus, Lilly.
This is what I call New Year's Eve!
Happy New Year!
I'm what you might call the host.
May l, Mrs. Jger?
Nice to see you.
Your life is wonderful, Felice.
You're free.
Where are your parents?
Dead.
- I'm sorry.
My God! Excuse me. I'm really sorry.
I'm sorry. Please, excuse me.
Want to see someone
who always does the wrong thing?
Here I am.
Felice?
Yes?
Why do you mean so much to me?
Ilse and Gnther are kissing.
Isn't that funny?
Ilse and Gnther!
What kind of game are you all playing?
What kind of game?
Felice ...
Do you want to see me?
He wants to steal those kids!
The first, second and third
try to escape, but they aren't able to.
Where were you?
- Out walking.
Alright, stop!
Attention! Eyes straight ahead!
Forward march! And get dressed!
The first to finish
gets to see photos of my unit.
Good morning.
Come into the kitchen.
Real coffee! Just for us.
That Ilse!
Happy New Year.
Know what I don't understand?
Why men are so susceptible.
You have a wife and kids. Everything's great.
Suddenly an Ilse or a Kthe
or whatever she's called
comes and looks at you.
She just looks at you. And you think,
"Damn! Hands off! Taboo!"
But she's still there.
You women don't know what it's like.
You need a man to guide you,
a man with a sense of responsibility.
But you have no idea what it costs, Lilly.
Dammit! You know
it doesn't mean anything to me,
but I have a hard time saying "no."
It has nothing to do with you.
What? Nothing to do with me?
You're not even jealous?
Not even angry?
Lilly, do you know
why I came back yesterday?
I wanted to tell you on New Year's
that you're a wonderful woman
and that I'd do everything not to lose you.
Here, this is my unit.
Since all hell's broken loose out there,
I know what I'm capable of.
What?
I'm the kind of guy who comes back.
I look at my comrades,
and I know who won't make it.
Just before I left, one guy got
half his skull blown away.
He looked at me and said, "Oh man, Wust.
It was all too short, huh?"
You have to duck fast, Lilly.
That's the secret.
Send the older kids to the country.
Who knows what'll happen.
- Daddy!
Now, now. Don't cry. Not my big boy.
When I'm not here
you're the boss, okay?
Come on. Lie down. It'll be okay.
Go to sleep.
Sleep tight.
The Russians sing all night long.
We're going to win, Lilly.
We'll win!
... Germans are capable of overcoming
mental and physical obstacles.
The German people have demonstrated
their strength in the past years.
Without a doubt, they will emerge
from this tremendous war
as the most glorious people
of all time.
Of course, our victories in the early
war years were even more glorious.
But this year
we have to prove ourselves.
We have to prove to ourselves
and to history
that we have the strength
to overcome the biggest obstacles
and we won't fail.
Our courage and our stamina
will be strengthened.
And this we have done.
May I come in?
Felice ...
Please, don't hurt me.
I'd better go.
- I'd die, if you did.
You are Aime ...
and I am Jaguar.
My sweet, sweet girl.
Calm down.
How beautiful you are.
So beautiful.
It's all my fault.
Do you feel safe?
Should I stop?
It's too much, Felice.
It's too much.
I can't stop trembling.
I can't either.
We're both trembling ...
It's a trembling contest.
Schragenheim!
Watch out!
Get in the back, Grandma!
- Hands off! I can do it alone.
Mrs. Schragenheim ...
back there on the right.
Miss Felice Schragenheim was here
3 days ago. What does she call herself?
I don't know.
- What does she look like?
Dyed hair ... dyed blond hair.
Where does that door lead to?
The house next door.
- Go next door!
Calm down, calm down.
Everything's alright. Come to me.
It will be morning soon.
You're here.
You're here.
Say it again.
I love you.
Okay, my little bear.
We'll take care of it.
Alright ... That's it.
Oh my goodness. Take over here.
Just stir, right?
Not too slow, not too fast. I know.
I'm so proud.
- Of what?
- Of you, the kids, myself.
I don't know why, Felice, but since
you're here, everything makes sense.
Don't say that too often, or I'll run away.
I know you'd come back again.
Oh yes? Why?
Because I watch you all night long.
You keep tossing and turning
until I take your hand and calm you.
I'd rather you sleep.
- Why?
Before I never slept,
because I was alone.
And now because you're here.
Hold it with both hands
and look through here.
- Yeah.
See anything?
- Yes.
Now take the picture ... Good.
- Me, too.
Can you see anything?
- Yes.
Your mom?
- Yes.
Smile! Take the picture ... Good.
My beloved Felice,
my beloved kitten,
even if you keep slipping away
and I worry greatly, I must tell you how
much I love you. Ever since you started
padding around our apartment
with your fat paws, I've been so happy.
My beloved girl, my whole life I've thought
I was wrong, a good-for-nothing.
But now I know that everything was wrong
so I could meet you.
I waited and you came.
I thank you for that.
My intelligent, dark-haired girl.
Do you know how beautiful you've become?
We'll be together for a long time.
Our happiness has just begun.
It looks good on you.
It's okay, it's okay.
12 o'clock, Felice.
Stop nibbling on everyone.
Our birthday girl is waiting.
Lilly! Lilly!
Happy birthday, my sweet.
To Berlin's sweetest housewife.
All the best, Lilly!
Congratulations, Lilly.
To Lilly! To Lilly!
Don't be afraid, my little girl.
I'm by your side.
There are no enemies here ... only us.
Do you love me?
Very much.
More than your life?
At this moment? Now? At this moment?
Yes.
Lilly!
No!
No!
The Wehrmacht's Supreme Command
reports that last night
the enemy began their long-awaited
invasion of Europe.
It was initiated by invasions
of our coastline ...
I came back for your birthday
in the middle of war.
What are you doing to me?
My wife is queer.
I'm out in that filth. Everything is
falling apart. You don't know nothing!
You can't take everything away from me,
you perverse piece of shit.
What do you think we're fighting for?
What's on our mind?
You and the kids are all I have.
Nobody's going to take it away from me.
Not even you.
A person can get used to anything:
death and everything.
But what I saw upstairs
in the apartment is ...
the worst!
Go up there and show them
what a wife and a mother is.
Go up there!
And I'll forget I ever saw it.
Gnther, I've never loved you.
That's news to me.
I want a divorce.
You don't know what you're saying.
You never knew what you wanted.
You were always searching,
and I guided you.
Now you can prove who you really are.
Gnther ... Let's talk about this.
I need a wife with character.
Or a lawyer.
Maybe you can destroy my home,
but not my children, understand?
I told him I want a divorce.
What? You did what?
Are you crazy, Lilly?
You're a woman with 4 kids.
- So what?
I feel like I've been born again.
He told me to decide, and I did.
I'm one of you now.
It's what you wanted, isn't it?
If he goes to court,
we're all in for it.
I ... I thought you'd be happy.
What about the kids?
- He wants everything,
the children, the apartment,
a confession, but he's just saying that.
Are you sure?
What did I tell you?
We have to get away. You know that.
Look what I made, Felice!
- How nice.
Should I make you one, too?
- Oh yes.
- Okay.
You don't regret it, do you?
Answer me. Do you regret it?
What exactly?
- That ... That you ...
That we are now one.
Are you happy?
Very.
Then everything's alright.
Don't worry. I'll learn to type.
To type? You? What for?
For you, for the children, for our family.
It's so nice when you laugh.
I'll be gone for a few days.
Why?
- Business.
Okay.
That dumb cow.
- Leave her alone.
I was tired of life once. Now you are.
Let's try Switzerland.
Anything you want, but only together.
Heil Hitler.
You've been here often. Tell Mrs. Wust
to report to the authorities.
Her children have to be sent away.
- Excuse me.
Have you heard that General Paulus
and his staff joined the Russians?
They're getting closer and closer
under German leadership.
They all deserve an injection.
Have a nice day.
Attention!
Felice, where are you?
This is Berlin's 1st Flak Division.
Where?
The reported bombers are in the area
around Hanover and Braunschweig.
We'll return.
She said her husband had died in action
and she'd do everything but think.
Gentlemen, the sunshine of my office.
Five times she declined,
but when Siemens and the Deutsche Bank
show up, she comes at once.
Come on in.
We've heard a lot about you, Miss.
A lot, believe me.
Good or bad?
- Only the best.
- Then it's true.
Most Berlin women are lazy. They only
care about promenading, nothing else.
As long as there are men
waiting for them, things won't change.
What would you like to drink?
Come with me.
What's happened?
- The Fhrer is dead.
Miss Schrader!
That's all we know.
Out of the way!
The National News should be able
to find out what happened.
The German people expect it of us.
No connection? This is Keller
from the National News.
At least one line must be free
at the Ministry of Propaganda.
A news blackout? Who gave the orders?
The Wehrmacht ... A state of emergency.
Yes, I'll wait.
Of course I'll wait.
Field Marshal von Witzleben
has taken over power.
The Head of State is
General Beck.
The SS, SA and the Gestapo are under
the immediate command of the army.
And not a word from Goebbels. Nothing.
An assassination attempt on my life
has been carried out.
I'm speaking to you today ...
He's alive.
... so that you'll know I wasn't
injured. I'm still alive.
Secondly, I'd like you to know
what happened.
It was the worst crime
that Germany has ever seen.
A very small group of officers ...
So many days ...
Where were you?
Where were you?
The bomb which was planted
by Colonel von Stauffenberg
detonated 2 meters to my right.
Who are you?
Felice?
What are you doing to me?
When will we get there, Mommy?
- I don't know.
What kept you? The train can't wait.
Put the child in the back.
It's better for you and your children.
- Mommy!
Two IDs from the Ministry of Arms.
You'll travel in separate train cars.
If one of you gets caught, the others have a chance.
You're a future pediatrician.
What's wrong, Felice?
Felice.
- If they send us back, it's over.
And here? They're turning Berlin upside
down, searching every crack.
- I know.
Why don't you take her with you?
Could you shut up just once!
Fhrer's headquarters:
German planes successfully attacked
the enemy attempt to cross the Seine.
Several pontoon bridges
and packed barges were destroyed.
In the area north of Le Havre
several ships were sunk.
On the island offshore from St. Malo,
a naval unit continued its resistance
against the attack of a group of enemy destroyers.
You're here.
She's here. My kitten is here.
You're so cold.
There's some tea left. Just a moment.
Why weren't you in the cellar?
- I couldn't. I was paralyzed somehow.
You were what? ... Paralyzed?
And the children?
- The little ones are in the cellar.
And the older ones are gone,
evacuated.
I'm the only one here.
I'm always here.
How are Ilse and Klara?
I don't know.
Sit down, Felice.
Yesterday someone in the cellar said,
"Life is just. First the bombers
and then real coffee."
Typical for Berlin, isn't it?
Where have you been?
With friends.
Do I know them?
- No.
Who the hell do you think you are? I've
waited every day, every second for you!
I didn't even know
if you were still alive!
But now you're here.
Don't look at me like that.
I've asked myself thousands of questions.
Now I understand.
I understand that there will always be
something I'm not allowed to know!
Felice, how stupid do you think I am?
A little trophy here,
a little adventure there.
Do you think
I didn't see how you all looked at me?
This scornful look at my bookshelf!
I know very well who I am.
And I'd be glad if I could tell you
I didn't love you.
And now you go.
Sowing the seeds of despair,
and then disappear?
I'd do anything for you, my girl.
But I won't let you laugh at me!
I'm so stupid, Felice.
Just like with Gnther
and Ernst and everyone else.
I always thought that if I believed
strongly enough in it
and fought for it, it would come true.
My efforts should have to pay off.
But I don't feel him inside,
just like the others.
I always thought he'd succeed,
and everything would make sense.
I'd be able to look at him and say,
"That's what love is for."
But nothing happened.
Nothing.
And then you came along, Felice.
My answer, the answer.
I'm sorry, Felice. I didn't want it to happen.
I'm sorry. Forgive me.
Forgive me.
I'm Jewish, Lilly.
You're what?
The worst was when my mother died.
A long time ago.
But since then I've never felt safe.
Only with you.
How can you love me?
I've tried not to.
Felice.
Don't leave me.
She isn't coming. She isn't coming.
She never was on time.
But today she has to be, right?
- She once missed an entire ship.
But not mine. And not my train either!
Oh God! Are you traveling like that?
I was just at the office.
It'll all be over in 5 weeks.
You damned idiot! Why? Why?
Take her to the train station. Go now!
Klara! Fritz! Your train!
You have to leave!
- Come on.
We have to go.
It was all in vain, Felice.
All in vain.
Hurry up. You have to hurry.
In the name of all gods,
saints and mascots,
I pledge myself to the following 10 points
and hope that all of those gods, saints
and mascots will have mercy on me ...
I will love you boundlessly.
Jewish.
- And lesbian.
Well, that's ... It really is ...
Felice Schragenheim, huh?
Your husband is a Nazi.
And your lover is a Jewish woman.
That is really ...
A catastrophe.
I'll never leave you alone.
I will be faithful to you always.
How do you intend to support yourselves?
How will you make a living?
With shorthand and typing.
- Shorthand and typing?
And you?
- Me ...
First I'll become a journalist.
Then I'll become a photographer,
an actress and, in the end, I'll write books.
Books? That's good.
Quite a lot at one time, isn't it?
I'll never stare at other girls.
Lesbian ...
I never knew there was such a thing.
Come here.
You have to get away, Felice.
Without me. You have to get away.
Without you?
How stupid you are, my girl.
How stupid.
How are things in Normandy?
- The Americans have taken Rennes.
How do you know that?
Because I read it this morning.
- Not only this morning.
Every morning before you come. Why?
Because it interests me.
- Why?
Because I want it to stop.
Don't you?
What would I do without you,
Mrs. Schrader?
No, Mr. Lause. Not so snappy!
Smooth and easy ... like this.
Easy with your hips, like Mrs. Jger.
Nothing to eat, but the rumba.
That's culture.
Good. In a few more days you'll have
a special show at the Adlon:
"The Ballerina from Schmargendorf."
Ladies, Mrs. Jger and I have invited
you here today, because ...
How should I say it? As a boy,
I wanted to join the Kaiser's army.
Get to the point.
In short, we may be a bit too old, but
considering the military situation ...
- Where love may fall, let it flourish.
We've become engaged.
And only you, dear Lilly, and you,
dear Felice, know about it.
Don't you think we're silly?
Funny, isn't it?
"Now sleep sweetly. May heaven give,
that until your life is over,
love will live." Cheers.
Come on!
Not my legs, Felice! Not my legs!
- Why not?
I don't like it!
No, Felice! Don't!
- What's wrong?
My silly little Aime. They're lovely.
It's just that your bottom is too flat.
- You!
But I love it! I love it!
Attention.
Wait.
Wait.
Felice!
Okay, I'm ready.
Don't look so serious, Miss.
Be casual and smile.
- It doesn't look good on me.
Come on, smile, Felice.
I can't.
Why not think about my beautiful,
flat ass in your black underwear?
My God, Lilly. I don't know
if I'm strong enough.
- For what?
Happiness.
Oh no!
Our Tristan broadcast begins at 8 p.m.
Are we having apple pie and English tea?
- Sorry, dearest madam. I forgot.
Shame on you, slut!
- Know what the divorce judge said?
"Aren't you ashamed? We're at war, and
you ruined your husband's happiness!"
So I got up all my courage and said,
"Your Honor,
all I'm ashamed of
is that I could never give him one."
"You're crazy," he yelled.
And I said, "Maybe,
but I'm about to improve myself."
You think you're allowed to see me
after what you said? To see my ass?
Definitely.
- No, never! You're not worthy of it!
Then I'll take you ... by force.
Tristan! What about our Tristan?
- We're too late.
Keep going. Another kiss ...
Just one, the last one.
Schragenheim.
Who is that?
Not blonde after all.
Pack up your things!
You knew that she was a Jew.
How many children do you have?
- Four.
Where is she?
Get up!
Stop it! Stop it, please!
You knew she was a Jew!
Did you know?
Were you friends with her?
Get up! Come on!
No!
Terezin.
Are the children back home?
Gnther is dead.
Sorry, Lilly.
As long as she's in Terezin,
we can still hope.
She'll be transferred.
How do you know that?
- I was there. I visited her.
You what?
You visited her there?
You visited her
in the concentration camp?
The captain screamed like an animal.
She didn't even know I was there.
They'll send her away.
Do you know what you've done, Lilly?
Do you?
Lilly!
She and I belong together, more than you two.
She loves me.
No!
You have to tell me. Please!
Did she sleep with you again?
Lilly!
What's wrong with your leg?
- Broken twice. I have steel pins in it.
The doctor said it was a brilliant job.
Do you think it's a coincidence?
- Our meeting here?
That we have to go through it all again.
Don't worry about it.
All we have left are two meals a day.
Do you wear the scarf, because it's pretty
or to cover your wrinkly neck?
How did things go for you?
All I thought about was her.
- What? No love affairs? No adventures?
Nothing at all?
And you?
- At first, lots.
Then fewer, and now even fewer.
You know, I think fate betrayed me.
Oh well, it used to be the Fhrer.
Now it's fate.
Always some excuse.
And if possible, something big.
Sorry, Lilly. I'm too old for that joke.
You betrayed yourself.
You, and no one else.
I loved her so much, Ilse.
I did, too.
- But not like I did.
If it makes you happy ...
Were you really together with that many?
- Oh yes. I liked quite a few.
People are so different, Lilly.
With luck, something might remain.
It was surely more platonic.
- Oh no.
I'm definitely a little pig.
But that doesn't matter.
50 years, Ilse.
50 years.
And one thought.
One face.
One name.
Sweetheart, one is a stupid number.
It's never enough. That's the problem.
Come back to the house! Lunch is ready!
Was it my fault, Ilse?
I don't know, Lilly.
I was always certain. Too certain.
Felice stayed, because she loved you.
And you went to see her, because you loved her.
I can't tell you anything more.
Hello, ladies. We're waiting for you.
Sure, dearie. You haven't got
the slightest idea. Come on, Lilly.
"A love that lasts forever."
Know what Felice said?
"That greedy Mrs. Wust
just can't get enough.
She made me sign a contract:
'Forever.' Sounds like a gravestone."
No, she didn't say "Like a gravestone."
- Yes, she did.
Come on, Lilly.
This moves the film,
and this is how you focus.
Lovely cards. Who are they from?
- Capt. Ernst Biermsl. God bless him.
Did you notice I changed the key?
- I didn't notice you'd even found one.
Isn't that awful? ... "Forever and ever"
sounds like an epitaph.
I thought it was nice.
- What about you, mouse? What d'you say?
About what?
- The one and only, true, ideal love.
You can look for it.
- Horrible.
One love, and you have to look for it!
Leave her alone now.
Life is not like that.
It scratches and scrapes,
and all at once you clean the windows.
- Not me.
Listen to that. Real romantic.
"Falling in love again,
never wanted to.
What is she to do?"
And you?
- "She can't help it."
What do you want, Felice?
- Me? ... You, all of you, everyone.
Everything! But I'd be satisfied
with one single moment,
so perfect, it would last a lifetime.
- That's easy.
Where do you find something like that?
- For example, this one here is great.
I don't want "forever." I want "now!"
Now! Now! Now!
I want loads of "nows!" And I want them
till I turn old and gray.
And besides, I want more cake.
Again.
After the war, Lilly waited in vain
for Felice for many years.
The exact circumstances
of Felice's death are unknown.
She probably died during
one of the notorious death marches.
Today, in the spring of 1999,
85-year-old Lilly Wust lives in Berlin.
John R. Middleton
Film und Video Untertitelung GmbH
Gerhard Lehmann