An angel from heaven
has come down amongst you,
shepherds all, shepherds all!
Make haste to the manger
to welcome the Saviour
for us all, for us all!
For what we are about to receive,
may the Lord make us truly thankful.
Amen.
Why are we praying?
To thank God for taking care of us.
But he doesn't.
He didn't take care of Papa.
Your father's perfectly fine.
-So why hasn't he come home yet?
-gi, enough!
-He'll come home.
-No, he won't.
I'm sorry, sweetie.
I don't even remember
what Papa looks like.
The postman.
...your daughter.
To Baja?
What on earth will they do there
for three weeks?
It says they'll husk maize.
At Christmas?
There was no one to do it
in the summer.
And I guess
the Russkies need it now.
If we say you've gone
back to Budapest?
If you resist, they take
another family member.
Anyone who tries to escape gets shot.
It's not a ball you're going to.
Take mine.
They're warmer.
HOLY BIBLE
You might need this.
Make sure you eat well.
I will.
-Don't share it out!
-I won't.
Are you leaving, too?
I'll be home soon.
I promise.
She'll calm down.
She'll have forgotten
by the time you come back.
Mama!
Mama! Mama! Mama!
What's your name?
Leave her alone,
she's as deaf as a post!
My name is Irn.
Did you bring food?
Didn't your mother pack you food?
"Beg"?
That's what
Mum said.
Are you Irn?
Pastor Walter's daughter?
Don't you live in Budapest?
I bet you don't have to
husk maize downtown.
You live there, don't you?
Your mother said.
We did until they bombed us out.
But once you've husked maize,
you never forget.
Amen.
Did they climb on you, too?
They did it
with loads of girls in our village.
Why do they call us fascists?
How many Swabians here?
You are, too.
We declared as Hungarians in '41.
-So did we!
-So did we!
Excuse me.
I'm a Gypsy.
How did you end up on the train?
I come home from the Lady
I do the cleaning for,
then some "davai-davai" blokes show up,
grab me and throw me on.
They might have told me why,
but I couldn't understand
their blabbering.
Anyway, I'm Rusyn.
But your husband's a Swabian.
He is. Damn him!
Bzsi... Bzsi!
Erzsbet Beck...
She's sick!
Sick...
She needs to go to hospital!
-Your name?
-Irn Walter.
These are hot...
They disinfected them!
Lord have mercy upon us.
Christ have mercy upon us.
Lord have mercy upon us.
Heavenly Father,
Jesus Christ our Saviour.
They took your chalk?
Germans!
You attacked us.
You destroyed our villages,
burned our fields...
and flooded our mines.
You killed and ravaged
wherever you went.
No one can give
our children's lives back.
But what you destroyed
in Hitler's name,
you can rebuild here
in the Donets mines.
As older inmates
of Camp 1207 already know
there are only three rules.
These rules must be obeyed.
Anyone breaking them
goes in the bunker.
No food, no water for three days.
You're 2,000 km from your home...
in hostile territory.
There's nowhere to run.
You move between the camp
and the mine under guard.
Anyone trying to escape will be shot.
If you don't make your daily quota,
you get no supper.
You'll continue this reparative work
until the war is over.
You will then be allowed to go home.
Blast! Take cover!
It's clear!
The new ones! In single file!
Tunnel number 3.
Number 4.
Number 12.
Number 3.
Number 12.
You're too tall. You won't fit in.
I'll kneel.
Number 12.
-Thank you.
-Don't thank me.
Number 4.
Didn't you say
the daily quota's one wagon?
Per head.
When both done,
he'll take you back to the camp.
It's bitterly cold out there.
It can drop below minus 30 Celsius.
If anyone's nose turns white,
tell them to rub it
or it'll freeze off.
Good evening!
None left.
-We've only just made our quota!
-Sorry.
Sometimes there's nothing left
for the guards either.
I'll show you mine, too.
They're like organ pipes.
-They all yours?
-Who else's?
Heavens!
The eldest is thirteen.
You started early.
-The smallest is two.
-Who's looking after them?
They look after each other.
-Where's your husband?
-On labour service.
-Where's the sour-cream colored woman?
-What "sour-cream" woman?
-The one who speaks Russian.
-va?
She sneaks out at night.
Number 3.
Number 12.
Number 12.
Number 4.
It's less than yesterday.
Of course it is.
We got no supper.
I can't make exceptions.
I'm a prisoner here, just like you.
And if you gave us an extra person?
The head quota remains the same.
And if I ask you,
as a Hungarian and as a woman,
to save us some supper?
What do I get in return
as a man?
Who else should I blame?
I've not eaten for three days
because of you.
You don't
have to...
You don't have to.
Fine. I won't.
How's it going?
I've got my part done.
Pigs get better food back home.
Why bring us here to work
if they can't feed us?
What bone's this?
Dog?
Cat.
Number 3.
Number 3.
Where did you get that from?
-What's she written?
-Can't you read?
Not well.
"What's her daily quota?"
Quiet!
She got no husband?
Her kid died young
and her husband left.
They're still murderers.
You alright?
Have a rest.
I'll talk to Fbin.
-Why's she sitting?
-She's got a fever.
If she can stand, she can work.
Not my idea. It's the rules.
What if she's infectious
and the whole gang get sick by tomorrow?
There's no room.
Maybe in transit.
Why do they call it "transit"?
They're already between two worlds.
You have to eat.
Do you know what this is?
Typhus.
It's spread by fleas.
Can I have her shoes?
If she doesn't need them anymore?
She's sick!
Typhus!
Please!
She needs medicine.
Could you get some?
Please.
Arkadij, truck driver.
He lives in the village.
Yes, typhus.
-The medicine's expensive.
-Can he get it?
He can.
What does he want for it?
-A watch.
-I'll get one.
He needs it now.
He'll get this
if he brings the medicine.
He wants it now.
-How do I know he's not lying?
-You decide. Just don't blame me.
Hurry.
Wait here. He'll be back soon.
10 minutes, please. 10 minutes.
We're waiting...
Medicine!
Medicine?
Sick...
Typhus.
No supper!
You escape
you're dead!
We won't we won't.
We wait 10 minutes.
10 minutes! 10 minutes!
Anna...
Anna!
Look at me!
Look at me!
No... No...
No...
We've got to go back!
Anna's still there!
No, no! Please!
Please, please!
Please...
Please...
Please...
Please...
Please, please, please!
We've got to go back!
Please... please...
We've got to go back...
We've got to go back...
Let me out!
Mama...
Where were you?
In the attic.
Why didn't you tell me?
Papa...
-I had a terrible dream.
-Everything's going to be alright.
-You got a smoke?
-How many do you need?
How many for this?
Irn?
Haven't seen her for a while.
Irn?
Tell me about your dream.
Irn...
Irn...
There's something in the attic.
Irn...
Irn!
Irn!
Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you.
Try not to dream.
Can I come in?
Any dreams?
No.
Good.
We've met before.
Rajmund Mller.
Irn Walter.
Where you from?
Szekcs. Tolna County.
Szabadka. Bcska County.
Why shouldn't I dream?
Because you'll die.
Dreams give us strength, don't they?
-Strength to go on.
-No.
Not here.
Chicken.
How did you get it?
-I don't smoke.
-Me neither.
Some folks even give up meat
for a smoke.
This is sulphur.
For the scabs.
Make it last. Don't give any away.
Won't you get into trouble
for visiting me?
As long as I've got smokes.
If they run out,
I'll get something else.
-Like what?
-Clothes, shoes...
spoons
anything.
You're a very clever man, Rajmund.
I had no choice.
I've got two sons
back home and a beautiful wife.
I'm 2,000 km away
in the middle of bloody nowhere.
If I think of it, I'd hang myself.
If I want to survive,
I have to set myself rules.
Do they work?
You want me to teach you?
Why are you helping me?
Purely selfish reasons.
Because I like you.
You've got strange taste.
I've got a family.
Forget them.
That's rule number one.
We're not going home from here.
You're not the one to decide that.
Then who? Stalin?
The Lord God.
God is not here.
It's just you and me.
You're a nice man
but I've sworn to be faithful.
You die or you survive...
it's up to you.
Berlin's fallen.
The war's over.
Hitler's dead.
Hitler's dead.
You can go home tomorrow.
All of you.
Home.
Home.
Where are you going?
Careful!
You still need rest.
When...
When do we go home?
The others?
Irn?
When can we leave?
Did they tell you?
The war's over.
We can go home.
Say something!
At the morning line-up
the commandant announced
that we have to stay and work.
Stalin's orders.
For how long?
They can't do that.
It'll be over one day.
Someone has to speak up for us at home!
Who?
The lords... and the ministers.
We've just lost the war.
There's no one to speak for us.
Yes.
I want to survive.
I promised my daughter I'll go home.
You have to forget her.
You can't ask that of a mother.
Then you're going to die.
Alright.
I'll do what you say.
But we better make it clear
that nothing will ever happen between us.
Don't think too much.
That's rule number two.
Work... don't think.
What will be, will be.
Rough tobacco.
Give it to me.
There's no better cigarette paper
in the camp.
Maybe not even in all Ukraine.
Your turn.
10 smokes equal a wagon of coal.
You've already got your daily quota.
Just like that?
Russia's the land of opportunity.
You just need to know
how to make the most of it.
That's Svetlana.
She worked in the bakery,
stole two slices of bread for her son.
She got sent here.
Rule number three: wash every day.
However cold it is.
Don't worry about him.
Serjosa. From Minsk.
Hasn't seen his family for years.
He was told, like all the other guards,
that he'd be guarding war criminals.
That right, Serjosa?
What's on your mind?
My family.
That everything was better in the old days.
And everything's going to be good again.
There's no remembering.
There's no daydreaming.
But it feels good.
That's why.
That's exactly why it's dangerous.
Sooner or later
you'll start turning inwards.
Won't want to come out of your head.
You don't wash, you get sick.
You don't make your quota,
you don't eat, you lose weight, you die.
Vera, you alright?
What else is on your mind?
That I could have done,
could do much more for the others.
Rule number four:
we're not responsible for others.
We have to save ourselves.
One thing I don't understand.
If you take your rules so seriously,
why help me?
I love you.
I just hope it doesn't kill me.
He threw me out.
I've got scabies.
Everywhere.
Give me a bit.
Just a bit!
I'll give it back.
I've seen you rubbing it in.
I'd like to sleep.
What makes you think
you're better than me?
You'd sleep with them all.
He'll realise that you're using him.
Then this great romance will be over.
There's nothing between us.
-And never will be.
-Sure.
I promised my daughter I'll go home.
If that means learning to say no,
I'll learn.
You weren't like this before.
Well I am now.
You can thank
your dear commandant for that.
Rajmund, look out!
Watch out,
the whole tunnel will collapse!
Irn!
Carefully!
Please, please...
Please, God!
Rule number five...
prayers don't help.
He'll be back after supper.
You need to leave before lights out.
Thanks.
You've got an hour.
FOUR YEARS LATER
Where's Mama?
She ran away again.
You mustn't run away!
A child suits you.
That's what I keep saying.
Every single day.
Let's go.
Number 2.
Number 10.
-Evening!
-Evening!
-Where are we?
-Outside Baja.
You'll spend the night in a warehouse.
Everyone here's Swabian?
Not everyone.
Tomorrow morning,
you all have to declare your nationality.
The Germans will be transported
to the border by truck,
then on to Germany to settle.
-The Hungarians?
-They can go home.
-Where?
-Wherever they came from.
-If someone lives here in Baja?
-They have to wait until tomorrow, too.
Excuse me!
I came from Szabadka,
but I want to go to Szekcs.
Szabadka's not part of Hungary anymore.
It's Yugoslavia again.
If you're a Yugoslav citizen,
you can't go to Szekcs.
You either go home to Szabadka,
or carry on to Germany.
But if he goes home,
can I visit him?
No, you won't get a visa
to a capitalist country.
-Since when's Yugoslavia a capitalist country?
-Since Tito changed sides.
He changed sides?
So if we go home,
we can never see each other again?
Can I give you some advice?
Don't go home.
I can't stay with you in Hungary.
You can't come to Yugoslavia with me.
If we want to stay together,
we have to go to Germany.
That means
we have to declare ourselves Germans.
We'll go and find a place to live,
get work
and then somehow
get your daughter out.
Your boys?
They're grown now.
They can stand on their own two feet.
Don't you miss them?
Sure I do.
But I've learned to live without them.
Not without you.
What nationality are you declaring?
German.
I'll wait by the truck.
Name?
Irn Walter.
20 forints.
A headscarf from the Women's Association.
And a permit to enter Hungary.
Signed by Comrade Rkosi.
Get on!
I'm waiting for someone.
Move it!
Please, wait a minute!
Please!
Now all you have to say is
what nationality you're declaring.
Irn!
Stop!
Stop! Stop! Someone got left behind!
"Dear Rajmund,
You saved my life.
Not with your rules,
but with your love.
I'm going home.
You're a survivor.
I know you'll be fine.
You'll learn to live without me.
But I could never learn to live
without hope."
Mama?
Following an order issued by Stalin in 1944/45,
with agreement by Churchill and Roosevelt,
700,000 Hungarian men and women
were taken for forced labour.
300,000 of them never returned home.
Those who returned were forbidden to tell anyone
about their years spent in the camps.