Anonyma
A Woman in Berlin
Who would've thought that?
On April 16th 1945 the time had come.
The Russian army had surrounded Berlin
and now they were heading towards the Reichstag.
On this day, you could see the sun behind the clouds,
and the smell of lilac wafted through all the smoke.
How to start?
How to find the right words?
I've been a journalist, I've traveled 12 countries.
Been living in Moscow, Paris and London.
I really liked to stay in Paris and London.
I decided to come back. I wanted to be part of it.
My name doesn't matter.
I am one of the many who fervently believed in our country's future.
Doubts? Only weak persons had doubts.
Warsaw, Brussels, Paris. We're always winning.
The Russians don't have a leader.
When they finally come to their senses,
we are already knocking at their front door in Moscow.
Pardon our pushiness, but it's war after all.
Gerd hated railway stations.
When he left, the sound of his boots filled the house.
We were certain to do the right thing,
we breathed the same air as everybody else.
We were part of this.
And then he takes off my coat and says:
The Russians have no idea what's coming towards them.
So we were heading towards the Sorbonne and chatting away in French.
He thought that I was one of those tall blond Swedes.
Then I made a double step to match my stride to his.
That's when he stopped and said: "Ah, a daughter of the Fuhrer"
That was the end of the acquaintance. What a pity.
Hold on. I... I'd like to... Stop the music, please.
I would like for us all to share this moment,
this wonderful evening, with our husbands
who are stationed somewhere all over Europe.
Get lost!
Run, run!
Get away!
Go away! Houses on the right. Fan out.
Come here, damn it!
Mummy, where are you?
Come on. Hurry.
Away. Go away.
Open fire, reload grenade.
...and fire!
Fire!
Shit.
- Wait for me. - Watch out! Heads down.
- There you are. - Stop! Wait for me.
Watch out!
No!
No uniforms, no weapons, or it's martial law.
Felix, where are you?
Felix?
- Where the hell is he? Felix? - Not a single order.
No messages, nothing at all. Nobody gives a shit about us.
Felix? Lenchen, Lenchen? Where are you, damn it?
In Wedding district, they are already showing their toddlers to the Russians.
Russian pigs.
That were the book dealers. They sometimes speak French.
And that's the pharmacist's widow.
Her husband once cured Minister Hindenburg's headache.
That's over.
Now you step on the face and the arms of a dead woman
only to get a glass of jelly.
That's the quiet Mrs. Binder. Musician. Her husband is MIA.
Can someone help? She is suffocating.
Look at me. Look at me!
I will write all of this down, I will report it.
Gerd, and you shall read it.
May I offer you something?
Thank you.
From Silesia. She won't make it.
Go, go, go! Go down there, quick!
- Mummy? - Don't be afraid, I am here.
They're coming.
Halt!
Attention, attention. To all the residents of this street.
All fire arms have to be turned in immediately.
This is the last warning.
Attention, attention.
This is the last warning.
Attack!
Upstairs!
All the way upstairs!
Go away! Not now!
Attention!
I... I have...
Careful!
Comrade Colonel.
The troops have almost reached Potsdam station.
But the order was to go towards the government district!
Understood, Comrade Colonel.
We'll stay here.
Major! I thought we were going to the Reichstag.
No Reichstag? But why not, we are so close.
Screw it, we are not staying here!
That's an order!
Retreat! Secure our flank!
Understood?
Soldiers? Officers?
Weapons?
I said: Soldiers? Officers?
They will see soon enough.
Anybody got weapons? Hand them over.
Get out! One person at a time.
Get out, all of you! Move it!
- Russian filth! - Up!
What... do you want?
Russian?
Yes.
Russian!
Come.
Eat.
War kaput.
Woman.
Come! Eat.
War kaput, woman.
Come on.
No fear.
We will not die here.
Bravo, come, come.
Don't be afraid.
Come.
Don't shiver!
Good! Come.
Hey, cuties! Come over here.
You be nice and you'll get something to eat.
Potatoes. Very good.
May I?
Does anybody know how this thing works?
You, Ukrainian, do you know it?
There they are, our Russian liberators.
Full of joy.
It seems they can hardly believe that they've made it this far.
I know them, their sandals and villages.
Their rapidly constructed new buildings they are so proud of.
Stop!
They are without any constraints.
Don't move, asshole!
Leave her.
Get lost.
Urine. Why don't you use urine?
That's enough!
No, seriously...
Your urine is much too old.
Back in Leningrad, I put my general back on his feet with urine...
You storyteller!
It's true.
What are they doing?
Please!
Have you husband?
A husband and two children.
Come anyway.
Quick, quick! Let me through! Let me through!
No, no, you pigs.
You pigs! No!
- You don't belong here. - I didn't do anything wrong.
Stop.
- You filthy pigs, leave me alone! Come on, don't be so prude.
Most fellow countrymen adeptly saved their own hides.
The girl from Silesia was easy prey.
Leave!
Mrs. Hitler.
You slut! Where to?
To the Fuhrer?
Here. Quick. Penthouse to the right. Quick! Go!
Take this and go! Go!
Come.
You speak Russian. You can't abandon me like that.
Soldier!
Why are you taking a woman...
who doesn't want you?
Willing women are unclean.
Open the door! Open it!
Open the door, you bastards! Open it!
Not here.
- Where? - Almost there.
Stop! Stay where you are!
Hey you.
Shoo shoo!
Commander...
I am looking for the commanding officer.
What's up?
Are you in charge here?
I... we need help.
Are you in charge here?
There are many in charge here. Everybody is in charge.
Which one do you want?
Major, sir...
We need your help...
Our men are all healthy and clean.
Mrs. Hitler.
Our country is finished.
Gerd, do you remember your first words?
"Give me 30 minutes and you will never want to leave me again. "
God almighty.
- That is the back corridor. - The widow offered me a place to stay.
She took me by the hand and just led me inside her undestroyed apartment.
- I gratefully accepted the offer. - You can stay here for a while.
Moving places was easy: a blouse, a few books and notebooks.
- You are welcome to stay. - Thank you, I'll take your offer.
Take good care of yourself.
In spite of everything, it would have been good to have a closer look around.
But then, we never know everything, so that's how the story continued.
I guess it has been really nice here once.
How did you find me here?
I searched every cellar.
How often?
Often.
The shores are clad in green,
the trees are breathing freely and deeply
We bravely stride on and on,
towards the final assault in this war!
Our path was long to reach this day in May.
It has cost us much strength and courage.
But now we are free again!
We proudly take our positions.
Greetings, May.
Our soldiers and a few American weapons, and those would be history.
Yeah.
Yesterday at the water pump, it was my turn,
a guy approaches me,
two Iron Crosses and one German Cross in Gold on his chest,
and he gallantly takes the buckets out of my hands. And I say:
"How do I deserve this honor?" and he says "We can't give up now"
"because if the Russian even remotely does to us
"what we did to them during the last four years,
"in the near future there won't be any living Germans left. "
"In the near future"? Nobody talks like that.
Hey you Slavs! We're in Berlin! We made it!
How do you say: Excuse me, do you have a dictionary?
I guess he doesn't need a dictionary for what he wants.
Lenchen!
Come with us!
Come where?
Lenchen!
During the next few days, our house was raided day and night.
Lenchen!
One woman hanged herself, another one was shot to death.
None of us was spared.
Every emotion is dead.
Hey, you from Berlin!
Over here! Upstairs. What kept you so long?
Berlin is ours. Germany is ours.
Forever!
Lenchen.
- What have you got there? - A map.
Move it! Faster.
You go left, I go right.
Where are you going? Come to us.
Come.
Wake up, damned of the earth, who are living in hunger and misery.
Justice is about to burst through like glowing magma in a volcano.
You just go away, away!
I!
I...
...love...
...you.
Good day.
Please, don't!
My pretty one. I'll be back.
My pretty one...
I am a young man...
You scared me.
We will survive all this,
by any means necessary.
Where to?
We're here.
Who are you looking for?
- Kommandatura? - Kommandatura.
So where are they now, our saviors, all the great armies?
In the past, war and dying was a male exclusive thing.
But those times are long gone.
Damned Russians. Officer, General, Commander, doesn't matter.
I take everyone, as high in rank as possible.
From now on, I will decide who gets me.
No, no. Get out of there, will you? This is still my bed.
You can protect us from over there on the couch, see? Protect.
Hm? See. You don't have to get under my blanket.
Do you understand?
Where is the Major?
Wait.
Hey, Miss.
Who are you looking for?
You, blondie.
Why are you looking so stern?
You!
Could you soap my back, huh?
Who do you want to talk to?
You.
Dismissed.
May I have a seat?
No.
Yesterday our house has been occupied and many women have been raped.
I know nothing of that.
It is your duty to help us.
Who?
My people...
...or yours?
Me.
That's just a few minutes. That's nothing to worry about.
It's pointless.
You Russian? Looking what?
Who are you looking for? Commanding officer?
They are all with their women. But I can do it too.
Lieutenant, sir.
May I have a word?
Some of the balconies in our house are mined.
Could you help?
Pity.
Miss!
You, I, evening?
Hm?
I Anatol.
You, I, simple as that, huh?
At this moment I made a vow,
that nothing and nobody would touch me, no matter what happened.
Come in. Follow.
That's where I live.
Come on in.
You need to go now, understand? Go back to your buddies.
Well...
That's my husband.
Don't you understand?
My husband.
You must understand that.
All humans are bad.
I never get what he's saying. He just won't leave.
What are doing? That is mahogany.
Relax. Go into the kitchen.
To the 215th Rifles!
To victory!
To us.
I Charkov!
He's from Charkov.
Charkov! Ah! I'm industrial accountant in books.
An accountant? You're kidding me.
I accountant! You accountant! We accountant!
Everything fine.
That's life, you see?
You, pretty.
Ain't they great guys, those Russians? They are full of juice and strength.
The fucking war is really pissing me off.
True.
When I get back to Charkov,
I'll marry, build a house,
get children. I am working in the kolkhoz.
and you, I will take you as my accountant.
Are you a professional soldier?
No...
I, dairy.
Milk! Milk. Cow.
- How very interesting. - Interesting! Milk and milk.
That's bullshit.
Look at this.
My trophies.
That's nothing.
Here.
THAT is a trophy.
That's not a trophy.
Have a look at this.
That...
...that is a REAL trophy.
An original.
My present to all the ladies.
To kiss and marvel about.
Where toilet?
- The toilet's on the corridor. - Thanks.
Would you like something to eat?
You.
You fancy my dick?
Doesn't matter which one.
Dick is dick.
Why Russia?
What were you doing there, you sons of a bitch?
Why Russia?
That is Major... afraid I forgot his name already.
He is battalion commander. They don't have commandants, only commanders.
Did you know that they study German as first foreign language?
Well, it needs a war for us to get this bit of information.
Can I do something for you?
Hey Mongol. Have you come all the way from Moscow
just to get some water for a German woman?
Or is our major bathing in rose essence?
Made in Germany...
I am taking care of the Major.
Go now. I'll catch up later.
Go.
Go, Mongol, go!
Move it. Faster! Go, go, go!
Move it already. Faster.
A bomb hit the garden of the neighbors and the whole house was rubble.
And it blasted the fattened sow up till under the roof.
Well, obviously it was spoiled.
Here.
Give it to me.
My apologies...
for my unsuitable behavior.
Dismissed.
Berlin is ours.
There.
I have told everybody that they needed to go.
May I sit down?
Come here.
As you wish.
No?
The raping process continues. They are everywhere.
In every apartment.
We are Russian property now. At their service.
But us women, we will need to keep our mouths shut,
or no man will ever want to touch us again when this is all over.
Poor Germany.
German fighters: sit!
Four. Four women.
The whole of Berlin is a brothel.
Here. That's what I've found.
They've got everything.
They've got jewelry and money and houses.
And yet they go to war! Scoundrels.
Enough.
What do I care about them?
Sometimes I think that from now on I could endure everything imaginable,
as long as it comes from the outside
and not from deep within my treacherous heart.
I am swell. And my Russian is improving.
- Is there anyone? - Nobody.
A welcome committee.
Madam, I brought you a cavalier.
Anatol is a gypsy.
Comes and goes as he pleases. No protection.
My sun.
Do you think...
Do you think the Fuhrer has forsaken us?
No. Never.
Here.
Is that all?
My head is aching like crazy.
- Where are you going? - I'll get you some food.
If that's the last thing I'll do in my life.
What about the Reichstag? I don't give a shit about it.
Fuck the Reichstag.
Then he grabs me and throws me on the bed.
And suddenly, he gets so boring, like a lapdog.
Later, he complimented me.
He said: "Ukrainian women like this. "
"You, like this. "
He had really bad breath.
- Oh. It's you. - Good morning. We bring breakfast.
The next morning, a few blocks away the war was still raging,
- the Major came with all his troops. - Good morning.
The widow, who loved bacon, was busy as a bee.
Mr. Eckart, our man of the home guard, was all too happy to surrender.
This way.
- Russian horse. - What's that?
Sugar. We have sugar!
And bacon and salami and bread and butter.
Great joy, but not for everybody.
Then came the cavalry.
Fluttering coats, sabres ahead, horses snuffling.
When a horse is charging,
that's an incredible force.
The whole avalanche is charging against the tank,
against the artillery, against all the machine guns -
All kaput.
You've had much more troops,
but they just couldn't stand it.
They dropped their weapons and fled.
German soldiers, bah!
Don't be so insensitive.
We didn't start this war!
Sit down.
And stop insulting our host.
Enough.
I Caucasus.
Caucasus, understand?
Big mountain, so beautiful!
Sun, blue sky.
Nice dancing with women.
As sweet as grapes.
And Pushkin. He had to live there in exile.
Pushkin? Doesn't matter. I want to go home.
Go home, understand?
I want to see my children and my wife.
See? And all you can think of is "Pushkin. "
I want my wife.
My wife. Understand?
What do you know about fascism?
Fascism?
From ancient Rome, Latin "fascio", means a "bundle of sticks", figuratively a league.
To our host.
Right.
To a woman who is quite obviously very bright.
Just like you right now. Very bright.
But I am not a woman!
To German-Russian friendship!
Hurray!
Everybody upstairs, quick!
Hurry! Quick!
Search all the apartments.
Out. Out!
You goddamn bastard! You dick! You fucking dick!
Stop it.
Enough!
You know Stalin's orders.
Get lost.
Really? What if I don't?
Are you gonna shoot me?
I'll kill you if I have to.
He is acting on my orders.
Stop!
A young soldier has stolen food.
He is armed.
Who is living up there?
Who is living there?
Anybody living there?
No.
She's lying.
Lying bitch.
I spit on Germany.
And on Berlin.
We conquered it, and I spit on it!
Get out of my way.
Don't move.
I'll kill you, punk!
Everyone in possession of fire arms or hiding someone with guns
will be executed immediately, their houses destroyed.
They will not forget this.
Can I have something to drink?
You need to get away from here.
- What are you doing here? - I won't go to Siberia.
During the next few days, the Major was here often.
Great protection for everyone.
In his coat he had tucked away candles and cigars and plenty of gifts
that the widow stashed away in her kitchen cupboard as quickly as possible.
On the whole, the times were changing.
Russians love to play Santa Claus. We don't want to spoil it for them, do we?
That is way too much.
The major speaks sophisticated Russian and told me more than I wanted to know.
Now I know about his bank account,
his parents and the names of his brothers.
Today you are our guest. Please, take a seat.
Such an old school cavalier. I really like to touch him.
The war continued.
While our men and husbands were sent to Siberia,
many of the women found protectors
which made them a taboo for the rest of the pack.
Please hold it up. That's a Singer.
Almost there. Hold it up. Up.
In and out, in and out.
It's like Grand Central Station in here.
Mussolini is dead. Hanged.
He deserved it. One asshole less.
Cheers!
As soon as Andrej had left the house, Anatol claimed his visiting rights.
I was afraid that the two top dogs would meet and kill me one day.
It's not that I could claim that this Major is raping me.
I am at his service.
A whore? Maybe.
I have met that kind of woman only once in my life.
People told me not to talk to her because she was unsound.
Whatever that means: unsound.
Young woman!
No way.
Incredible.
There she comes prancing along as if nothing happened.
- How often? - Four times. You?
Come on.
I can't believe I see you again. You look well.
So do you.
Here. Quince jelly. Real Bordeaux. Take it.
You take that with you.
Seems you are having a good life here.
That's one way to put it. Come on.
- I'm glad you're here. - Me too.
Elke's visit had cheered us all up.
The Major is guarding us well
so that we can drink his tea without any disturbances.
That feels so good.
Where to?
What do you care?
You can't go in there.
Who's in there?
What a nice and yummy bloke that was.
So I tell him:"Young man,
"that gun there over your shoulder, that might go off. "
And when I go up the stairs,
on the second floor someone rushes out of the apartment,
grabs my hair and asks: "You syphilis?"
And I am in shock and I say:
- "No, surely not. " - How dumb of you.
How's your husband?
He was there when it happened the first time.
He's been a bit confused ever since.
- What do you say about our cavaliers? - Pitiful.
They are pretty unimaginative.
It may be that at home,
they have the latest and greatest socialist planned economy,
...but their sex life is that of Adam and Eve.
That's what I told my husband, too.
With all the food shortage, a good husband isn't worth that much.
I guess a satisfactory sex life depends on regular meals.
For me, it's all about a full stomach.
No gifts, no sex!
Heart, Pain, Love, Sex Drive. To us!
Who knows when we'll be together again.
All right, careful. Hot, hot!
That is apple streusel cake.
Yeah, with crumbles, and it's still steaming hot.
# You, you are in my heart. #
# You, you are on my mind. #
# You, you cause me great pains, #
# you don't know how much I love you. #
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
# don't know how much I love you. #
Not too much going on with our Russian men right now, am I right?
- They are so puny and powerless. - The weak sex.
Have you heard anything from Gerd?
I've got a question concerning Syphilis.
Oh my God.
How do you know you've got it?
Itching and burning.
- And enlarged lymph nodes. - But that comes later.
I've read it in a lexicon.
A lexicon...
Here.
An American gave that to me.
Chew it.
Good, isn't it?
Americans...
They all look like film stars.
I'm leaving.
And tell her...
that I'll be back.
You got that?
What's that?
Can you protect us?
Just this one day?
I'll be here.
Where will you go... later?
To where I am needed.
A special evening with the Major.
Good conversation.
He told me that he adores me.
And that he doesn't care about anything else.
Other than the Germans, the Russian men really appreciate educated women.
But the war hasn't ended yet.
Excuse me.
Have you got a minute to spare? We could use your help.
Come on, kiddos, let's get out of here.
We will finish building this tower of yours.
That's him.
Good day.
You Russian?
Translate.
The German army came to my village
and killed all the children.
They have...
...stabbed them to death,
took their bodies at the ankles...
Continue!
...and smashed their skulls...
...on the walls...
...of the houses.
Have you heard that?
Or did you see it with your own eyes?
I saw it.
Hey! Why so fast?
Have you forgotten your panties?
You speak Russian, so tell him he needs to stop that.
You speak Russian, right?
Move it, you slut! Go.
Where are you going?
I've been waiting for you.
What's wrong with you?
Comrade Major!
The old Germany is coming to an end.
Stay away from him!
He is coming to me,
not the other way round.
Go away.
Why?
You Germans have hanged his wife.
Attention! On April 30th, 1945, the Fuhrer committed suicide.
He deserted all of us who have pledged allegiance to him.
Following the orders of the Fuhrer, you still believe it's your duty
to defend Berlin although the supply of heavy armory,
ammunition and your position make this fight utterly pointless.
With every hour you continue to fight,
you prolong the horrible suffering of the civil population of Berlin...
and our wounded soldiers.
From now on, everybody who dies in the battle for Berlin
will have sacrificed their lives in vain.
In accordance with the leaders of the Soviet army I prompt you
to cease all fighting immediately.
Breitling, Artillery General and commanding officer of the Berlin defense.
Fellow soldiers and officers of the 8th guard army.
This morning,
the Berlin garrison...
...has capitulated.
Berlin...
is defeated.
I've told you we would make it!
I'll join my fellow Germans.
Go to Siberia?
What about us?
Talk to me, Friedrich, please!
Talk to me.
I've been waiting for you.
I have prayed and hoped,
prayed and hoped.
No I want you to fulfill
some of those hopes for me.
Hurray, comrades! To our victory!
Berlin is defeated!
To our home country!
Long live the Red Army!
Long live Stalin!
Hold on, wait a second.
What have we here? Two halibuts.
- That's incredible. - Hitler, Goebbels, kaput.
That's great! Let's drink.
Capitulation.
The time has come.
The war is over.
Us women have been looking forward to this day so much.
So how does it feel?
Bitter, bitter defeat.
More and more people report gruesome things.
I sense an alien, hard-to-grasp something in the air,
mean and threatening.
I don't want to think about that right now.
It's over.
I don't know...
I'm afraid misfortune has still some tricks up its sleeves.
Do you hear that?
They drink and smoke like men.
There are 1 million women in the Russian army.
They come from everywhere. We don't have uniforms for them.
Boots are too big. Shirts and jackets, a disaster.
Once a woman came to me, Ljuba was her name I think.
She says: "Comrade Major, I believe I will fall today.
"I want new clothes. " I say: "No, you are with us a long time.
"Bullets just avoid you. " Two hours later, she comes again.
And again. Then I tell her:
"Then the new shirt, with ties white as snow,
it would be spoiled by the blood. "
All female soldiers fear that when they die, they don't look pretty.
Are you a fascist?
What are you looking for?
All occupied.
And the battalion commander?
That's what I like about you Mongols.
Not a single unnecessary word.
1678 days...
since I've been in this war.
And now...
And she...
she's a whore.
Am I right?
This whole place...
is a brothel!
You come with me. Move it, you pig.
A pistol, huh? Bastard!
Peace, huh?
Don't!
War kaput!
I said, move it!
Everybody downstairs.
Hurry!
All of you, downstairs.
Hurry!
Faster.
Quick!
Don't move.
Where you get weapons?
Whose apartment is that?
Who?
It's mine.
Is that hers?
It's hers.
That is crime against decree of Red Army.
Long live the Fuhrer.
Eliminate her.
You can all go to hell.
Did you know about weapons?
- No. - Go back to apartment.
Shoot them all!
Go now.
Stop.
They're liars, all of them!
Shoot them.
Leave this woman.
She is a Hitler broad.
Do you understand?
No.
First she will be interrogated.
Do you understand?
What are you doing, brother?
This woman has sheltered an armed soldier.
The punishment for that is death.
Go, now!
I'll have to report this.
Burn them alive!
How could you risk our lives like that? Now we are sold down the river.
Traitor!
I own whole Berlin! Hotel Adlon, Wedding, Kaiserdamm!
Red flags everywhere.
Red flags. Pretty flags, good quality.
What is it?
Quarrel?
What are you looking at?
Get out of my sight.
Hey, what's up?
To victory, Commander.
To Stalin and our victory.
Wait. You should stay with your people.
The war is over.
Here! I get it.
Look...
Lyoba, Marina, Olga.
They love me,
all of them.
Everything all right?
Do you want something to eat?
Here. What's better? You tell me. His dick or my bicycle?
And you, get out of here...
before I shoot your nuts off!
You, listen!
We celebrate.
Everybody come, whole house.
Order!
Your Hitler is not human. He is a stinking pile of turd.
Not human.
Turd!
Lenchen, Lenchen! Trouble upstairs!
Everyone, come now.
Order!
Fill the glasses.
What are you standing there?
We've got guests.
Why fear?
Look down there. What do you see?
Soldiers.
Russians! Beasts. Or animals, like you call us.
And you're right.
None of us is hesitating a single second if we can shoot a German.
Your blood is on our uniforms.
Is good as it is. None of them wanted war!
Most of them didn't even know what that is, Germany.
Now come with me.
What is happening here?
Careful, that's mahogany.
Let me go!
- You dance. Dance! - How dare you?
This is my living room and not a dance hall.
You understand?
- That is fantastic. - No dance hall!
Drink Schnapps, Vodka. Schnapps good.
You.
Sing? Now he wants me to sing. I won't sing now.
- What does he want? - Well, have a guess.
No.
What does that mean, "no"?
That is Europe! That is Europe!
Drink, drink.
Why not?
I'm looking at you.
And you? Nothing.
Well, maybe next time.
To you.
I Anatol.
- I know. - Bärbel.
My heart calls Bärbel.
Bärbel, Bärbel, Bärbel.
I play the fiddle.
Violin. Violin?
You play the piano?
In an orchestra, but not any more.
The violin is lost.
That's good. I'd like to play the piano, too.
Why don't you go upstairs?
- Should I? - Yes, have some fun.
We all need that.
Do you come with me?
Later.
- Sure? - Yes.
It's good that you are here.
I want to embrace you
my whole life.
I am here, you're in Moscow.
Nobody has arms that long.
Try it.
The Major asked me to call him Andrej. "Why not?", I said.
"The war is over. " He looked at me for a long while.
"Every newborn child cries for war," he said.
Nothing and nobody, no man, no nation, will stop this vicious circle.
Only death.
Not so fast, I am getting sick.
Gee.
Attention.
And now for everybody...
"I in love with you. "
Bärbel.
Dance.
Come on, let's go.
We are not a people any more, we're only "the population".
I am talking about individuals that form within a democracy.
The ones who get the economy going. Economic upswing.
Dance, dance, you come.
I think we should look at the greater picture here.
The countries of Europe will burst their borders.
They will grow into larger areas. The victorious super powers will,
just like Napoleon did, re-order the political world map.
So we will become a Soviet republic with planned economy, huh?
Thanks.
Well, Mr. Hoch, everything all right? We need to think practical now.
Let's start the every day life again, and we will soon get into the groove.
Slow down.
Drink.
The Soviet Union is just at the beginning of its evolution.
The future will prove that.
You love your country.
Just as I love mine.
My mother once said that one day,
I would marry a man who played the piano.
Everybody has been wondering what this day would be like.
I haven't.
Never.
I didn't want to experience it.
Why not?
If you don't do it, Andrej, I will tell you something.
War is changing the words.
"Love" is not what it used to be.
And yet,
in spite of that,
I want that my husband finds the same wife that he left behind
when he returns.
Please stay.
Us women, we are branded for life.
But for here and now, right in this moment,
I feel fantastic.
I'll go and get us some tea. Ilse still has some left.
Morning, Lenchen! Anybody up?
- Where is your Wanja? - Working.
And mummy?
Ilse?
Ilse.
Ilse, get away from him.
Gerd, do you remember? It was on a Tuesday.
We went to see Felix.
You could smell the tree resin.
We came across a cloud of butterflies.
And you knew all their names.
Pea blues, Brimstones, Fire birds, Swallowtails and many more.
One was taking a sunbath right there on the path,
it was velvety brown and yellow with a blue hem.
You called it a Mourning Cloak.
So many things I've been given in my life.
In abundance.
The Major had lost everything.
Damn Russian idealist.
He takes it all like he wants the world to be.
Soviet apostle.
I like him though.
The less he wants from me, the more I like him.
Very much.
Andrej.
Andrej isn't here any more.
Relocated.
To where?
Unknown.
Good-bye.
"The birds so quiet, the bells are silent. "
Isn't that how it goes?
Please, sit down.
The studio,
is that gone?
- I don't live here alone. - I know.
Ukrainians like that.
Here, that's for you.
You are shameless.
Don't you see that?
It is disgusting just to look at you.
Atten-shun!
- I'd like to thank you. - For what?
That I had the chance to get to know you.
Take care of yourself.
How are we supposed to live?
Eyes front!
"Relocation," that's what they call it.
With full honors and merits.
To Siberia, who knows?
Gerd.
My beloved Gerd.
What shall we do?
Turn back the wheel of time?
Back to your very first words?
"30 minutes", you said.
"Give me 30 minutes, and you will never want to leave me again. "
What?
No answer.
Two days later he was gone.
I don't know if he will come back.
I am surprised that I am not suffering more.
Maybe I am just too busy.
I need to find a piece of flint stone,
I need to mop up the floor of the apartment
and I am desperately looking for some flowers.
Yesterday I found some lilac.
I wonder if Gerd still thinks about me.
Who knows?
Maybe our hearts have a say in this, too,
and we'll see each other again, some day.
When the diary "A woman in Berlin" was first released in Germany in 1959,
it was a huge scandal.
Many people said that it was a disgrace and an insult to the German women.
The author was so shocked by the rejection and the contempt that her book received.
She prohibited any further releases for as long as she lived.
And even beyond her death, here real name was never to be revealed.