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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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(wind blowing)
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(ethereal music playing)
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Kai Höss:
It feels strange being here
with my father
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in the Judean Desert,
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which his own father
crossed in 1917,
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during the First World War,
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when he was the youngest
non-commissioned officer
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in the German army.
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30 years later, when he was
nearing his death, he wrote,
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"The life and death of the Jews
is truly a riddle
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I have not been able to solve."
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By then,
he had killed more people
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than any other man
in all of history.
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(dark music playing)
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♪
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(music fades out)
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- (birds chirping)
- (cars approaching)
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(cars driving by)
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(Hans speaking German)
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(Kai speaking German)
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(Kai murmuring)
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(chuckles)
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(Hans murmuring)
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(Hans speaking German)
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(Kai speaking German)
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(tense music playing)
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(Hans speaking German)
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(birds chirping)
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(birds chirping)
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- (rumbling)
- (music builds in intensity)
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(newsreel narrator
speaking German)
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- (typing)
- (court chatter)
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(Rudolf Höss speaking German)
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- (birds chirping)
- (heavy breathing)
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(chattering in German)
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(sniffles)
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(Kai speaking German)
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(Kai speaking German)
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(Hans speaking German)
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- Kai: Okay. Uh-huh, uh-huh.
- (grunts)
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(eerie music playing)
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(Hans speaking German)
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(slow footsteps)
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(door creaks)
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(both speaking German)
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(sighs)
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- (triumphant music playing)
- (steps clicking)
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(newsreel narrator
speaking German)
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(music crescendos)
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(soft ominous music playing)
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narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
I'm not a writer.
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Writing has never been
my strength.
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I've recorded everything
as I remember it.
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My life has been
colorful and varied.
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(artillery blast)
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♪
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My fate has led me through
all the highs and lows of life.
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I have had two guiding stars
since I returned as a man
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from the war
I entered as a schoolboy,
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my fatherland and my family.
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(Hans speaking German)
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(Daniela speaking German)
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(foreboding music playing)
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(wind blowing)
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narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
I became the Commandant
of a new camp, Auschwitz.
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I, myself, hadn't expected
to be promoted
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to Commandant so soon,
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and it wasn't an easy task.
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(music continues)
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Out of nothing,
and without any resources,
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I was to build
something enormous
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as quickly as possible.
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Russian prisoners of war
were meant to build the camp.
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They arrived in a totally
decrepit state.
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We were constantly giving
them additional rations,
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but without success.
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They were dying like flies.
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Cases of cannibalism
were not uncommon.
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Of more than 10,000
Russian prisoners of war
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who were supposed to make up
the main workforce,
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by the summer of 1942,
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only a few hundred
were still alive.
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(music continues)
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Himmler visited Auschwitz
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and had a thorough look
at everything.
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We drove through the entire
Zone of Interest.
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I was constantly drawing
his attention to the shortages.
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He, too, saw them.
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He shouted at me when
I could not stop talking about
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the atrocious conditions.
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"I don't want to hear anything
else about difficulties.
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"For an SS leader,
there are no difficulties.
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His task is to resolve them."
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(music stops)
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The enormity, I mean,
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of what he do-- what he did,
what he conceived.
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For years, planning,
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making this concentration camp
the most efficient...
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extermination machine ever--
that ever existed, right?
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I mean, that's his plan.
Auschwitz was his...
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kinda his brainchild.
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(somber music playing)
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♪
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narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
Auschwitz became a Jew camp,
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a gathering camp for Jews
to an extent not known before.
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For the Jews of Auschwitz,
there was no more hope.
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They knew that,
without exception,
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they were
condemned to death.
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- (music continues)
- (wind blowing)
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Zyklon B was in constant use
for pest control in Auschwitz.
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We decided to use this gas
for the mass extermination.
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♪
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"I, myself, watched a killing,
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protected by a gas mask."
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(heavy door slamming)
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"The door was closed,
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"and the gas was poured
in through the openings.
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"Some shouted, 'Gas,'
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and a mighty yelling..."
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narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
...and pushing towards
both doors ensued.
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But they withstood
the pressure.
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They were only opened
after a few hours
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when the chamber was aired.
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How long this killing took,
I'm not sure of,
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but you could still hear a
humming noise for a long time.
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That is when I saw gas corpses
for the first time in a heap.
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I did not give any thought
to the killing itself.
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It had been ordered,
and I had to execute it.
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Kai:
When I first read
my grandfather's memoirs,
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what struck me was, he was
like a clinical observer,
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just looking at himself,
looking at what he was doing.
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It was a very clinical,
like a, a scientist
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that looks at
a lifeless experiment,
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and that had showed me some
kind of a coldness of his soul.
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(birds chirping)
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(cello note plays)
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(soft cello playing)
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(cello stops)
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There wasn't much conversation
about Auschwitz in my family.
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I think my dad was always
pretty quiet about it.
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That's just
silent generation, right?
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They don't really talk
about stuff that much,
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and he's not
a big talker today either.
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So, yeah, it's hard.
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(speaking German)
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(speaking German)
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(soft laughter)
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Kai: I mean, it freaks me a
little bit when you think about,
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like, there's this,
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um, you know,
this joyful family life
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going on with,
you know, actually
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quite beautiful presence
and, um,
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joy, fun, having toys,
and enjoying life.
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And then, just a couple
of hundred yards, uh,
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behind the walls, you know,
and barbed wired walls,
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there-there would be people
being murdered.
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That is just mind-blowing
when you think about it.
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(speaking German)
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(Hans speaking German)
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Kai:
For me, it's pretty
difficult to kind of
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imagine that they did not
actually smell,
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or hear, or see anything.
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- (birds chirping)
- (soft music playing)
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I think my dad probably,
subconsciously,
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suppresses some of
the experiences he's had.
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Put it in some very deep layers
of his conscience
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where he just really
doesn't remember,
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like protecting himself,
his mind.
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(Young Anita speaking German)
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(clicking)
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- (leaves rustling)
- (unsettling music playing)
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Anita Lasker-Wallfisch:
In Auschwitz, you were killed
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in the most
sophisticated manner.
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People got gassed
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in a gas chamber.
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The place is full of
black smoke, horrible smell.
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Hell.
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Hell on Earth is Auschwitz.
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When I arrived in Auschwitz,
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it transpired that
there was a band there
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that needed a cellist.
They didn't have a cellist.
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So, my arrival seems
to have been a,
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you know, a great event.
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(unsettling music resumes)
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So I became the only cellist
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in the camp orchestra,
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which was a very,
very lucky position to have.
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Absolutely saved my life.
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- (unsettling music continues)
- (exhales)
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Maya Lasker-Wallfisch:
My mother survived
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the murder of her parents,
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witnessed the murder
of millions of others,
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being starved...
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every imaginable horror.
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Anita:
We had the job
of playing marches
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for the thousands of people
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who were working
in the factories
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that surrounded Auschwitz.
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Because the Germans like
everything nice and neat,
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so we had to play marches
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so that the working
people could,
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you know,
walk out to the music.
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But, this was also conceived
as a sort of entertainment
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for the guards.
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Very boring places,
you know, for us all just to...
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- Mm.
- ...to be guards in Auschwitz.
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Those were times
long before television
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or any entertainment.
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I found out after the war
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that there were orchestras
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in every camp.
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And the camp commander
of Birkenau where I was
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suddenly is all,
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"They all got music.
I want music as well."
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We played. Hopefully,
next day, we are still alive.
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That's how it was. Yeah.
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00:20:44,786 --> 00:20:47,872
Maya:
I was just looking, Mom,
at your cello case.
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Anita:
Mm-hmm.
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It's such...
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- (scoffs) a monument, isn't it?
- Yeah.
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A symbol to your life
as a cellist.
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I know.
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00:20:58,717 --> 00:21:01,761
(orchestra playing)
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00:21:16,985 --> 00:21:18,737
Maya:
The way in which my mother
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00:21:18,737 --> 00:21:22,198
found some kind of way
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00:21:22,198 --> 00:21:24,909
to be in the world
after the Holocaust
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was by not speaking.
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00:21:27,037 --> 00:21:28,580
(orchestra fades out)
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00:21:28,580 --> 00:21:32,292
She had settled
into a kind of silence.
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00:21:33,335 --> 00:21:36,338
(kettle rattling)
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00:21:41,634 --> 00:21:43,470
Anita:
I only had one thought in mind
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00:21:43,470 --> 00:21:45,764
when I came here
to catch up with lost--
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00:21:45,764 --> 00:21:47,432
my lost life, my lost youth.
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00:21:47,432 --> 00:21:49,267
(kettle boiling)
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00:21:50,268 --> 00:21:52,145
When I arrived in England,
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nobody asked any questions
about Auschwitz.
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So, we decided,
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"What's the point here?"
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So, we didn't talk about it.
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It took nearly--
I think it was 50 years,
243
00:22:05,658 --> 00:22:07,786
and then my children said to me,
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00:22:07,786 --> 00:22:10,413
"Mom, you never actually
told us anything."
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00:22:10,413 --> 00:22:13,291
(curious music playing)
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00:22:13,291 --> 00:22:16,795
Maya:
As a child, I was very aware
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that there were no-go areas.
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Anything German was bad.
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So, you kind of settle into
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a limbo of not knowing,
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00:22:27,931 --> 00:22:30,016
not knowing facts,
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00:22:30,016 --> 00:22:32,477
but a sense of knowing that
253
00:22:32,477 --> 00:22:35,480
there is something
really awful
254
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:37,524
in the hinterland.
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00:22:40,652 --> 00:22:42,821
I know now,
as a psychotherapist,
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00:22:42,821 --> 00:22:45,990
that those born to
Holocaust survivors,
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as I am,
can inherit a traumatization
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00:22:49,994 --> 00:22:53,164
that it sort of sits
inside the psyche
259
00:22:53,164 --> 00:22:55,834
and has no shape,
has no form, has no words
260
00:22:55,834 --> 00:22:59,004
because words-- it hasn't
been given a context.
261
00:22:59,004 --> 00:23:02,507
And I felt this
from being a tiny child.
262
00:23:04,175 --> 00:23:06,011
But nobody in those days
263
00:23:06,011 --> 00:23:08,555
understood the impact
of the Holocaust
264
00:23:08,555 --> 00:23:11,599
on the second generation.
265
00:23:12,434 --> 00:23:14,102
And this was my room.
266
00:23:15,353 --> 00:23:17,856
It was the first room of my own,
267
00:23:17,856 --> 00:23:20,859
but it wasn't a happy place.
268
00:23:28,199 --> 00:23:30,243
When I look at
the pictures of myself,
269
00:23:30,243 --> 00:23:33,580
probably aged under 2,
270
00:23:33,580 --> 00:23:36,082
I'm overwhelmed with sadness.
271
00:23:39,085 --> 00:23:42,047
See, these are snaps
of a child in deep despair.
272
00:23:42,047 --> 00:23:45,550
A child, which who is not
sweetly plump,
273
00:23:46,217 --> 00:23:48,345
but a misshapen child.
274
00:23:49,054 --> 00:23:51,097
(emotional)
My struggle through life
275
00:23:51,097 --> 00:23:54,100
is somehow symbolized
276
00:23:54,100 --> 00:23:56,144
in these early pictures.
277
00:23:57,562 --> 00:23:59,064
My mother wasn't there.
278
00:23:59,939 --> 00:24:01,649
- (birds chirping outside)
- (paper rustling)
279
00:24:02,776 --> 00:24:05,445
They are pictures
of an inability
280
00:24:05,445 --> 00:24:09,240
to take care of me
in the way that I needed.
281
00:24:10,075 --> 00:24:13,745
And that, certainly for me,
was a consequence
282
00:24:13,745 --> 00:24:18,667
of my mother's experiences
in the Holocaust.
283
00:24:20,168 --> 00:24:22,671
(softly crying)
284
00:24:28,259 --> 00:24:30,762
I'm the wrong mother
for my daughter.
285
00:24:31,763 --> 00:24:33,765
I'm very basic.
286
00:24:33,765 --> 00:24:36,643
Traumatized? Forget it.
Get on with life.
287
00:24:36,643 --> 00:24:39,688
(kettle whistling, rattling)
288
00:24:42,607 --> 00:24:43,608
(Anita sighs)
289
00:24:46,611 --> 00:24:47,987
(click, whistling stops)
290
00:24:47,987 --> 00:24:51,616
If you have lived through
the unbelievable horror
291
00:24:51,616 --> 00:24:53,410
that I've lived through,
292
00:24:53,410 --> 00:24:55,829
it's quite difficult
to actually...
293
00:24:55,829 --> 00:24:58,123
sympathize or empathize.
294
00:24:59,958 --> 00:25:02,293
Do you know that
I'm somebody who needs nothing?
295
00:25:02,293 --> 00:25:05,130
I could never understand
why you needed everything.
296
00:25:06,047 --> 00:25:07,590
Completely anathema to me.
297
00:25:08,174 --> 00:25:10,051
And it's still anathema to me.
298
00:25:10,301 --> 00:25:12,804
Maya: What I needed
just wasn't available.
299
00:25:13,471 --> 00:25:15,974
I think what you needed
is to have your mother at home.
300
00:25:15,974 --> 00:25:17,684
- Maya: Right.
- That's what I thought.
But for me--
301
00:25:17,684 --> 00:25:19,436
- Maya: Yeah.
- Your mother wasn't at home
302
00:25:19,436 --> 00:25:22,105
- because we had to put bread
on the table, you know?
- Maya: Yeah.
303
00:25:22,105 --> 00:25:24,774
- But how can a child
understand that? Yeah.
- Maya: Yeah. Of course.
304
00:25:24,774 --> 00:25:26,818
I think you think
305
00:25:26,818 --> 00:25:30,155
that you and I
are very different.
306
00:25:30,155 --> 00:25:32,699
Anita:
Hmm.
307
00:25:32,699 --> 00:25:36,494
Do you think that there
are any similarities?
308
00:25:37,829 --> 00:25:41,332
- I would have to look
a long way.
- (both laugh)
309
00:25:41,332 --> 00:25:43,001
I would have to look
a long way.
310
00:25:43,001 --> 00:25:45,545
- Maya: Really?
- Yeah.
311
00:25:46,212 --> 00:25:49,341
It's really interesting,
isn't it? That my whole life,
312
00:25:49,341 --> 00:25:52,385
which chunks of it have been
313
00:25:52,385 --> 00:25:55,221
about a feeling
of not belonging...
314
00:25:57,223 --> 00:26:01,728
um, in any sense,
in British society or...
315
00:26:02,729 --> 00:26:04,189
just not belonging,
316
00:26:04,189 --> 00:26:07,567
and everything always
being a huge struggle--
317
00:26:07,567 --> 00:26:10,737
But, I was lucky
because I had a very, uh,
318
00:26:10,737 --> 00:26:13,907
- fulfilled life in England,
which...
- Maya: Mm-hmm.
319
00:26:14,783 --> 00:26:16,868
...which you didn't manage.
320
00:26:16,868 --> 00:26:18,370
Maya:
For you,
321
00:26:18,370 --> 00:26:21,706
- this has been
a place of refuge.
- Yeah.
322
00:26:23,541 --> 00:26:26,086
Well, one must realize
also, looking back,
323
00:26:26,086 --> 00:26:28,338
what was the situation
like in Germany.
324
00:26:28,338 --> 00:26:29,923
A lot of unemployment,
325
00:26:29,923 --> 00:26:33,009
and then this lovely
Mr. Hitler appears.
326
00:26:33,009 --> 00:26:35,887
Suddenly, we,
we are somebody again.
327
00:26:36,805 --> 00:26:38,223
So, yeah.
328
00:26:38,598 --> 00:26:41,059
National Socialism
became a big success.
329
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:45,563
(ominous music playing)
330
00:26:50,443 --> 00:26:53,071
♪
331
00:26:53,071 --> 00:26:56,408
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
I considered the National
Socialist worldview to be
332
00:26:56,408 --> 00:26:59,119
the only appropriate one
for the German people.
333
00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:01,579
(inaudible)
334
00:27:05,083 --> 00:27:07,627
Antisemitism is nothing new.
335
00:27:07,627 --> 00:27:10,964
- (newspaper crinkling)
- (inaudible)
336
00:27:10,964 --> 00:27:13,508
It has always existed
all over the world.
337
00:27:14,467 --> 00:27:15,927
It becomes more apparent
338
00:27:15,927 --> 00:27:18,263
when the Jews push
themselves forward
339
00:27:18,263 --> 00:27:20,140
too much
in their quest for power.
340
00:27:20,140 --> 00:27:21,975
(kids chattering)
341
00:27:22,976 --> 00:27:25,103
I'd like to stress that,
personally,
342
00:27:25,103 --> 00:27:27,105
I've never hated Jews,
343
00:27:27,105 --> 00:27:29,983
but I considered them
the enemy of our people.
344
00:27:32,944 --> 00:27:34,946
(speaking German)
345
00:27:39,868 --> 00:27:42,620
(speaking German)
346
00:27:50,045 --> 00:27:53,506
(Kai speaking German)
347
00:28:24,913 --> 00:28:27,916
(Daniela speaking German)
348
00:28:45,517 --> 00:28:48,520
(turbines whirring)
349
00:28:51,022 --> 00:28:54,526
(foreboding music playing)
350
00:28:54,526 --> 00:28:57,529
(birds chirping)
351
00:29:02,409 --> 00:29:05,120
(clock ticking)
352
00:29:11,376 --> 00:29:12,377
(sighs)
353
00:29:24,889 --> 00:29:28,101
- (reading fades out)
- narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
Once, two little children
354
00:29:28,101 --> 00:29:30,270
were so absorbed
into their game
355
00:29:30,270 --> 00:29:33,064
that they absolutely did not
want to allow their mother
356
00:29:33,064 --> 00:29:34,232
to pull them away from it.
357
00:29:38,903 --> 00:29:40,905
Even the Jews of
the Sonderkommando
358
00:29:40,905 --> 00:29:43,241
did not want
to take the children.
359
00:29:48,496 --> 00:29:50,540
I will never forget
the mother's expression
360
00:29:50,540 --> 00:29:52,792
in her eyes,
begging for mercy,
361
00:29:52,792 --> 00:29:54,961
as she surely knew
what was happening.
362
00:29:57,756 --> 00:30:00,967
Those in the gas chamber
were already getting restless.
363
00:30:02,260 --> 00:30:03,762
I had to act.
364
00:30:04,346 --> 00:30:06,348
Everyone was looking at me.
365
00:30:07,766 --> 00:30:09,934
I gave the non-commissioned
officer a nod,
366
00:30:09,934 --> 00:30:11,394
and he took the children,
367
00:30:11,394 --> 00:30:13,938
who were putting up
a fierce struggle in his arms,
368
00:30:13,938 --> 00:30:15,982
and put them into the gas
chamber with the mother,
369
00:30:15,982 --> 00:30:18,526
whose screams
were heartbreaking.
370
00:30:21,696 --> 00:30:23,740
(clock ticking)
371
00:30:23,740 --> 00:30:26,076
I also saw a woman
who tried to push her children
372
00:30:26,076 --> 00:30:29,996
out of the gas chamber
as the door was being closed.
373
00:30:29,996 --> 00:30:31,956
Weeping, she cried out,
374
00:30:31,956 --> 00:30:34,501
"At least let my
precious children live."
375
00:30:37,003 --> 00:30:40,507
Seeing women walk into
the gas chambers with children,
376
00:30:40,507 --> 00:30:43,051
I often thought
of my own family.
377
00:30:44,969 --> 00:30:47,972
(wind blowing)
378
00:31:00,026 --> 00:31:03,071
(Hans speaking German)
379
00:31:24,551 --> 00:31:27,554
- (wind blowing)
- (waves washing ashore)
380
00:31:49,284 --> 00:31:52,287
- (gentle music playing)
- (birds cawing)
381
00:32:06,134 --> 00:32:10,055
I come from a completely
assimilated
382
00:32:10,055 --> 00:32:11,931
German-Jewish family.
383
00:32:12,265 --> 00:32:16,061
My father was a soldier
in the First World War
384
00:32:16,061 --> 00:32:18,772
with the Iron Cross
and all the--
385
00:32:18,772 --> 00:32:22,025
Yeah,
we were Germans.
386
00:32:22,025 --> 00:32:25,570
And Jewish, but we did not
practice the Jewish faith.
387
00:32:25,570 --> 00:32:28,573
♪
388
00:32:28,573 --> 00:32:30,950
My father, unfortunately,
was a complete optimist.
389
00:32:30,950 --> 00:32:33,745
He said, "The Germans
can't be that stupid."
390
00:32:33,745 --> 00:32:35,538
And then, he realized
391
00:32:36,081 --> 00:32:38,583
the Germans are that stupid.
392
00:32:40,001 --> 00:32:43,046
In the 1930s,
all Jews in Germany
393
00:32:43,046 --> 00:32:46,591
were stripped
of their nationality.
394
00:32:46,591 --> 00:32:49,052
My mother, and father,
for that matter,
395
00:32:49,052 --> 00:32:53,473
were never interested in
reclaiming German citizenship
396
00:32:53,473 --> 00:32:55,517
although they would've
been entitled to.
397
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,775
Anita:
Germany was finished for me.
I don't belong there.
398
00:33:03,775 --> 00:33:07,278
I couldn't wait to become
naturalized British.
399
00:33:08,029 --> 00:33:12,450
Life without a passport
is very complicated.
400
00:33:12,450 --> 00:33:15,495
- (rain dripping)
- (gentle music playing)
401
00:33:17,706 --> 00:33:20,333
Maya:
But I decided that it was time
402
00:33:20,333 --> 00:33:22,377
to get my citizenship.
403
00:33:23,670 --> 00:33:27,632
When my German passport
was delivered to my house,
404
00:33:27,632 --> 00:33:31,469
I remember just feeling
a huge sense of elation.
405
00:33:31,469 --> 00:33:33,972
I felt triumphant.
406
00:33:33,972 --> 00:33:37,225
- (tape stretching)
- (energetic music playing)
407
00:33:40,311 --> 00:33:42,480
(rustling)
408
00:33:48,486 --> 00:33:50,530
- Do you want this?
- speaker: Um...
409
00:33:50,530 --> 00:33:52,323
(drill whirring)
410
00:33:53,199 --> 00:33:56,619
operator (on phone):
Will your home move
be within the next 28 days?
411
00:33:56,619 --> 00:33:58,955
- Maya: Yes.
- (wrapping rustling)
412
00:33:58,955 --> 00:34:01,374
(water dripping)
413
00:34:01,374 --> 00:34:05,253
operator (on phone):
Will your home move be
within the next 28 days?
414
00:34:06,379 --> 00:34:07,839
Yes!
415
00:34:07,839 --> 00:34:11,384
So now, I'm embarking
on a new life.
416
00:34:11,384 --> 00:34:14,387
I've decided to try
and live in Germany,
417
00:34:14,387 --> 00:34:17,349
a country that
I've never lived in
418
00:34:17,349 --> 00:34:20,477
and don't even speak
the language.
419
00:34:20,477 --> 00:34:24,189
But my bones belong there.
420
00:34:24,189 --> 00:34:25,982
I should never
have been born here.
421
00:34:26,691 --> 00:34:28,651
I should have been
born in Germany.
422
00:34:28,651 --> 00:34:30,487
- (car idling)
- Hi, Mom.
423
00:34:31,279 --> 00:34:33,365
It's gonna take me
a bit of time to load.
424
00:34:33,365 --> 00:34:35,367
Can you just move
forward a bit?
425
00:34:37,869 --> 00:34:39,537
No, stop!
426
00:34:42,374 --> 00:34:44,209
Would you like these lights?
427
00:34:44,209 --> 00:34:47,087
- Well, just bring it
or whatever.
- Maya: Okay.
428
00:34:47,087 --> 00:34:49,464
I'm doing my best, Mom.
(sighs)
429
00:34:56,388 --> 00:35:00,308
(somber music playing)
430
00:35:18,910 --> 00:35:22,414
Immigrating to Germany was met
431
00:35:22,414 --> 00:35:25,917
with some
incredulous responses
432
00:35:25,917 --> 00:35:28,128
'cause, after all,
this was the country
433
00:35:28,128 --> 00:35:31,047
that my grandparents
had been murdered in,
434
00:35:31,047 --> 00:35:34,634
as so many Jews were,
and it was the country
435
00:35:34,634 --> 00:35:37,804
that my parents had fled from.
436
00:35:38,430 --> 00:35:41,307
Indeed, my mother didn't
set foot back in Germany
437
00:35:41,307 --> 00:35:42,851
for many, many years.
438
00:35:45,687 --> 00:35:47,647
- Mom. (indistinct)
- Well, well, well.
439
00:35:47,647 --> 00:35:49,315
So this is
where you're living?
440
00:35:49,315 --> 00:35:51,276
This is it.
441
00:35:51,776 --> 00:35:55,238
Anita:
Well, well, well.
Oh, my goodness.
442
00:35:55,238 --> 00:35:57,615
(keys jingling, lock clicks)
443
00:35:57,615 --> 00:35:59,034
Ta-da.
444
00:36:01,619 --> 00:36:03,830
Oh, this looks beautiful.
445
00:36:03,830 --> 00:36:06,791
- Maya: Do you wanna sit down
and have a cigarette?
- Anita: Yeah.
446
00:36:06,791 --> 00:36:08,293
Oh, yes,
a whole gallery there.
447
00:36:08,293 --> 00:36:09,836
Maya:
Yeah.
448
00:36:09,836 --> 00:36:13,423
Very, very... impressive.
449
00:36:14,132 --> 00:36:17,344
Now, you gotta take
all these schnukies away,
450
00:36:17,344 --> 00:36:19,763
so they can see the books.
451
00:36:19,763 --> 00:36:23,183
Is it an exhibition place
or a bookshelf?
452
00:36:23,183 --> 00:36:26,186
- Maya: No, I like my schnukies.
- (clicking)
453
00:36:26,186 --> 00:36:30,065
I guess, in some way,
making this home here
454
00:36:30,732 --> 00:36:33,651
has something to do
with an idea of trying
455
00:36:33,651 --> 00:36:37,614
to reclaim stolen lives,
456
00:36:37,614 --> 00:36:40,325
and also my unlived life.
457
00:36:40,909 --> 00:36:43,661
Anita:
Yeah. It also shows
what could have been
458
00:36:43,661 --> 00:36:46,164
and was destroyed for no reason
459
00:36:46,164 --> 00:36:47,832
other than stupidity.
460
00:36:47,832 --> 00:36:49,876
Maya:
Yeah. Yeah.
461
00:36:51,586 --> 00:36:52,837
Yeah.
462
00:36:53,588 --> 00:36:57,550
But, alas, the stupidity
seems to be perpetuating.
463
00:36:58,677 --> 00:37:01,471
You know, obviously,
people need scapegoats,
464
00:37:01,471 --> 00:37:03,848
and seeing the world is
in such a mess at the moment,
465
00:37:03,848 --> 00:37:06,309
it is typical,
466
00:37:06,309 --> 00:37:08,687
it was the fault
of the Jews again.
467
00:37:08,687 --> 00:37:11,690
I kept experiencing being here,
468
00:37:11,690 --> 00:37:15,026
this terrible
cultural dissonance,
469
00:37:15,026 --> 00:37:17,654
and I was confronted with
470
00:37:17,654 --> 00:37:20,490
unconscious antisemitism.
471
00:37:20,490 --> 00:37:23,201
- Anita: You sure
you don't imagine that?
- No, I don't imagine it.
472
00:37:23,201 --> 00:37:26,079
And it's hard sometimes
not just want
473
00:37:26,079 --> 00:37:28,039
to turn round and run away.
474
00:37:28,039 --> 00:37:30,083
- But where to?
- Exactly.
475
00:37:30,083 --> 00:37:33,378
- Anita: That's the Jewish fate.
- That's the Jewish fate.
476
00:37:33,378 --> 00:37:35,046
- You don't belong anywhere.
- Yeah.
477
00:37:35,046 --> 00:37:37,424
And where you do,
where you should belong,
478
00:37:37,424 --> 00:37:39,467
you got the biggest problem.
479
00:37:41,261 --> 00:37:44,264
(somber music playing)
480
00:37:46,099 --> 00:37:48,184
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
The process of selection
on the ramp
481
00:37:48,184 --> 00:37:49,602
was full of incidents.
482
00:37:50,603 --> 00:37:52,397
When families
were ripped apart,
483
00:37:52,397 --> 00:37:55,233
the men separated from
the women and children,
484
00:37:55,233 --> 00:37:59,237
great agitation and turmoil
rippled through the transport.
485
00:37:59,237 --> 00:38:02,615
And the separation of those fit
for work added to this
486
00:38:03,742 --> 00:38:06,745
because the families wanted
to stay together by all means.
487
00:38:11,291 --> 00:38:14,753
The Jews have a strongly
developed sense of family.
488
00:38:14,753 --> 00:38:17,672
They cling to each other
like limpets.
489
00:38:19,507 --> 00:38:22,594
This gave every one commanded
to do this monstrous work
490
00:38:22,594 --> 00:38:25,055
a lot to think about.
491
00:38:25,055 --> 00:38:27,098
It left lasting impressions.
492
00:38:29,267 --> 00:38:31,728
Most of those involved
often came up to me
493
00:38:31,728 --> 00:38:33,938
during my inspection round.
494
00:38:33,938 --> 00:38:36,649
I heard the same question
again and again.
495
00:38:36,649 --> 00:38:38,610
(wind blowing)
496
00:38:38,610 --> 00:38:40,820
Is it necessary that
hundreds of thousands
497
00:38:40,820 --> 00:38:43,615
of women and children
have to be exterminated?
498
00:38:46,117 --> 00:38:49,120
And I would ask myself
the same question
499
00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:50,914
countless times deep inside,
500
00:38:51,456 --> 00:38:54,334
had to have fob them off
with the Fuhrer Order,
501
00:38:54,334 --> 00:38:56,127
console them with that.
502
00:38:57,212 --> 00:39:00,298
I had to tell them that
the extermination of the Jews
503
00:39:00,298 --> 00:39:03,593
was necessary to free Germany
and our descendants
504
00:39:03,593 --> 00:39:06,388
of our adversaries
once and for all.
505
00:39:15,063 --> 00:39:18,483
My grandfather, obviously
he somehow swallowed,
506
00:39:18,483 --> 00:39:20,527
you know, Nazi ideology,
507
00:39:20,527 --> 00:39:22,320
I mean, socio-Darwinism
in a sense,
508
00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:24,406
he swallowed that hook,
line, and sinker.
509
00:39:24,989 --> 00:39:28,493
It made sense to him
at the time, the master race.
510
00:39:29,661 --> 00:39:32,205
Auschwitz was given to him
511
00:39:32,205 --> 00:39:34,666
and the way he was wired,
512
00:39:34,666 --> 00:39:36,626
as a human being
in his character,
513
00:39:36,626 --> 00:39:39,004
was to do an excellent job.
514
00:39:39,004 --> 00:39:40,505
(birds chirping)
515
00:39:40,505 --> 00:39:43,508
(soft music playing)
516
00:39:50,682 --> 00:39:54,352
Father, we just thank You
so much, Lord, for Your word.
517
00:39:54,352 --> 00:39:56,021
Thank You for Your love
for us, Lord.
518
00:39:56,021 --> 00:39:58,314
Your patience with us, Lord.
519
00:39:58,314 --> 00:40:00,191
You care for us like
we're Your children, God,
520
00:40:00,191 --> 00:40:02,569
and just thank You
for blessing us this way.
521
00:40:02,569 --> 00:40:05,071
I pray all this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
522
00:40:05,530 --> 00:40:07,198
Alright, tuck in, guys.
Let's get it.
523
00:40:07,198 --> 00:40:09,075
- speaker:
I would say ladies' first.
- Kai: Dig in. Dig in.
524
00:40:09,075 --> 00:40:10,368
(laughter)
525
00:40:11,119 --> 00:40:13,663
I'm a pastor for
Bible Church for Stuttgart
526
00:40:13,663 --> 00:40:15,707
and we serve
an international community,
527
00:40:15,707 --> 00:40:18,752
including personnel
from American military bases
528
00:40:18,752 --> 00:40:20,503
and other expats.
529
00:40:20,503 --> 00:40:23,590
We're our having monthly
men's prayer breakfast.
530
00:40:23,590 --> 00:40:26,551
Just the men of the church
having a wholesome,
531
00:40:26,551 --> 00:40:28,595
Godly good time together,
that's all.
532
00:40:28,595 --> 00:40:30,889
You guys, you have
enough space there, everybody?
533
00:40:30,889 --> 00:40:33,058
On this study,
I was just thinking about,
534
00:40:33,058 --> 00:40:36,728
you know, men here today, men,
Christian men, any man.
535
00:40:37,395 --> 00:40:40,523
Men in general in the,
in the 21st century, right?
536
00:40:40,523 --> 00:40:41,775
What is our mission?
537
00:40:41,775 --> 00:40:45,070
The Bible calls on us men
to be leaders.
538
00:40:45,070 --> 00:40:47,906
With, uh, leadership
comes great responsibility,
539
00:40:47,906 --> 00:40:49,908
not just in what
we teach at home,
540
00:40:49,908 --> 00:40:51,868
but also how we act
and walk with God
541
00:40:51,868 --> 00:40:54,120
in each and every day, so...
542
00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:55,538
Kai:
When I became a Christian
543
00:40:55,538 --> 00:40:57,082
and I read
the Old Testament,
544
00:40:57,082 --> 00:40:59,918
it's talking about
the sins of the fathers,
545
00:40:59,918 --> 00:41:02,087
like how we revisit those,
you know, uh,
546
00:41:02,087 --> 00:41:03,713
to the third
or fourth generation,
547
00:41:03,713 --> 00:41:05,590
and I thought, "Whoa."
548
00:41:06,007 --> 00:41:08,760
My grandfather,
he was a go-getter,
549
00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,805
an ambitious man,
a meticulous man,
550
00:41:12,097 --> 00:41:14,432
uh, but to the point where he,
uh, you know,
551
00:41:14,432 --> 00:41:16,226
he turned into this monster,
552
00:41:16,226 --> 00:41:19,062
this-this-this ruthless killer,
553
00:41:19,062 --> 00:41:22,273
uh, and, yeah,
he was not watchful.
554
00:41:22,273 --> 00:41:24,317
And I don't think we can
become mass murderers,
555
00:41:24,317 --> 00:41:26,778
but I think every human being,
all of us,
556
00:41:26,778 --> 00:41:30,115
have the propensity to,
to go into a direction
557
00:41:30,115 --> 00:41:31,157
that is totally wrong.
558
00:41:31,533 --> 00:41:33,952
Thank you so much.
So let's, let's pray.
559
00:41:34,786 --> 00:41:37,956
Thinking about it,
my grandfather's legacy,
560
00:41:37,956 --> 00:41:40,917
there is blood on
the hands of the Höss family.
561
00:41:40,917 --> 00:41:42,460
People are still suffering now.
562
00:41:42,460 --> 00:41:44,254
I mean, even in my family,
563
00:41:44,254 --> 00:41:46,131
you know, almost 80 years later.
564
00:42:01,813 --> 00:42:04,816
(Hans speaking German)
565
00:42:47,067 --> 00:42:48,068
(laughs)
566
00:42:48,068 --> 00:42:51,112
(cars driving by)
567
00:42:56,618 --> 00:42:58,411
- (birds chirping)
- (car door shuts)
568
00:42:58,411 --> 00:43:01,706
(upbeat music playing)
569
00:43:20,100 --> 00:43:21,518
(door knocker knocking)
570
00:43:21,518 --> 00:43:22,727
(door opens)
571
00:43:22,727 --> 00:43:26,564
(speaking German)
572
00:43:26,564 --> 00:43:28,775
- (Hans speaking German)
- Oh, and you have--
573
00:43:34,989 --> 00:43:37,992
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Look at The Frog King.
574
00:43:44,082 --> 00:43:47,919
- Oh, God... (laughs)
- (Hans speaking German)
575
00:43:53,425 --> 00:43:56,886
- Oh, my God. Come on in.
- (Hans laughs)
576
00:43:56,886 --> 00:43:59,597
I have to go on--
I'm a little...
577
00:44:00,598 --> 00:44:04,102
uneasy without the stick,
you know?
578
00:44:04,102 --> 00:44:06,813
- Hans Jürgen Höss: (sighs) Yeah.
- (both laugh weakly)
579
00:44:09,024 --> 00:44:10,275
Oh, boy.
580
00:44:15,363 --> 00:44:16,823
(Püppi grunts, sighs)
581
00:44:17,198 --> 00:44:19,451
(both laugh softly)
582
00:44:20,493 --> 00:44:22,537
- Oh, my God.
- (indistinct)
583
00:44:23,621 --> 00:44:27,459
(Hans speaking German)
584
00:44:27,459 --> 00:44:28,793
(Püppi speaking German)
585
00:44:29,794 --> 00:44:32,172
(Hans speaking German)
586
00:44:32,505 --> 00:44:33,548
Püppi:
Mm.
587
00:44:36,301 --> 00:44:39,012
(Püppi speaking German)
588
00:44:44,309 --> 00:44:45,685
(Hans speaking German)
589
00:44:49,189 --> 00:44:51,024
I'm happy now you're here.
590
00:44:52,317 --> 00:44:53,818
(in German)
591
00:44:54,402 --> 00:44:57,197
(Hans speaking German, laughs)
592
00:45:02,202 --> 00:45:03,953
(Hans speaking German)
593
00:45:03,953 --> 00:45:05,163
Püppi: Mm.
594
00:45:12,504 --> 00:45:13,505
(Hans speaking German)
595
00:45:19,511 --> 00:45:22,347
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
My family had a lovely time
in Auschwitz.
596
00:45:23,723 --> 00:45:26,226
My wife had
her flower paradise.
597
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:32,232
The children could lead
a carefree and pleasant life.
598
00:45:34,067 --> 00:45:37,112
In summer, they splashed
in the paddling pool
in the garden
599
00:45:38,196 --> 00:45:41,199
but their greatest joy was
when Daddy bathed with them.
600
00:45:42,033 --> 00:45:44,911
It often happened at home that
my thoughts suddenly turned
601
00:45:44,911 --> 00:45:47,706
to some of
the extermination processes.
602
00:45:50,375 --> 00:45:53,211
Often when I saw
our children happily playing,
603
00:45:53,878 --> 00:45:57,590
my wife being overjoyed with
the youngest one, I thought,
604
00:45:58,299 --> 00:46:01,302
"How much longer will
our happiness last?"
605
00:46:03,805 --> 00:46:06,558
(Hans speaking German)
606
00:46:19,779 --> 00:46:20,780
(Püppi grunts)
607
00:46:25,493 --> 00:46:28,621
(Püppi speaking German)
608
00:46:28,621 --> 00:46:31,916
We had a beautiful
mother and father.
609
00:46:31,916 --> 00:46:33,585
- Hans: Yeah.
- Beautiful.
610
00:46:35,754 --> 00:46:38,590
Many people don't
have that good...
611
00:46:38,590 --> 00:46:39,966
- of a life.
- Hans: Yeah.
612
00:46:43,762 --> 00:46:46,598
Daniela Völker:
When he talks in his book,
he was outside gas chambers
613
00:46:46,598 --> 00:46:48,892
when women and children
were herded in,
614
00:46:48,892 --> 00:46:51,269
how does that feel
when you think about it?
615
00:46:51,269 --> 00:46:55,273
I was very sad, and I have
nightmares sometimes
616
00:46:55,273 --> 00:46:58,443
because he was
the only one who said
617
00:46:58,443 --> 00:47:01,321
(clears throat)
what was done there.
618
00:47:02,113 --> 00:47:04,157
He was a good person.
619
00:47:04,157 --> 00:47:05,658
Daniela:
You mean he was honest
620
00:47:05,658 --> 00:47:07,827
about his role
in mass extermination?
621
00:47:07,827 --> 00:47:11,498
Yes, but he got into it,
and he couldn't get out of it.
622
00:47:11,498 --> 00:47:15,126
Daniela:
And, what about
your mother Hedwig?
623
00:47:15,126 --> 00:47:17,128
(Hans speaking German)
624
00:47:48,660 --> 00:47:50,662
- Hans: Yeah.
- (indistinct)
625
00:48:24,863 --> 00:48:25,864
Yeah.
626
00:48:27,699 --> 00:48:28,700
Yeah.
627
00:48:35,040 --> 00:48:38,043
- (car rumbling)
- (somber music playing)
628
00:49:09,407 --> 00:49:12,077
(Rudolf Höss speaking German)
629
00:49:28,259 --> 00:49:30,512
♪
630
00:49:54,619 --> 00:49:57,789
(speaking German)
631
00:50:09,134 --> 00:50:11,636
Don't want to talk
about it anymore.
632
00:50:11,636 --> 00:50:15,306
- Daniela: Do you find it,
you know, do you find that--
- Depressing.
633
00:50:15,306 --> 00:50:17,475
- Daniela: It's depressing?
- Yes, yes.
634
00:50:18,977 --> 00:50:22,480
(somber music playing)
635
00:50:22,480 --> 00:50:24,941
Sometimes, I even thought,
636
00:50:24,941 --> 00:50:28,486
"Why do I have to...
637
00:50:28,987 --> 00:50:31,322
"suffer, like,
638
00:50:31,322 --> 00:50:33,366
physically, so bad?"
639
00:50:34,909 --> 00:50:37,287
And I even sort of said,
640
00:50:37,287 --> 00:50:39,831
"Is this God will...
641
00:50:39,831 --> 00:50:44,627
be angry with me
because my dad did things?"
642
00:50:44,627 --> 00:50:48,340
But, I said, "I will never
be angry with my dad."
643
00:50:48,340 --> 00:50:51,384
♪
644
00:50:56,181 --> 00:50:59,559
He must've been
a very strong person
645
00:50:59,559 --> 00:51:02,604
to live like this
and do what he had to do.
646
00:51:04,564 --> 00:51:06,066
So...
647
00:51:10,904 --> 00:51:13,865
Daniela:
What he had to do
was to basically kill
648
00:51:13,865 --> 00:51:15,241
more than a million people--
649
00:51:15,241 --> 00:51:17,702
I don't think that way.
650
00:51:18,036 --> 00:51:21,915
And look at all the people
that say they died in the camp,
651
00:51:21,915 --> 00:51:24,668
but all the survivors,
652
00:51:24,668 --> 00:51:26,836
why didn't they die?
653
00:51:26,836 --> 00:51:30,215
They're still living,
and they get money now
654
00:51:30,215 --> 00:51:32,217
from Germany
655
00:51:32,217 --> 00:51:35,679
or from the Jewish people.
656
00:51:35,679 --> 00:51:37,555
And, you know...
657
00:51:37,555 --> 00:51:39,891
So, just...
658
00:51:39,891 --> 00:51:42,936
whatever you want
to believe, you do.
659
00:51:43,728 --> 00:51:45,897
Daniela:
Do you think you're
in the denial?
660
00:51:45,897 --> 00:51:47,941
No. Why?
661
00:51:49,067 --> 00:51:51,403
I mean,
it was the way it was.
662
00:51:51,403 --> 00:51:54,614
(dark music playing)
663
00:51:54,614 --> 00:51:56,658
It was the Third Reich.
664
00:51:59,327 --> 00:52:01,329
It's a long time ago.
665
00:52:08,962 --> 00:52:11,715
All that's history, I think.
666
00:52:11,715 --> 00:52:14,134
What can I do? What can I say?
667
00:52:15,969 --> 00:52:20,974
people (faintly singing):
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
668
00:52:21,307 --> 00:52:25,562
(louder)
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
669
00:52:25,562 --> 00:52:30,233
♪ Happy birthday dear, Mom ♪
670
00:52:30,233 --> 00:52:34,154
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
671
00:52:34,946 --> 00:52:37,949
(blowing)
672
00:52:41,578 --> 00:52:44,456
- Maya: Nothing wrong with
your breath or oxygen supply.
- (clapping)
673
00:52:44,456 --> 00:52:45,457
Well done.
674
00:52:45,457 --> 00:52:47,959
Anita:
I'm nearly 100 years old.
675
00:52:47,959 --> 00:52:50,628
I don't know why
I should get so old, really.
676
00:52:50,628 --> 00:52:53,298
There must be a reason somehow.
I mean,
677
00:52:53,298 --> 00:52:56,301
some of us, thank God,
678
00:52:56,301 --> 00:52:59,637
who lived in those days,
are, are still alive.
679
00:53:01,306 --> 00:53:04,642
But, when we've gone,
uh... finished.
680
00:53:05,643 --> 00:53:08,146
Mom always says
she hates birthdays,
681
00:53:08,146 --> 00:53:11,358
she hates fuss,
leave her alone,
682
00:53:11,358 --> 00:53:13,693
so on and so forth.
683
00:53:13,693 --> 00:53:16,321
But, today,
she celebrated her--
684
00:53:16,321 --> 00:53:19,115
she's celebrating
her 98th birthday
685
00:53:19,115 --> 00:53:22,327
and is surrounded
by very dear people.
686
00:53:22,327 --> 00:53:26,331
It's quite incredible, Anita,
to think that your parents
687
00:53:26,331 --> 00:53:29,626
- were such close friends
of my grandparents.
- Anita: Yeah.
688
00:53:29,626 --> 00:53:31,628
We were tremendous friends.
689
00:53:31,628 --> 00:53:33,880
My story's
the typical Jewish story
690
00:53:33,880 --> 00:53:36,716
because Judy's grandfather
and my father,
691
00:53:36,716 --> 00:53:39,636
we lived very happily
in Germany.
692
00:53:39,636 --> 00:53:41,513
And when the trouble started,
693
00:53:41,513 --> 00:53:45,058
Judy's family had
the intelligence to leave.
694
00:53:45,767 --> 00:53:47,894
And they encouraged my father
to leave as well.
695
00:53:47,894 --> 00:53:51,690
My father went to Palestine,
and he came back and said,
696
00:53:51,690 --> 00:53:54,234
"I don't want to live
in the desert."
697
00:53:57,362 --> 00:54:00,907
But Judy's family survived,
and my father did not.
698
00:54:00,907 --> 00:54:04,452
- (train rumbling)
- (fast cello music playing)
699
00:54:15,922 --> 00:54:17,424
(quiet chatter)
700
00:54:17,424 --> 00:54:18,967
(cello stops)
701
00:54:21,928 --> 00:54:25,598
Maya:
And this is the place
where my family were from.
702
00:54:25,598 --> 00:54:29,436
(quiet street noise)
703
00:54:30,645 --> 00:54:32,814
Now it's called Wroclaw,
and it's Poland.
704
00:54:34,399 --> 00:54:36,568
Although it's not
Breslau anymore,
705
00:54:36,568 --> 00:54:38,778
it will always be to me.
706
00:54:40,238 --> 00:54:42,615
I want to, I have to, I must
707
00:54:42,615 --> 00:54:45,910
connect the parts
of our family history
708
00:54:45,910 --> 00:54:48,747
into one narrative
709
00:54:48,747 --> 00:54:50,415
that lives on.
710
00:54:51,750 --> 00:54:54,753
And so, I have to be here
711
00:54:55,587 --> 00:54:59,549
because it's all part
of one story.
712
00:54:59,549 --> 00:55:02,761
- (bike bell ringing)
- (gentle music playing)
713
00:55:02,761 --> 00:55:05,138
(birds chirping)
714
00:55:05,138 --> 00:55:07,474
(streetcar rumbling)
715
00:55:07,474 --> 00:55:09,768
(street noise)
716
00:55:15,190 --> 00:55:18,693
Anita:
The recollection of my youth
is a very happy one.
717
00:55:20,653 --> 00:55:24,366
I had two sisters,
Marianne and Renate.
718
00:55:26,117 --> 00:55:28,578
My father was a lawyer,
719
00:55:28,578 --> 00:55:31,956
and my mother was a very,
very accomplished violinist.
720
00:55:34,334 --> 00:55:37,837
I mean, culture was written in
very big letters in our house.
721
00:55:44,302 --> 00:55:48,473
Maya:
We have a large collection
of Wroclaw photographs,
722
00:55:48,473 --> 00:55:51,142
and the home
that my mother lived in,
723
00:55:51,142 --> 00:55:53,478
which was a residential,
724
00:55:53,478 --> 00:55:57,107
beautiful outbound
apartment house
725
00:55:57,107 --> 00:55:59,317
with a wonderful terrace.
726
00:55:59,317 --> 00:56:03,113
I knew that
didn't stand anymore,
727
00:56:03,113 --> 00:56:06,658
but I hadn't imagined
what's in its place.
728
00:56:13,540 --> 00:56:16,835
Anita: We were, yeah,
just a normal family really.
729
00:56:16,835 --> 00:56:19,879
We became abnormal
with the advent of Hitler.
730
00:56:19,879 --> 00:56:23,842
- (crowd cheering)
- (dramatic music playing)
731
00:56:25,760 --> 00:56:29,514
(soldiers marching)
732
00:56:29,514 --> 00:56:31,057
The front just closed, and...
733
00:56:32,600 --> 00:56:35,186
it was all too late for
a whole family to get away.
734
00:56:35,186 --> 00:56:37,689
(explosion)
735
00:56:37,689 --> 00:56:39,816
And then,
the war broke out,
736
00:56:39,816 --> 00:56:42,527
and then that was obviously
the end of everything.
737
00:56:42,527 --> 00:56:45,989
♪
738
00:56:45,989 --> 00:56:47,782
And in 1942,
739
00:56:48,700 --> 00:56:50,702
the deportation started.
740
00:56:51,619 --> 00:56:54,539
(indistinct chatter)
741
00:56:57,083 --> 00:57:01,046
- (steam hissing)
- And my parents were
deported to the east.
742
00:57:03,548 --> 00:57:05,550
♪
743
00:57:05,550 --> 00:57:08,595
- (birds chirping)
- (rain pattering)
744
00:57:21,900 --> 00:57:24,903
Maya:
My grandparents were given
745
00:57:24,903 --> 00:57:28,948
24 hours' warning
by the Gestapo
746
00:57:29,741 --> 00:57:32,577
but, uh, they had to report
the following day
747
00:57:32,577 --> 00:57:35,997
to where the rounding up
of the Jews was happening.
748
00:57:36,915 --> 00:57:39,250
(somber music playing)
749
00:57:39,250 --> 00:57:43,046
So my mother spent that
last night packing, packing
750
00:57:43,046 --> 00:57:47,592
and my grandmother
was in another room, crying.
751
00:57:49,511 --> 00:57:51,554
And I know that
my grandfather's hair
752
00:57:51,554 --> 00:57:53,098
turned gray that night.
753
00:57:54,265 --> 00:57:55,934
(rain continues)
754
00:57:55,934 --> 00:58:00,271
My mother wanted to go
with her parents,
755
00:58:00,271 --> 00:58:02,399
but my grandfather said,
756
00:58:02,399 --> 00:58:05,276
"No. Where we're going,
757
00:58:05,276 --> 00:58:07,487
you will get there
soon enough."
758
00:58:09,155 --> 00:58:11,866
(birds chirping)
759
00:58:20,875 --> 00:58:24,337
My grandparents were deported
760
00:58:24,337 --> 00:58:28,133
to a place called Izbica.
761
00:58:35,515 --> 00:58:38,810
We need to leave
something symbolic
762
00:58:38,810 --> 00:58:42,814
to let you know that your
daughter, my mom's cello,
763
00:58:42,814 --> 00:58:45,692
literally saved her life.
764
00:58:47,402 --> 00:58:48,903
(sighs)
765
00:58:53,241 --> 00:58:55,160
Miraculously,
766
00:58:55,160 --> 00:58:58,872
my grandfather
was able to smuggle out
767
00:58:58,872 --> 00:59:02,500
two notes to my mother
and her sister.
768
00:59:03,835 --> 00:59:07,005
The last one being the psalm,
769
00:59:07,005 --> 00:59:11,009
"I lift up mine eyes
from whence cometh my help.
770
00:59:11,009 --> 00:59:13,678
A help coming from the Lord."
771
00:59:13,678 --> 00:59:15,513
"Send food.
772
00:59:15,513 --> 00:59:18,850
Mutti can't write.
She isn't well."
773
00:59:18,850 --> 00:59:22,687
Which I always understood
that she was dead already.
774
00:59:22,687 --> 00:59:24,647
(birds chirping)
775
00:59:24,647 --> 00:59:28,360
I've been driven by the need
to create some sort of
776
00:59:28,360 --> 00:59:31,696
in perpetuity
for my grandparents.
777
00:59:31,696 --> 00:59:34,741
This happened,
these people existed,
778
00:59:34,741 --> 00:59:39,037
and these people happen
to be my grandparents,
779
00:59:39,037 --> 00:59:42,207
and the millions of others
who have no graves.
780
00:59:46,586 --> 00:59:47,587
(sniffles)
781
00:59:48,797 --> 00:59:51,049
I think I want to call my mom.
782
00:59:51,049 --> 00:59:52,717
- (FaceTime answering)
- Hello, Mom.
783
00:59:52,717 --> 00:59:54,761
Anita (on phone):
Hi. Where are you?
784
00:59:54,761 --> 00:59:56,304
Maya:
Can you see?
785
00:59:57,555 --> 00:59:58,848
Can you see?
786
00:59:58,848 --> 01:00:00,058
Anita:
Wh-What is it?
787
01:00:00,058 --> 01:00:01,935
- Maya: Your parents.
- Anita: What?
788
01:00:02,811 --> 01:00:06,773
Pictures of your parents
and the candles I've lit.
789
01:00:08,566 --> 01:00:11,736
Anita: Yeah, I can't really
recognize it. Very nice.
790
01:00:11,736 --> 01:00:14,447
But, I-I'd like to--
791
01:00:14,447 --> 01:00:16,616
Anita:
Oh, yeah, yeah. I can see now.
792
01:00:16,616 --> 01:00:20,412
Maya:
I was smoking in front
of my grandparents,
793
01:00:20,412 --> 01:00:22,789
and I felt guilty.
794
01:00:22,789 --> 01:00:24,249
(Anita laughs)
795
01:00:24,249 --> 01:00:26,876
- (birds chirping)
- (gentle music playing)
796
01:00:26,876 --> 01:00:29,963
Anita:
So, where are you
exactly now?
797
01:00:29,963 --> 01:00:32,090
Maya:
Standing in the middle
of Izbica.
798
01:00:32,090 --> 01:00:33,925
Anita:
What (indistinct) village,
is it?
799
01:00:33,925 --> 01:00:38,263
Maya:
No. I'm in, I'm in, uh,
like a big wood.
800
01:00:43,935 --> 01:00:46,396
- Anita: What is that?
- Maya: Another memorial.
801
01:00:46,396 --> 01:00:48,273
Anita:
What does it say?
802
01:00:48,273 --> 01:00:52,068
I can't, um,
read Hebrew or Polish,
803
01:00:52,652 --> 01:00:55,530
but I did what I wanted to do.
804
01:00:56,823 --> 01:00:59,242
- Anita: Good choice.
- Maya: Bye-bye.
805
01:00:59,242 --> 01:01:01,077
Anita:
Bye-bye.
806
01:01:01,077 --> 01:01:04,122
(birds cawing)
807
01:01:07,792 --> 01:01:11,296
(soft music playing)
808
01:01:32,901 --> 01:01:36,821
(Hans speaking German)
809
01:01:47,999 --> 01:01:50,168
(sighs) Ja.
810
01:02:31,751 --> 01:02:34,754
(somber music playing)
811
01:02:44,806 --> 01:02:47,392
(quiet street noise)
812
01:02:47,392 --> 01:02:50,395
(Hedwig Höss
speaking German)
813
01:02:52,230 --> 01:02:53,565
(lawyer speaking German)
814
01:02:54,274 --> 01:02:55,400
(Hedwig speaking German)
815
01:02:55,400 --> 01:02:57,569
(lawyer speaking German)
816
01:03:04,743 --> 01:03:06,911
- (speaking German)
- (court chatter)
817
01:03:20,925 --> 01:03:23,094
♪
818
01:03:23,094 --> 01:03:24,095
(shutter snaps)
819
01:03:26,306 --> 01:03:29,768
(Daniela speaking German)
820
01:03:31,811 --> 01:03:32,771
Nein.
821
01:03:32,771 --> 01:03:34,814
(speaking German)
822
01:03:43,656 --> 01:03:46,659
(slow music playing)
823
01:04:03,802 --> 01:04:06,805
(music speeds up)
824
01:04:11,685 --> 01:04:13,728
(Daniela speaking German)
825
01:04:17,357 --> 01:04:20,360
(curious music playing)
826
01:04:21,986 --> 01:04:25,323
Kai:
I have memories of my grandma,
Hedwig.
827
01:04:25,323 --> 01:04:28,201
She would sometimes visit
when we were small.
828
01:04:28,201 --> 01:04:30,286
She was like the lady
of the manor,
829
01:04:30,286 --> 01:04:33,123
where my mom always felt, like,
intimidated by her.
830
01:04:33,123 --> 01:04:35,250
She'd wear this white apron,
her hair in a bun.
831
01:04:38,420 --> 01:04:41,006
And she was kind of rigid,
too, in her views.
832
01:04:41,006 --> 01:04:42,841
Now, I never talked to her
about the Holocaust
833
01:04:42,841 --> 01:04:45,010
as a child, you know?
834
01:04:45,010 --> 01:04:47,887
What my mom told me
that there was,
835
01:04:47,887 --> 01:04:51,683
you know, a sort of reluctance
to actually own up,
836
01:04:51,683 --> 01:04:54,310
to call it for what it was,
you know, a mass murder.
837
01:04:54,310 --> 01:04:57,814
Holocaust. Shoah.
Millions of people killed by,
838
01:04:57,814 --> 01:04:59,649
you know, by her husband.
839
01:04:59,649 --> 01:05:01,192
♪
840
01:05:02,694 --> 01:05:04,821
My grandmother, Hedwig Höss,
841
01:05:04,821 --> 01:05:08,366
she got a one-way ticket
to visit Aunt Püppi,
842
01:05:08,366 --> 01:05:11,870
but the rumor has it that
she took this cyanide pill
843
01:05:11,870 --> 01:05:14,205
that she had actually showed
to members of the family
844
01:05:14,205 --> 01:05:15,749
years earlier,
845
01:05:15,749 --> 01:05:17,876
that she still was
in possession of this,
846
01:05:17,876 --> 01:05:19,836
you know, suicide device
from the Second World War
847
01:05:19,836 --> 01:05:23,423
that they were all handed
or all issued to commit suicide
848
01:05:23,423 --> 01:05:25,884
if they were captured
by the enemy or something.
849
01:05:27,469 --> 01:05:31,431
Daniela:
What do you think of the rumors
that she committed suicide
850
01:05:31,431 --> 01:05:35,101
- by biting into a cyanide pill?
- Who?
851
01:05:35,101 --> 01:05:37,562
- Your mother.
- No way!
852
01:05:37,562 --> 01:05:39,064
No way.
853
01:05:39,814 --> 01:05:41,149
Who said that?
854
01:05:42,567 --> 01:05:44,152
It's not true.
855
01:05:47,113 --> 01:05:50,408
I just would love to die
the way she died,
856
01:05:50,408 --> 01:05:53,078
just go to sleep
and wake--
857
01:05:53,078 --> 01:05:54,079
not wake up.
858
01:05:57,999 --> 01:06:00,877
Kai:
She had these ideas that
it just all went wrong,
859
01:06:00,877 --> 01:06:04,631
that it could've been so good,
you know, if given the chance.
860
01:06:04,631 --> 01:06:06,633
As she said,
"We rose with that star,
861
01:06:06,633 --> 01:06:08,218
and we fell with that star."
862
01:06:08,218 --> 01:06:11,137
(foreboding music playing)
863
01:06:11,930 --> 01:06:13,640
(explosion)
864
01:06:14,933 --> 01:06:17,352
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
The Fuhrer was dead.
865
01:06:19,813 --> 01:06:23,191
My wife and I had the same
thought at the same time.
866
01:06:23,942 --> 01:06:26,319
Now, we, too, must go.
867
01:06:26,319 --> 01:06:28,113
(distant gunfire)
868
01:06:28,113 --> 01:06:30,240
Our world had gone down
with the Fuhrer.
869
01:06:30,240 --> 01:06:32,909
♪
870
01:06:32,909 --> 01:06:35,286
Did it make any sense
for us to go on living?
871
01:06:37,497 --> 01:06:38,915
We would be hunted.
872
01:06:38,915 --> 01:06:40,792
They would search
for us everywhere.
873
01:06:53,304 --> 01:06:55,140
We wanted to take poison.
874
01:06:56,391 --> 01:06:59,394
We did not do it
for the sake of our children.
875
01:07:00,645 --> 01:07:03,481
Later on, I regretted it
again and again.
876
01:07:03,481 --> 01:07:05,316
♪
877
01:07:05,316 --> 01:07:08,486
We were bound
and chained to that world.
878
01:07:08,486 --> 01:07:10,530
We should have
gone down with it.
879
01:07:14,034 --> 01:07:16,494
I knew that the English
Field Security Police
880
01:07:16,494 --> 01:07:18,121
were looking for me,
881
01:07:18,121 --> 01:07:21,332
and also that my family
was strictly monitored,
882
01:07:21,332 --> 01:07:23,752
and that there were constant
searches of their quarters.
883
01:07:26,921 --> 01:07:29,924
(Hans speaking German)
884
01:07:36,723 --> 01:07:37,766
(laughs)
885
01:07:51,112 --> 01:07:55,033
- (somber music playing)
- (truck rumbling)
886
01:08:21,393 --> 01:08:24,729
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
On the 11th of March,
I was arrested.
887
01:08:24,729 --> 01:08:28,316
My poison ampule had
broken two days before.
888
01:08:28,900 --> 01:08:32,278
I was treated very badly
by the field security police.
889
01:08:33,446 --> 01:08:35,115
I was paraded around
890
01:08:35,115 --> 01:08:37,659
like a particularly
interesting animal.
891
01:08:39,160 --> 01:08:41,162
The interrogations
were not very pleasant.
892
01:08:42,664 --> 01:08:45,458
I cannot resent
the interrogators.
893
01:08:45,458 --> 01:08:47,502
They were all Jews.
894
01:08:49,170 --> 01:08:52,173
(quiet street noise)
895
01:08:57,762 --> 01:09:00,056
I'm gonna see Mom now,
and I'm gonna show her
896
01:09:00,056 --> 01:09:02,642
some absolutely
remarkable papers
897
01:09:02,642 --> 01:09:05,937
that I just received
48 hours ago,
898
01:09:05,937 --> 01:09:09,941
and I think she'll be
kind of pretty stunned by.
899
01:09:17,032 --> 01:09:22,287
"I, Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss,
900
01:09:22,287 --> 01:09:24,998
"alias Franz Lang,
901
01:09:24,998 --> 01:09:27,167
"having been duly warned,
902
01:09:27,167 --> 01:09:31,755
hereby declare that the
following statements are true."
903
01:09:32,172 --> 01:09:34,466
They are, apparently,
904
01:09:34,466 --> 01:09:38,470
the first, um,
interrogation documents
905
01:09:38,470 --> 01:09:42,474
when, uh,
Rudolf Höss was arrested
906
01:09:42,474 --> 01:09:45,018
when he was found on the run.
907
01:09:45,018 --> 01:09:47,479
God. Who sent that to you?
908
01:09:47,479 --> 01:09:49,689
Maya:
Somebody who wrote
to me saying,
909
01:09:49,689 --> 01:09:52,317
"My uncle, who died recently,
910
01:09:52,317 --> 01:09:54,444
"they were found in his attic,
911
01:09:54,444 --> 01:09:56,446
"and I don't know
what to do with them.
912
01:09:56,446 --> 01:09:58,823
Can I send them to you?"
913
01:09:58,823 --> 01:10:01,284
What a find. What a find.
914
01:10:01,284 --> 01:10:04,996
Maya:
He says here, "I was ordered
to report to Berlin
915
01:10:04,996 --> 01:10:07,415
"in June 1941 to Himmler,
916
01:10:07,999 --> 01:10:12,671
"where he told me
approximately the following.
917
01:10:12,671 --> 01:10:16,216
"He wanted me to produce,
within four weeks,
918
01:10:16,216 --> 01:10:18,510
"construction plans
in accordance
919
01:10:18,510 --> 01:10:20,512
"with these directions.
920
01:10:20,512 --> 01:10:24,391
"He added that the task
was so difficult
921
01:10:24,391 --> 01:10:27,102
"that he could only
trust me with it.
922
01:10:28,520 --> 01:10:32,357
"Prisoners had to be gassed,
then the doors were...
923
01:10:32,357 --> 01:10:36,695
"screwed tight, and two
canisters of Cyclone B
924
01:10:36,695 --> 01:10:39,406
"were thrown in
through small holes.
925
01:10:39,406 --> 01:10:42,701
"People would die within three
and ten minutes.
926
01:10:42,701 --> 01:10:45,662
"After half an hour,
the doors were opened
927
01:10:45,662 --> 01:10:48,206
"and the bodies extracted
928
01:10:48,206 --> 01:10:51,334
"by a special squad of prisoners
929
01:10:51,334 --> 01:10:54,254
who were permanently
employed for this job."
930
01:10:57,632 --> 01:10:59,759
What a find.
931
01:10:59,759 --> 01:11:01,803
Now, you go and deny that.
932
01:11:03,930 --> 01:11:06,933
(wind blowing)
933
01:11:06,933 --> 01:11:09,978
(somber music playing)
934
01:11:18,737 --> 01:11:21,781
(lawyer speaking German)
935
01:11:23,908 --> 01:11:26,953
(Rudolf Höss speaking German)
936
01:11:42,761 --> 01:11:46,306
(somber music playing)
937
01:11:58,276 --> 01:12:00,320
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
On the 25th of May,
938
01:12:00,320 --> 01:12:02,947
our wedding anniversary
of all days,
939
01:12:02,947 --> 01:12:05,116
I was driven to the airport
940
01:12:05,116 --> 01:12:08,578
and handed over
to Polish officers there.
941
01:12:08,578 --> 01:12:11,331
(laughing)
942
01:12:11,331 --> 01:12:14,417
An American plane
took us to Warsaw.
943
01:12:14,417 --> 01:12:17,462
(plane rumbling)
944
01:12:20,507 --> 01:12:22,550
♪
945
01:12:28,515 --> 01:12:31,518
- (birds chirping)
- (stream flowing)
946
01:12:35,980 --> 01:12:37,482
You darling little fellow,
947
01:12:38,066 --> 01:12:40,777
may you keep
your affectionate nature.
948
01:12:40,777 --> 01:12:42,278
Life, my dear boy,
949
01:12:42,278 --> 01:12:45,448
will wrench you too soon
from the world of childhood.
950
01:12:46,324 --> 01:12:49,703
Now, you poor boy only have
your dear good mommy left.
951
01:12:51,037 --> 01:12:54,541
(Hans speaking German)
952
01:13:11,558 --> 01:13:13,685
- (birds chirping)
- (breeze blowing)
953
01:13:22,569 --> 01:13:24,904
Kai:
You know, throughout
my years of ministry,
954
01:13:25,530 --> 01:13:27,532
I've spoken
to a number of people.
955
01:13:28,199 --> 01:13:31,661
People whose lives were marred
by trials and tribulations,
956
01:13:31,661 --> 01:13:33,204
hardship,
957
01:13:34,706 --> 01:13:36,207
calamity.
958
01:13:37,459 --> 01:13:40,211
And some of them were wondering
whether their plight,
959
01:13:40,211 --> 01:13:43,548
their suffering, was due
to a generational curse,
960
01:13:43,548 --> 01:13:46,426
brought upon them
by an ancestor.
961
01:13:47,135 --> 01:13:50,638
This hits particularly
close to home in my own life.
962
01:13:52,265 --> 01:13:55,268
I mean, being the grandson,
right, of Rudolf Höss.
963
01:13:58,146 --> 01:14:00,565
The infamous,
ruthless SS Commandant
964
01:14:00,565 --> 01:14:03,568
of the Auschwitz
concentration camp.
965
01:14:03,568 --> 01:14:05,612
Just imagine having
966
01:14:05,612 --> 01:14:08,573
such a person
as your grandfather.
967
01:14:09,491 --> 01:14:12,202
I mean, you hear people say,
"Like father, like son."
968
01:14:13,119 --> 01:14:15,121
And so, when I considered
my own ways, and I thought,
969
01:14:15,121 --> 01:14:17,290
you know,
"Am I like my grandfather?
970
01:14:18,333 --> 01:14:21,086
Am I like him to some extent?"
971
01:14:21,086 --> 01:14:24,589
When I first read
Exodus chapter 20, verse 5,
972
01:14:24,589 --> 01:14:27,550
I was horrified by the thought
at having been born
973
01:14:27,550 --> 01:14:30,553
into the second generation
after Rudolf Höss,
974
01:14:30,553 --> 01:14:33,098
that God's wrath was upon me.
975
01:14:35,433 --> 01:14:37,435
Because of the wicked,
cold-blooded evil
976
01:14:37,435 --> 01:14:41,439
that my grandfather
had inflicted upon the Jews.
977
01:14:43,441 --> 01:14:44,943
God's people.
978
01:14:44,943 --> 01:14:46,945
The people of Israel.
979
01:14:46,945 --> 01:14:49,114
And, of course, many others.
980
01:14:51,366 --> 01:14:54,661
Let me just read it again
what God says here in verse 5.
981
01:14:55,328 --> 01:14:59,165
"I will visit the iniquity
the sins of the fathers
982
01:14:59,165 --> 01:15:02,669
"upon the children
and the children's children,
983
01:15:02,669 --> 01:15:05,463
to the third
and fourth generation."
984
01:15:06,131 --> 01:15:08,133
But God says that
any generational curse
985
01:15:08,133 --> 01:15:12,012
and the guilt and suffering
and the pain that comes with it
986
01:15:12,012 --> 01:15:15,932
can be canceled
by earnest repentance.
987
01:15:15,932 --> 01:15:18,393
In other words,
what breaks the curse of sin
988
01:15:19,060 --> 01:15:21,354
is the blood of
God's spotless lamb,
989
01:15:21,354 --> 01:15:23,481
and he is Jesus Christ.
990
01:15:23,481 --> 01:15:27,277
Believe and you shall be saved.
991
01:15:27,277 --> 01:15:29,821
- (playing piano and violin)
- (congregants singing)
992
01:15:29,821 --> 01:15:33,825
♪ When I am in awesome wonder ♪
993
01:15:34,200 --> 01:15:37,829
♪ Consider all the worlds ♪
994
01:15:37,829 --> 01:15:41,666
♪ Thy hands have made ♪
995
01:15:41,666 --> 01:15:44,502
♪ I see the stars ♪
996
01:15:44,502 --> 01:15:49,049
♪ I hear the rolling thunder ♪
997
01:15:49,049 --> 01:15:52,052
♪ Thy power throughout ♪
998
01:15:52,052 --> 01:15:55,847
♪ The universe displayed ♪
999
01:15:55,847 --> 01:15:59,351
- (strumming)
- ♪ Then sings my soul ♪
1000
01:15:59,351 --> 01:16:04,064
♪ My savior God, to thee ♪
1001
01:16:04,064 --> 01:16:10,737
♪ How great Thou art ♪
1002
01:16:11,571 --> 01:16:14,199
♪ Then sings my soul ♪
1003
01:16:14,199 --> 01:16:18,036
♪ My savior God to Thee ♪
1004
01:16:19,037 --> 01:16:21,706
(singing fades out)
1005
01:16:21,706 --> 01:16:24,417
Anita:
The Holocaust throws
a long shadow.
1006
01:16:24,417 --> 01:16:28,880
The trauma is not only
on the survivor side.
1007
01:16:28,880 --> 01:16:32,384
How many German families
are traumatized,
1008
01:16:32,384 --> 01:16:35,428
who know or don't know
1009
01:16:35,428 --> 01:16:37,597
what their grandfathers
have done?
1010
01:16:39,641 --> 01:16:42,644
(fast-paced organ music playing)
1011
01:16:51,069 --> 01:16:52,529
Maya:
With a very small "a,"
1012
01:16:52,529 --> 01:16:55,573
I think of myself
as an activist.
1013
01:16:55,573 --> 01:17:00,078
And one of the key parts
is to work with
1014
01:17:00,078 --> 01:17:02,288
and understand
the experience
1015
01:17:02,288 --> 01:17:04,833
of the children
of perpetrators.
1016
01:17:08,086 --> 01:17:12,090
This trip to London is very much
about seeing my mother,
1017
01:17:12,090 --> 01:17:16,094
and I come this time
with a very big request
1018
01:17:16,094 --> 01:17:20,098
which provokes
some anxiety for me.
1019
01:17:22,767 --> 01:17:24,769
- (organ music stops)
- (shuts door)
1020
01:17:24,769 --> 01:17:27,105
(birds chirping)
1021
01:17:27,105 --> 01:17:28,398
Hi, Mom!
1022
01:17:28,398 --> 01:17:30,942
- (Anita speaks indistinctly)
- I'm here.
1023
01:17:32,485 --> 01:17:33,778
I made it.
1024
01:17:33,778 --> 01:17:36,114
Good. Had a good trip?
1025
01:17:36,114 --> 01:17:39,284
Maya:
Yeah, not too bad
compared to some times.
1026
01:17:40,118 --> 01:17:42,245
Mwah. How are you?
1027
01:17:42,245 --> 01:17:44,956
- I'm okay.
- What's news?
1028
01:17:46,124 --> 01:17:48,084
News is that I can
no longer drive,
1029
01:17:48,084 --> 01:17:49,961
and I feel a bit
like a trapped animal,
1030
01:17:49,961 --> 01:17:51,421
but I'll get used to it.
1031
01:17:51,880 --> 01:17:54,632
Anyway, that's how it is.
Can't be helped.
1032
01:18:01,306 --> 01:18:03,183
- Maya: So, Mom.
- Anita: Hmm?
1033
01:18:03,183 --> 01:18:04,559
Maya:
I'm going to be meeting
1034
01:18:05,643 --> 01:18:07,479
the son of the Commandant
1035
01:18:07,479 --> 01:18:11,024
and grandson of the Commandant
in Auschwitz.
1036
01:18:13,360 --> 01:18:14,611
Yes?
1037
01:18:14,611 --> 01:18:17,989
Partly motivated--
Well, I actually would say
1038
01:18:17,989 --> 01:18:20,492
largely motivated by
1039
01:18:20,492 --> 01:18:22,660
what I've learned from you
1040
01:18:22,660 --> 01:18:25,455
- and the things
that you've said.
- Mm-hmm.
1041
01:18:25,455 --> 01:18:28,375
And what do you think
about that?
1042
01:18:28,375 --> 01:18:31,211
Well, I think it's fantastic.
1043
01:18:31,211 --> 01:18:33,838
Since the hatred goes on
1044
01:18:33,838 --> 01:18:37,509
and antisemitism
is absolutely flourishing,
1045
01:18:38,093 --> 01:18:40,428
it's very important
to talk about these things.
1046
01:18:41,179 --> 01:18:44,307
Maya:
I wanted to ask you whether
you would consider
1047
01:18:44,307 --> 01:18:46,351
coming to Auschwitz with me.
1048
01:18:48,895 --> 01:18:50,647
Not really, no. You know,
1049
01:18:50,647 --> 01:18:53,191
my Auschwitz is very
different from your Auschwitz.
1050
01:18:53,191 --> 01:18:55,360
You haven't actually been in it,
1051
01:18:55,360 --> 01:18:57,862
- I mean, that's what I mean.
- Mm.
1052
01:18:57,862 --> 01:19:00,990
You haven't actually been
in this situation
1053
01:19:00,990 --> 01:19:02,701
where you didn't know
whether you're going to live
1054
01:19:02,701 --> 01:19:04,536
- another hour or not.
- Mm.
1055
01:19:04,536 --> 01:19:07,872
Anita:
You don't know
what my Auschwitz is.
1056
01:19:09,249 --> 01:19:12,877
And I want it left alone.
I want it left alone.
1057
01:19:13,211 --> 01:19:17,090
I have nothing against meeting
the son of, of Höss,
1058
01:19:17,090 --> 01:19:18,675
but I'm not going to Auschwitz.
1059
01:19:18,675 --> 01:19:21,886
He should come to my house.
You know, I'm pretty disabled.
1060
01:19:21,886 --> 01:19:25,056
If anybody wants anything,
has to come here.
1061
01:19:25,056 --> 01:19:28,101
- Maya: That's quite a thought.
- What?
1062
01:19:28,101 --> 01:19:30,854
Kaffee und kuchen
in your house.
1063
01:19:30,854 --> 01:19:33,565
Yes, why not?
If he brings the kuchen.
1064
01:19:33,565 --> 01:19:35,400
(both laugh softly)
1065
01:19:35,400 --> 01:19:38,445
(quiet street noise)
1066
01:19:41,239 --> 01:19:44,242
(ominous music playing)
1067
01:20:00,508 --> 01:20:03,261
Maya:
So this is Oswiecim,
1068
01:20:03,261 --> 01:20:05,972
infamously known
and will always be remembered
1069
01:20:05,972 --> 01:20:07,766
as "Auschwitz."
1070
01:20:11,603 --> 01:20:15,148
It's a very strange thing
that there is a town
1071
01:20:15,148 --> 01:20:18,943
so close to the actual
concentration camp.
1072
01:20:29,204 --> 01:20:30,205
(lights click)
1073
01:20:32,123 --> 01:20:35,960
When this possibility
came up
1074
01:20:35,960 --> 01:20:38,088
that I could accompany
1075
01:20:38,088 --> 01:20:41,424
the son of the Commandant
of Auschwitz,
1076
01:20:41,424 --> 01:20:42,884
who had never
been to the camp...
1077
01:20:45,053 --> 01:20:47,597
and his son,
my contemporary,
1078
01:20:47,597 --> 01:20:50,767
that I could witness
them witnessing
1079
01:20:50,767 --> 01:20:54,270
what they had
never seen before
1080
01:20:54,270 --> 01:20:57,524
was somehow,
in some perverse way, a gift.
1081
01:21:02,237 --> 01:21:05,490
(Hans speaking German)
1082
01:21:34,686 --> 01:21:37,856
Maya:
The Hösses and I met for
the first time in the cafe
1083
01:21:37,856 --> 01:21:41,693
of the last remaining
synagogue of Oswiecim,
1084
01:21:41,693 --> 01:21:44,946
which used to have
a thriving Jewish community.
1085
01:21:47,198 --> 01:21:49,909
It was as if time stood still.
1086
01:21:49,909 --> 01:21:52,579
I-I-I felt we were
all breathless.
1087
01:21:54,330 --> 01:21:55,290
(indistinct)
1088
01:21:58,043 --> 01:21:59,544
- Ja.
- Hello.
1089
01:21:59,544 --> 01:22:02,088
It's difficult
to find words.
1090
01:22:03,923 --> 01:22:07,177
- Yeah. I know.
- Yeah.
1091
01:22:07,177 --> 01:22:10,555
- It's been a heavy on--
in my heart, you know, just--
- Yes.
1092
01:22:10,555 --> 01:22:13,058
(Hans speaking German)
1093
01:22:30,241 --> 01:22:33,244
Yeah. I understand that.
1094
01:22:34,245 --> 01:22:37,248
- (birds chirping)
- (somber music playing)
1095
01:23:05,276 --> 01:23:08,613
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
By the will of the
Reichsfuhrer-SS Himmler,
1096
01:23:08,613 --> 01:23:12,283
Auschwitz became the greatest
human extermination facility
1097
01:23:12,283 --> 01:23:13,827
of all time.
1098
01:23:20,000 --> 01:23:23,169
When he personally gave me
the order to prepare a place
1099
01:23:23,169 --> 01:23:25,797
for mass extermination
in Auschwitz
1100
01:23:25,797 --> 01:23:28,758
and to personally carry out
this extermination,
1101
01:23:28,758 --> 01:23:30,802
I did not have
the slightest idea
1102
01:23:30,802 --> 01:23:33,346
of the scale
and consequences.
1103
01:23:39,978 --> 01:23:42,439
This order was unusual.
1104
01:23:42,439 --> 01:23:44,691
Indeed, monstrous.
1105
01:23:44,691 --> 01:23:48,153
But the justification made
the process of extermination
1106
01:23:48,153 --> 01:23:49,988
seem right to me.
1107
01:23:49,988 --> 01:23:52,991
♪
1108
01:23:57,412 --> 01:24:00,415
(Young Anita speaking German)
1109
01:24:17,057 --> 01:24:20,060
- (quiet footsteps)
- (breeze blowing)
1110
01:24:41,873 --> 01:24:44,376
Maya:
So, this is the crematoria.
1111
01:24:45,377 --> 01:24:47,379
- The gas chamber.
- Kai: Right.
1112
01:24:48,713 --> 01:24:50,215
Maya:
Which,
1113
01:24:50,715 --> 01:24:53,051
believe it or not,
was maybe...
1114
01:24:53,051 --> 01:24:56,221
100 steps
from where my mother
1115
01:24:56,221 --> 01:24:58,723
and the women's
orchestra played.
1116
01:24:58,723 --> 01:25:01,685
♪
1117
01:25:01,685 --> 01:25:04,521
Transport after transport
1118
01:25:04,521 --> 01:25:06,898
would walk this way
1119
01:25:06,898 --> 01:25:11,027
and hear music,
and people...
1120
01:25:11,027 --> 01:25:13,571
who were coming to their deaths,
1121
01:25:14,489 --> 01:25:16,991
would come to this building,
1122
01:25:18,076 --> 01:25:19,953
be asked to undress,
1123
01:25:19,953 --> 01:25:23,248
thinking that they were
going to have a shower,
1124
01:25:23,957 --> 01:25:28,753
and told to put their shoes
and their clothes neatly,
1125
01:25:28,753 --> 01:25:32,257
so that they could
find them again easily.
1126
01:25:34,801 --> 01:25:37,929
And within the next 30 minutes,
1127
01:25:37,929 --> 01:25:38,972
they were gassed.
1128
01:25:38,972 --> 01:25:41,016
♪
1129
01:25:50,442 --> 01:25:53,319
Kai:
It's just shocking how there
was this evil deception
1130
01:25:53,319 --> 01:25:55,572
that was kept up
for these people to believe
1131
01:25:55,572 --> 01:25:57,949
that there was something.
There was a silver lining,
1132
01:25:57,949 --> 01:26:00,618
some offer them safety, perhaps.
1133
01:26:00,618 --> 01:26:01,995
Even having,
when you said sh--
1134
01:26:01,995 --> 01:26:03,747
you know,
having to fold their clothes,
1135
01:26:03,747 --> 01:26:05,749
that they were
gonna have a shower,
1136
01:26:05,749 --> 01:26:08,626
and perhaps to keep, uh,
people from panicking
1137
01:26:08,626 --> 01:26:11,338
because if all these thousands
of people had panicked...
1138
01:26:11,338 --> 01:26:14,257
- Maya: Yeah.
- ...it would've been very
difficult to contain that.
1139
01:26:14,257 --> 01:26:17,260
Maya:
I think this is so terrible.
1140
01:26:17,510 --> 01:26:20,013
Schrecklich, as they say
in German.
1141
01:26:20,013 --> 01:26:21,931
It's, it's a horror.
1142
01:26:21,931 --> 01:26:25,310
And then-- and then,
the realization hits home,
1143
01:26:25,894 --> 01:26:28,438
who did this?
1144
01:26:28,438 --> 01:26:31,566
And it is actually no other
than my grandfather.
1145
01:26:33,860 --> 01:26:35,153
(Hans speaking German)
1146
01:26:45,830 --> 01:26:47,332
Maya: Yeah.
1147
01:26:47,332 --> 01:26:48,833
(Hans speaking German)
1148
01:26:52,712 --> 01:26:55,423
- (rattling)
- (somber music playing)
1149
01:27:13,775 --> 01:27:16,486
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
I had to witness death itself
1150
01:27:16,486 --> 01:27:18,780
through the spyhole
of the gas chamber.
1151
01:27:30,041 --> 01:27:32,043
♪
1152
01:27:34,796 --> 01:27:37,298
I had to witness
all the processes.
1153
01:27:39,217 --> 01:27:40,719
(ragged breathing)
1154
01:27:41,886 --> 01:27:44,389
I had to watch,
day and night,
1155
01:27:44,389 --> 01:27:47,225
the dragging and
the burning of the bodies.
1156
01:27:48,768 --> 01:27:50,103
(Maya shudders)
1157
01:27:51,980 --> 01:27:53,231
The removal of the teeth.
1158
01:27:53,231 --> 01:27:55,734
(teeth clattering)
1159
01:27:55,734 --> 01:27:57,694
The cutting off of the hair.
1160
01:27:57,694 --> 01:27:59,904
All this ghastliness,
for hours on end.
1161
01:28:09,581 --> 01:28:12,042
- (rattling)
- I had to do all this
1162
01:28:12,042 --> 01:28:13,710
because I had
to show everyone
1163
01:28:13,710 --> 01:28:16,963
that I was willing to be
present everywhere myself
1164
01:28:16,963 --> 01:28:20,008
as I had to demand
of those I was commanding.
1165
01:28:21,843 --> 01:28:25,263
The smell of the burning was
carried many kilometers away
1166
01:28:25,263 --> 01:28:26,556
and led to
the whole population
1167
01:28:26,556 --> 01:28:29,100
talking of the burning
of the Jews.
1168
01:28:29,100 --> 01:28:32,103
♪
1169
01:28:33,188 --> 01:28:35,440
Kai:
I think there is no one else
that did what he did
1170
01:28:35,440 --> 01:28:37,776
on such a scale.
1171
01:28:37,776 --> 01:28:41,613
It is a fact, um,
an undeniable fact,
1172
01:28:41,613 --> 01:28:44,616
that my grandfather
is really the...
1173
01:28:46,117 --> 01:28:49,412
the greatest mass murderer
in human history.
1174
01:28:49,412 --> 01:28:52,999
(dramatic music playing)
1175
01:28:52,999 --> 01:28:56,044
- (music stops abruptly)
- (wind blowing)
1176
01:28:58,713 --> 01:29:00,465
(Hans speaking German)
1177
01:29:13,228 --> 01:29:16,231
(Daniela speaking German)
1178
01:29:28,034 --> 01:29:31,496
(gentle music playing)
1179
01:29:31,496 --> 01:29:34,874
(inaudible)
1180
01:30:01,192 --> 01:30:04,195
(crunching footsteps)
1181
01:30:16,416 --> 01:30:19,252
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
May the public
continue seeing in me
1182
01:30:19,252 --> 01:30:21,880
the bloodthirsty beast,
1183
01:30:21,880 --> 01:30:23,923
the savage sadist,
1184
01:30:25,133 --> 01:30:26,384
the murderer of millions
1185
01:30:27,927 --> 01:30:30,722
because the mass of people
cannot imagine
1186
01:30:30,722 --> 01:30:34,142
the Commandant of Auschwitz
to be anything other.
1187
01:30:36,478 --> 01:30:40,315
They would never understand
that he had a heart, too.
1188
01:30:41,608 --> 01:30:43,109
Rudolf Höss.
1189
01:30:47,072 --> 01:30:49,532
♪
1190
01:30:49,532 --> 01:30:53,244
Kai:
I think he was kinda polishing
his image a little bit.
1191
01:30:53,244 --> 01:30:55,372
He had come to
the end of the line.
1192
01:30:55,372 --> 01:30:56,915
Death was inevitable.
1193
01:30:56,915 --> 01:30:59,542
(cinematic music playing)
1194
01:30:59,542 --> 01:31:01,795
(narrator speaking Polish)
1195
01:31:24,109 --> 01:31:27,112
(wheels rattling)
1196
01:31:29,781 --> 01:31:32,784
(Hans speaking German)
1197
01:31:51,136 --> 01:31:53,138
- (somber music playing)
- (birds chirping)
1198
01:31:58,518 --> 01:32:01,021
This is the last statement
Rudolf Höss, my grandfather,
1199
01:32:01,021 --> 01:32:03,982
made before his execution.
1200
01:32:03,982 --> 01:32:07,527
"My conscience compels me to
make the following declaration.
1201
01:32:08,236 --> 01:32:09,821
"In the solitude
of my prison cell,
1202
01:32:09,821 --> 01:32:11,823
"I have come to
the bitter recognition
1203
01:32:11,823 --> 01:32:14,826
that I have sinned gravely
against humanity."
1204
01:32:14,826 --> 01:32:17,370
(wind blowing)
1205
01:32:21,583 --> 01:32:23,335
narrator (as Rudolf Höss):
As Commandant of Auschwitz,
1206
01:32:23,335 --> 01:32:26,129
I carried out part
of the cruel plans
1207
01:32:26,129 --> 01:32:29,174
of the Third Reich
for human extermination.
1208
01:32:31,843 --> 01:32:33,470
In so doing,
1209
01:32:33,470 --> 01:32:36,806
I inflicted grievous damage
onto humans
1210
01:32:36,806 --> 01:32:38,850
and humanity.
1211
01:32:44,064 --> 01:32:48,026
I'm to pay with my life
for what I'm responsible for.
1212
01:32:48,693 --> 01:32:50,403
(Hans mutters)
1213
01:32:53,198 --> 01:32:56,868
May the Lord God forgive me
one day for what I have done.
1214
01:33:05,627 --> 01:33:08,088
Daniela:
Do you think we could see
something like the Holocaust
1215
01:33:08,088 --> 01:33:11,007
- happening again?
- It could happen again,
1216
01:33:11,007 --> 01:33:12,926
uh, something like the Holocaust
could happen again.
1217
01:33:12,926 --> 01:33:14,761
I mean, look at the world now.
1218
01:33:14,761 --> 01:33:16,846
It looks different.
1219
01:33:16,846 --> 01:33:19,683
Yes, it can happen again
because I think
1220
01:33:19,683 --> 01:33:22,727
we humans behave
atrociously badly.
1221
01:33:24,229 --> 01:33:27,232
(birds chirping)
1222
01:33:32,237 --> 01:33:35,240
(curious music playing)
1223
01:33:38,743 --> 01:33:40,078
(quiet street noise)
1224
01:33:52,590 --> 01:33:55,593
(Hans speaking German)
1225
01:34:07,272 --> 01:34:08,314
(laughs)
1226
01:34:25,165 --> 01:34:27,375
(birds chirping)
1227
01:34:32,047 --> 01:34:33,590
(doorbell rings)
1228
01:34:33,590 --> 01:34:35,342
(door opens)
1229
01:34:36,176 --> 01:34:38,178
- Guten tag.
- Come in.
1230
01:34:44,225 --> 01:34:46,227
(speaking German)
1231
01:34:48,229 --> 01:34:50,190
Oops. (chuckles)
1232
01:34:50,190 --> 01:34:52,400
(both speaking German)
1233
01:35:00,658 --> 01:35:04,162
Ah! Wunderbar.
Fantastisch.
1234
01:35:17,217 --> 01:35:19,177
- Ja.
- Kai: Mm-hmm.
1235
01:35:20,679 --> 01:35:22,806
(Anita speaking German)
1236
01:35:23,056 --> 01:35:24,057
Hans:
Ja.
1237
01:35:52,210 --> 01:35:53,503
(Hans speaking German)
1238
01:35:53,503 --> 01:35:55,213
- Ja.
- Anita: Ja.
1239
01:36:02,429 --> 01:36:06,725
So do you hate
your grandfather now?
1240
01:36:06,725 --> 01:36:07,934
What is your feeling?
1241
01:36:07,934 --> 01:36:10,061
I-I would hate him, yes.
I could say that.
1242
01:36:10,061 --> 01:36:12,605
- I hate him, yeah.
- What about you?
(speaks German)
1243
01:36:21,614 --> 01:36:23,616
(speaks German)
1244
01:36:30,999 --> 01:36:32,584
- Anita: Ja.
- Ja.
1245
01:36:32,584 --> 01:36:35,920
Very peculiar situations that we
should be sitting here together
1246
01:36:35,920 --> 01:36:39,507
and talking about
these terrible days, yes?
1247
01:36:40,091 --> 01:36:44,095
And there are you,
who knew nothing about it
1248
01:36:44,095 --> 01:36:47,140
because there was a fence
between the horror
1249
01:36:47,140 --> 01:36:49,642
and a normal life, yes.
1250
01:36:50,101 --> 01:36:53,438
To somebody like your father,
I suppose,
1251
01:36:53,438 --> 01:36:56,816
these Jews seemed like vermin,
1252
01:36:56,816 --> 01:36:59,235
- not people. Vermin.
- Kai: Yeah, yeah.
1253
01:36:59,235 --> 01:37:01,988
Anita:
You need the Jews
to have something to let
1254
01:37:01,988 --> 01:37:04,991
your own shortcomings
out on, you know?
1255
01:37:04,991 --> 01:37:07,619
- Yeah.
- Anita: The Jews are original.
1256
01:37:07,619 --> 01:37:10,914
They're just people.
And it's time, uh,
1257
01:37:10,914 --> 01:37:13,958
to stop that
stupid hatred of Jews.
1258
01:37:15,377 --> 01:37:17,295
The Jews are God's
chosen people.
1259
01:37:17,295 --> 01:37:19,464
Anita:
Only what for are we chosen?
1260
01:37:19,464 --> 01:37:21,633
You know the famous prayer
of the Jews...
1261
01:37:21,633 --> 01:37:24,469
(speaks Yiddish)
1262
01:37:24,469 --> 01:37:26,429
"Why don't You choose
somebody else for a change
1263
01:37:26,429 --> 01:37:29,474
as the chosen people?"
You know, what have we done?
1264
01:37:31,142 --> 01:37:33,645
What have we done?
1265
01:37:34,813 --> 01:37:38,817
I mean, today, a boy wears
a koppel on the head
1266
01:37:38,817 --> 01:37:40,985
is not out of danger.
1267
01:37:40,985 --> 01:37:43,530
So, we haven't really made
so much progress yet,
1268
01:37:43,530 --> 01:37:46,116
so we have still got lots to do.
1269
01:37:46,116 --> 01:37:49,828
We have a responsibility,
the second generation,
1270
01:37:49,828 --> 01:37:52,706
to continue to communicate
1271
01:37:52,706 --> 01:37:56,001
and speak about humanity
1272
01:37:56,001 --> 01:37:57,877
and the absence of...
1273
01:37:57,877 --> 01:38:00,255
And make sure it's not
forgotten, move on.
1274
01:38:02,173 --> 01:38:03,967
You can't forgive what--
what's happened,
1275
01:38:03,967 --> 01:38:07,345
but the important thing is that
we talk to each other
1276
01:38:08,513 --> 01:38:10,056
and understand each other.
1277
01:38:10,890 --> 01:38:14,519
♪
1278
01:38:14,519 --> 01:38:18,314
This is going to the next stage,
not what we've done,
1279
01:38:18,314 --> 01:38:21,568
but what are we doing now.
That is important.
1280
01:38:24,863 --> 01:38:27,574
Yeah, it certainly was
a unique moment,
1281
01:38:27,574 --> 01:38:29,868
of the son of
the Commandant of Auschwitz
1282
01:38:29,868 --> 01:38:31,661
walking into my house,
1283
01:38:31,661 --> 01:38:34,497
sitting down in a chair
opposite me,
1284
01:38:34,497 --> 01:38:37,042
and we're having
a cup of coffee together.
1285
01:38:37,042 --> 01:38:40,587
I mean, in a way,
that was beautiful.
1286
01:38:41,880 --> 01:38:44,883
(solemn music playing)
1287
01:39:06,446 --> 01:39:08,239
(footsteps crunching)
1288
01:39:08,239 --> 01:39:10,367
Kai:
My grandfather, Rudolf Höss,
1289
01:39:10,367 --> 01:39:13,119
was instrumental
in the annihilation
1290
01:39:13,119 --> 01:39:15,663
of two-thirds
of Europe's Jews.
1291
01:39:29,135 --> 01:39:32,138
Thirty years after he had
crossed the Judean Desert
1292
01:39:32,138 --> 01:39:34,140
during the First World War,
1293
01:39:34,140 --> 01:39:36,726
a Jewish state
was proclaimed here
1294
01:39:37,769 --> 01:39:40,772
in the hope that it would
protect future generations.
1295
01:39:46,277 --> 01:39:49,280
♪
1296
01:42:06,418 --> 01:42:07,961
(music fades out)