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[bird cawing]
[soft instrumental music playing]
[music intensifies]
In September 1939, Nazi Germany invades Poland
and annexes its western territories.
Jews are crammed into ghettos,
while rumors of deportation to the East circulate.
- [chopping] - [wings flapping]
[wood creaking]
January 19, 1942, Chełmno, Poland.
- [dog barking] - [indistinct yelling]
[man] Hey. Up.
- [whip cracking] - [groaning]
[man] Get up!
- [dog barking] - [indistinct yelling]
[men grunting]
They don't see us.
[whispering] No, Wolf. Don't.
Your shoe!
Keep your toes covered or you'll lose them.
Don't worry, we'll find you a new one before we leave.
Why did you hide it?
If you get to Kolo,
tell my wife Klara I will come for them.
Tell them yourself. Tonight.
You ready
Yeah.
No, he'll see you.
The Russians aren't far,
they'll be here by spring.
The spring?
We'll not make it to the end of the week.
No one's coming for us.
- You'll get us all killed. - We're already dead.
Come on.
- Monik, don't. Please. - Monik, now.
Now. Move.
[tense music playing]
Herr Polizeimeister, my shovel, my shovel!
[rifle cocking]
[Wolf] The shovel. Sorry. Forgive me.
Don't kill me. I want to work.
I want to. I want to work. I'm sorry. Forgive me.
- [officer] Kaputt, huh? - [Wolf] Please.
[groaning]
[officer] Kaputt.
But that also means that he did a good job.
And we are back.
This is the third sentence.
[officer in English] You really want to work?
Uh-huh.
Then you dig with your hands, okay?
[music intensifies]
[man] Lenz!
What?
But the trench isn't ready for the next delivery yet.
Then bring the transport here!
Help!
We're supposed to run back? He should do it himself.
Run back yourself!
Get lost!
Your lucky day. Huh?
Hm.
Hey. Stop!
You and you.
Stop! Pick up the pace! Out!
Line up.
What you're waiting for? Dig!
Move!
[soldier speaking German]
Dig! Dig!
Open up!
On the drive back. Tonight
You're mad.
Will use the knife to cut through the side of the transport truck
You already tried that. With a rock, now we've got a blade.
And then what?
They've already rounded up every Jew from here to Lodz.
Where exactly will we go?
Have you seen anyone arrive from Grabow?
It's only a few kilometers away across the river. It could be done.
No, it can't.
There's still a ghetto there.
I know the rabbi, Schulman,
he's with the underground, trust me, he can help us.
But what if Goldman is right?
- What? - If we escape, they'll kill everyone.
They'll kill everyone if we don't.
It's too dangerous
Every morning when they take us out, half don't come back.
We don't know if we'll survive the day.
I overheard the Poles, they say the Russians will be here by spring.
Forget the Russians. We have nobody but ourselves.
Goldman says if we just hold on a little longer...
A little longer? For what?
Was burying your parents, your sisters not enough?
Forgive me, Solomon. I only meant that...
We must stop being afraid if we want to live.
Or if we just want to survive.
[Lenz] Stop! Hey.
No talking. Hmm?
Morning, gentlemen!
[laughing]
Okay, Oskar.
Once more from the top. Very slowly.
I have four sons.
Each of them has a sister.
How many children do I have?
Eight.
[laughing]
[Oskar] What? Four plus four is eight, right?
It's five!
Every son has...
The same sister.
[laughing]
What is going on?
When I start driving, the whole load will fall over
and there will be way too much weight on the roof.
When you start it, press the pedal all the way down until the revs get really high.
Then let off the gas very carefully.
Let's go!
That way the engine pumps properly and doesn't overheat as quickly.
Open the gate!
Faster!
[in English] Take your hats off!
And that's three. Looks that way, right?
Work area?
Have you done sorting before?
No, Scharfuhrer.
- You. - No, Scharfuhrer.
- Yes, Scharfuhrer. - Department?
Clothes, Scharfuhrer.
Go for it!
If you steal anything,
You try to escape,
you so much as talk to each other...
Are you listening to the Scharfuhrer, dog?
Jawohl.
- What? - Jawhol, Polizeimeister.
Everything must be kept in order, in the right pile.
You pick up the belongings, you take it inside for sorting.
- Very simple. - Yes, Scharfuhrer.
Half past five, exactly on time.
[in English] No talking, no eye contact.
The basic incident. The basic incident.
Let's go!
[in English] No speaking, no eye contact.
Oh, what a pain in the ass.
[baby crying]
Come, everyone. Everyone off.
It is all right. You're safe now.
- Go over there. - This way.
Last step. So...
Where is he?
Come a little bit closer. Yes, please
Stand there.
Come, come.
Am aware of the hardships you Jews have endured since the start of the war.
And in the ghettos,
the horrific living conditions,
the disease
the lack of food.
But I assure you
your suffering is finally over.
This is the Kulmhof Transit Center.
Let me be the first to tell you that you have all been chosen for good honest work.
From here you will be transported immediately
to a new state-of-the-art factory in Leipzig
where you will be given hot meals, a place to stay,
and fair wages like that of the German workforce.
Now, as you may know, there has been a scare of typhus in the ghettos.
And we cannot allow that to spread to the factory.
Therefore. before the long journey, you will need to shower,
and all your clothes and luggage will be disinfected.
Gold, money, foreign currency, and jewelry are to be deposited against a receipt
Do not lose your receipt
Since you will be asked to present it upon arrival in Leipzig.
Now please, gather your things.
Do so quickly so you can step into the warmth of the castle
where you can undress and shower.
Do not forget to properly mark your baggage
so it can be identified later.
Goldstien? Goldstien.
Goldstein. Like stone, right? Goldstein.
Make sure to hand over all valuables hidden in your garments.
The steam from the disinfecting oven will destroy everything.
It would be a shame to let your valuables be ruined.
- 679, yes? - 679.
What is your name? Moshe Plocker.
Neuschiff is coming up.
Your number.
[Lange] We all know how stressful this period can be.
We believe it would be helpful if you would write letters to your families
that you have arrived to your destination and you're safe and healthy.
With address and name...
Mr. Schkowitz. Mr. Schkowitz.
Mr. Schkowitz.
And we all come together and clearly write the address at the front.
E or A?
This way
696. Silberberg. Silberberg. Silberberg.
S-I-L-B-E-R-G-E-R-G.
- Correct? - Yes.
And that is the third sentence.
- J? - Yes.
Yes?
You two.
Solomon? Solomon Wiener?
It's me, Aaron. From Kolo.
You don't remember me? I'm Moishe's father.
Yes, yes, I remember you.
Did you see Moishe?
He was in the transport two weeks ago.
Did he arrive at Leipzig?
Will we be working in the same factory?
Uh, Moishe...
Take this gentleman's belongings inside for disinfection.
- Yes. - Now.
- You wrote your letter? - Yes.
- You can go inside. - Thank you.
[soldier yelling in German]
Go.
- [soldiers yelling] - [people screaming]
[Lenz] Stop.
- [soldiers yelling] - [people screaming]
[beating]
[screaming intensifies]
[girl screaming] Mama! Mama!
And so we have the spot back.
We've covered all that, let's move on.
- That was fast enough. - That went quick, guys.
- [soldier laughing] - [people screaming]
[metal truck doors slam]
[muffled screaming]
[muffled pounding on truck]
[bird cawing]
[muffled screaming and pounding continue]
Go, begin! Hey, Ina! Go, forward!
[muffled banging]
[truck engine starts]
[muffled screaming continues[
[solemn music playing]
[screaming, pounding continue]
[engine sputters]
[engine stops]
Damn it all to hell! I told you to be careful with the gas!
That's quite a story.
Watch out, look out!
Well, gentlemen? Well, what's happening?
And now...
And again.
Then thank Oscar.
Fix this thing!
Hide this. Hide it.
My pockets are torn. Hide it.
You're risking our lives over a pencil?
If people knew what this place is, what the Germans are doing,
they will help us.
Now take it, please. Come on.
That's how it will be if you don't get one.
By then, the Russian will have long since landed in Berlin with you guys, man.
Yes, and?
- [men laughing] - [engine starting]
[sighs] Move.
[muffled screaming]
[dog barking]
[hissing]
Let's go.
[man coughing]
- [groans] - [body thuds]
[Lenz] Get them out.
Stop.
[cocks rifle]
[man gasping]
[Lenz muttering in German]
[rifle firing]
[in English] What you're waiting for?
They're not gonna bury themselves.
Get up on the truck!
[grunting]
[groaning]
[Lenz] Use every centimeter. Keep them tight.
[grunting]
[Lenz] Good.
Look in the mouth.
Good.
[grunting]
We're bringing the things back in. Complete idiot.
[men grunting]
[Lenz in English] Hey, hey. No, no, no.
The fat ones on bottom, the skinny one's on top.
Klara. Klara.
Klara!
[sobbing] Gutta! Abos!
My baby, my baby. Klara.
[continues sobbing]
Kill me. Kill me now, please. Let me be with my family.
Let me be with my family
You have to leave them.
- No. No. - Leave them.
Kill me. Please.
I beg you. Please kill me
[rifle cocks]
Yeah...
Great! We still have a lot of working hours ahead of us, right?
Continue to work. Come on.
Come on!
Come on. Come on.
- [Lenz] Back to work. - Come.
- We have to keep going. - Keep going?
[Lenz] Hey. Get up.
For what?
Hey! Continue working. Come on.
- Come. - [sobbing softly]
[Lenz] Get up! Back to work. Hey!
- This is your last warning. - [Solomon] Please.
[Lenz] Continue working now! Get up!
Come on.
- [sobbing] - [Lenz] Back to work.
Work!
Go, faster!
Work.
That's it for today. Stop. Stop. Let's go!
And, first move.
Well? Form a line!
Will that work? See you tomorrow, comrade!
[truck engine starting]
- [whispering in English] Ready? - Now?
As soon as we are on the truck.
- Ready? - It'll never work.
You'll get shot.
Until now.
No idea. They’re probably still working on the car.
Alright, that's it!
Want to wait for the night a bit, hm?
Laufen!
[inEnglish] We're walking.
Move!
[airplane engines roaring]
[indistinct chatter in German]
[whispering] Tomorrow morning,
They'll have fixed the truck.
[soldier] Stop!
What is going on here again now?
[man groaning]
So what is here?
We caught him outside the woods, Polizeimeister.
He came to us looking for food.
Thank you.
[pistol cocks]
[thuds]
That is the first sentence... and we are back.
Move!
Move faster!
Open it!
I'm hungry. You too?
Come on, faster!
Go!
Line up!
Everyone stand in line.
Hats off!
Count down.
You can eat now.
[praying]
You have to eat.
[in German] The salami tastes the best. You should try this one.
Eat some more. Come on.
You need to get stronger. Eat something.
[in English] And tomorrow we have to make sure
we board the back of the truck together.
If we get separated,
Solomon, do you know the way to Grabow?
No.
[Wolf] This is the castle.
Grave site.
We run east through the forest until we hit the river.
Follow it downstream.
Then head north through the farms past Dabie.
The water is freezing.
So fall in and you're finished.
But it moves quick.
So, if we can find a raft or something,
it'll take us downriver
and we'll be in Grabow in 30 minutes.
We just have to keep away from the roads.
And whatever happens, do not trust the Poles.
I'm sorry about your family, Michael.
We will do right by them.
Come on, get up!
That's it! Enough!
You've eaten enough, you pigs!
Come on, stop it!
Get up!
Hand in your bowls!
Faster, you pigs!
That used to be faster!
Line up in two rows!
You know how it's done!
Man!
Suddenly you can do it, right?
Well, you?
Well, at your young age, you can still manage it, right?
Very good.
[clears throat]
Hats off!
[men chuckling]
1...
2...
1...
2...
1...
2...
1...
2...
1...
2...
1...
2...
1...
2...
1...
2...
[panting]
STOP!
[panting]
Perfect!
[breathing heavily]
[spits]
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God?
- [knife slits] - [gurgling]
Lenz, where is the violinist?
He's not there
Get the violinist.
And the girl?
And the girl too!
[in English] Let us lighten the mood, yes?
Play something.
[playing solemn Jewish tune]
[men laughing]
What is this? A tribute?
[in English] No, no, no, no, no, play something happy.
Something uplifting, something to dance to.
[playing upbeat tune]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, super!
Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance!
[men exclaiming]
[song continues]
[Germans laughing, exclaiming]
[gun firing]
- [gun firing] - Dance!
[gun firing]
[music continues]
[gun firing]
Louder. Louder. Louder.
[gun firing]
[music stops]
[yelling orders]
[bottles clattering]
Take your hats off!
Who's standing?
Holes in the head!
Who's standing?
Hold the bottle tight!
He needs another one.
Hold the bottle tight!
But Berlin felt that it was too traumatizing for our soldiers.
And one night an officer came home drunk and slept in his garage.
With the engine running.
And since then we've been using vans.
Which means that we need target practice every now and then.
[guns cocking]
- And shoot. - [guns firing]
Come on, you get a try.
Move up.
So, let's get to it.
Good luck to you.
You idiot, stay and win when we leave soon.
Yes, once more.
Yes, come on, once more.
So, aim.
[guns cocking]
[firing]
Yes, man!
It works!
So, one more round, don't celebrate yet!
Come on, he needs another round!
He just missed the shot, come on!
He's already wetting himself here!
So, let's see!
Now look at them, they're trembling!
And...
Solomon, if you get to Grabow...
[gunfire]
[gasping]
Thank... Thank you.
We're getting rusty, we should do this more often.
Yes, sir!
All right!
Everyone inside now!
No more dealing or playing!
That's it for today!
Move!
Get inside!
Everyone inside now!
Time to go, come on!
Come on!
Get inside!
Inside!
Everyone!
Man, we really caught him good.
Get inside!
Move!
You can move faster.
Faster!
Get inside!
Move!
Faster!
Move!
And we're back.
Move!
Faster!
Inside!
You won't be here tomorrow morning!
Understood?
[Lenz] Not a word until morning.
[door slams, locks]
[praying softly]
[indistinct German chattering in distance]
[praying continues]
[faint laughter]
What now, Szlamek?
What are we going to do now?
[Solomon] We run.
Run? We have no one left to run to.
Wolf was right.
No one's coming for us?
As long as we're still breathing, there is hope.
Hope? All of our families are gone.
There are other families.
One day the Germans came into our ghetto
saying they were in need of workers.
Only the strong will be chosen, they said.
Each man should bring a shovel and enough bread for two days.
My family, like everyone else in Izbica,
were convinced that we were off to a labor camp.
Better than starving in the ghetto.
The Nazis put us in the truck
and we even stopped on the way there at a petrol station
so that we could stretch our legs.
My neighbor, Bronshtein, he wandered off,
the Nazis, they didn't even notice.
And when the truck kept going, he came running back,
banged on the side so that, God forbid, he wouldn't be left behind.
We had no idea.
No idea.
But as soon as we arrived here, they made...
they no more effort to conceal what was really going on.
They took away our shovels, our food.
I was taken out the forest with three others to dig.
The rest we buried that day.
My family, my...
My parents, my four sisters...
Not long after.
We have... We have to get the word out.
We...
We have to warn our people what this place is, what it really, really is.
Do you think that will bring an end to all of this?
I don't know.
I don't know, but if we succeed,
the next Brohnstein will not be so keen to run back.
But how? How do we escape?
Just like Wolf and Monik planned.
With what? We haven't got a blade.
We have this.
We cut through the side of the truck on the way out tomorrow.
We take the river. We stay off the roads
and we don't stop running until we reach Grebov.
Yes?
Yes.
Listen, everyone.
Michael and I are going to leap off the next transport tomorrow morning.
Who's with us?
You think you're the first to try to escape, young Szlamek?
Remember Zerlin from Leczyca?
Isserman and Greenberg from Kutno...
No, they ran from the castle or the gravesite,
not from the transport trucks in the middle of the forest.
There will only be five or six Germans on us.
And two never ran together.
We'll use the trees for protection, draw fire in different directions.
Exactly.
Join us, Goldman.
The Russians are less than 400 kilometers away.
We don't know that.
We only have ourselves to rely on, Goldman.
You can take your chances here.
Michael and I are leaving.
Even if you make it through the forest,
the first Pole you meet won't hesitate to bring you back for five Zlotys.
Grebow is only a few kilometers away.
- Yes. - The ghetto has not been liquidated yet.
And there's a rabbi there, he can help us.
And if by some act of God, you make it there in one piece,
who do you think will be staring down the barrels of a firing squad
once they realize you're gone?
Goldman's right.
We've survived this long.
You are all welcome to join us.
If we succeed and they take it out on you...
please know that I am sorry.
We will pray for you.
We will pray for all those who suffered here.
Wolf. Wolf.
He was from Kutno, yes?
Yes?
[man] Lodz.
[emotional music playing]
Wolf was from Lodge.
Monik from Kutno.
Thank you, Felix.
Who else?
Jacob Zerlin, from Leczyca.
Josef Herskowicz, from Kutno.
Josef Herskowicz...
Motle, uh...
Motle Symkie, also from Leczyca.
Gecel Stajer, from Turek.
Josef Herskowicz, from Kutno.
Who else?
Moshe Pocar. From Kutno.
Moshe had a son here with him.
Uh, Josef? No.
Fabel.
Fabel Pocka.
- Fabel... - Also from Kutno.
Isia Maja. From Zhezhani.
Jonas Ley, from Zhezhin.
- Who else? - Jabob Szlamowicz, from Lodz.
Aaron Nusbaum, from Sanok.
Noah Judkiewicz, from Kutno.
Moshe Henikov. From Kutno.
Jacob Jacobitkevic...
Gecel Stajer, from Turek.
Isaac Szama, from Brzeziny...
[Michael] My wife.
Klara.
Gutta and Abos Podchlebnik, ages 5 and 7,
from Kolo.
Who else? Who else?
[footsteps approaching]
[man yelling]
[Lenz] The late transport has finally arrived!
Everybody out! Back to the forest.
Come on!
Come on, out!
Move through!
Go!
Come on, now!
Get started!
Sleeping time is over!
Go, faster!
Come on!
Don't look so stupid!
Faster now!
Out!
We've got a special invitation here!
Move now!
Move!
Move it here, gentlemen!
There's really nothing to be done yet, huh?
You're quite something!
I thought you got a good rest today, huh?
Wonderful pack!
Move now, quick!
Let's go!
Good grief, you're slow again today!
It can go faster than normal here, huh?
Come on!
Are you slow today, huh?
At least we don't have to walk you dogs back, huh?
[laughs]
Good luck!
Well, you can do whatever you want.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Solomon] Goldman. Goldman...
Goldman. Goldman!
Goldman!
Goldman.
- [soldier] Hey, sit down! - [rifle cocking]
- Sit down! - Pleas, Herr Polizeimeister.
- Sit down, I said! - It's important.
You sit down or you'll be the first in the ditch!
Sit down, I said!
Spare a cigarette?
[Lenz] Yeah?
[suspenseful music continues]
[laughing]
He didn't expect that, huh?
[in English] You like it? It's good, yeah?
Good cigarette, huh?
Yeah. You like it, you have it, it's yours.
Yes, come on now!
There's another one coming!
[laughing]
And then you give the little fingers and they've just been... all the time...
[in English] You smoke it too, my friend!
- Yeah! [laughs] - [coughing]
Yes, you take it, you share it!
This is the third sentence.
[soldiers laughing]
[in English] Go, smoke it!
Smoke it, smoke the cigarette!
Smoke it! Smoke the cigarette!
Yeah, but is that bastard smoking there, huh?
Yeah, let's keep going, if you also... once more...
Ah, smoke the cigarette, huh?
Stop the truck! Stop the truck!
Stop the truck!
- [yelling in German] - [guns firing]
[bullets whizzing]
- [yelling in German] - [guns firing]
[grunting]
[bullets whizzing]
- [gunshot] - [grunts]
[dog barking]
- [guns firing] - [dog barking]
[bullets whizzing]
[water rushing]
We'll freeze.
- [yelling in German] - [guns firing]
Go.
[yelling]
[dramatic music continues]
[gasping]
Hold on!
[gasping]
- Michael! Hold on! - [gasps]
Michaeal!
- Hurry! - I'm coming.
Hold on!
- Hold on! - [gasps] Solomon!
Michael! Hold on!
[choking]
I've got you!
[panting]
[groaning]
All right.
We need to keep moving.
My leg.
I've been shot.
Where? Show me.
Right here, right here.
Ah!
It passed straight through.
[groans]
Do you want to know something?
I... I think I broke my leg jumping off the truck.
[wheezing laughter]
[laughs, coughs]
Come on.
[groaning]
[grunting]
[airplane passing overhead]
I guess... we're going to be late for roll call.
Come on.
Do you think they'll report it?
I'm sure they've notified every police station from here to Lodz.
Two witnesses escaped.
Lange will have Lenz's head.
I'd pay money to see that.
Put a milk bottle on him.
What do you think's going to happen to the others?
[animal panting]
Shh. Do not move.
[wolf growling]
Just stare right back at them.
[continues growling]
[men speaking German in distance]
[machinery rumbling]
[rumbling fades in distance]
[sighs]
Come on. Come on.
Come on.
Stay low.
We need to head for the barn.
They'll hand us in if they catch us.
We'll freeze out here.
Come on. Come on. Stay low.
- Are they inside? - Yes, they are inside.
- [pail clatters] - [water splashes]
What now?
- The motorcycle... - Can you ride one?
Yes.
Shh...
- [door opening in distance] - Wait. She's alone.
[tense music playing]
- Railway uniforms. - My husband's.
They might keep you safe but please hurry.
That's all I can do. Now go, please.
Thank you.
God be with you.
[engine sputters]
[engine starts]
Hey!
Let's turn around.
What do we do?
[clamoring]
[people yelling]
[woman yelling]
[screaming]
Yes, that's it now.
[screaming]
[officer] Stop!
Alright, you two, move it!
- Polish? - Yeah.
Okay, come. Come help us.
Slowly, slowly!
Push!
[engine revving]
Come on! Go, go, go, go, yeah!
Hey! Wait a minute.
Come here.
Come here, come.
What happened to your leg?
Oh, just an accident.
A group of Wehrmacht fired at us just past Dabie.
A stray bullet.
- A stray bullet? - Yes.
I don't think they meant to.
[chuckling]
Franz!
- My medic will take a look. - Oh, no, really. There's no need.
I insist.
Come on, help out!
Move!
Please!
Come on, come on, come on!
Don't fall asleep, man!
Go, you take care of his leg!
So you are with the railway?
- What? - Your uniforms.
Ah, yes. Yes. Uh...
We are just on our way to repair on the other track.
- Klodawa? - Yes.
Well, that's our direction. We will give you a lift.
Oh, thank you. Thank you, but I have to...
I have to take him home.
He can't work in this state.
Where does he live?
Siedlec, just past Grabow.
All right. So we will take him.
I would not want to hold off any service to the Fuhrer's trains.
No, of course not. I...
I, uh, have to refill the bike anyway, so...
But thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.
Thank you for your help, sir.
Well, thank you for your help.
[melancholy music playing]
[engine stops]
[grunts]
We need to avoid the guards.
It's not just the Germans I'm worried about.
The Judenrate?
Here.
Did Wolf tell you where the rabbi's house is?
No.
But someone here will know.
- [grunting] - [dog barking in distance]
It's empty.
It's curfew.
That was your leg.
[men speaking German]
[banging]
- [man] Who is it? - Please, please let us in. Please.
[speaking Yiddish]
We're looking for Rabbi Schulman.
You're not from here. Who are you?
No, no. We're Jews. We're Jews.
We are escaped from the Nazi camp at Chelmno.
We're looking for Rabbi Schulman.
[men approaching]
- [knocking on door] - [man] Abramson.
You know you can't break curfew.
Abramson?
Yes, yes, I know.
I have a problem with the lock.
Well, fix it.
Don't let the Germans see it open during curfew.
You say you come from Chelmno?
- Yes. - My son...
with his family, they were sent off to work in Chelmno.
Jacob Abramson.
He sent me a letter from Leipzig.
Maybe you saw him.
No, I'm afraid not.
Please, sir, the Rabbi's house?
Go around back.
Take the side street all the way down.
It's the second house on the right.
The blue door.
Thank you.
Are you sure you did not see my son?
Sorry, sir.
[men talking]
[coughing weakly]
[grunting]
Rabbi Schulman?
- My... - Shh. Quickly.
Please, please. My dear Esther, bring a bowl of water and some food.
Motle, go and fetch the doctor.
Hurry, but make sure no one sees you.
Please, come sit.
Thank you. Thank you, Rabbi.
Solomon Wiener, from Izbica.
This is Michael Podchlebnik, from Kolo.
We are escaped prisoners from the Nazi camp in Chelmno.
Please, eat.
[clattering]
[praying in Hebrew]
Amen.
Thank you, Rabbi.
There's a work camp in Chelmno?
It's not a work camp. It's a death camp.
What are...
[dog barking]
We have to be... we have to be brief.
We passed a whole contingent of Wehrmacht on our way here.
It won't take them long to figure out who we are, where we were headed.
What have you done?
I...
I know this will sound crazy, and it is crazy,
we've just come from a place, a true Gehenna on Earth.
What... What place?
The Germans are building death camps,
factories designed to exterminate our people.
We have buried an entire Jewish community,
thousands, with our own hands, our own families.
- [door opening] - [shushing]
- Rabbi. - Thank you for coming. Come, please.
Here. Sit, sit.
Thousands, you say? How?
With gas from a truck engine,
and then we buried them in ditches in the forest.
Impossible.
This is the 20th century. No one can annihilate
an entire nation and get away with it.
Even during wartime, it's unheard of.
And yet it is happening, Rabbi.
No more than a few kilometers from here.
They tell them stories of work in Leipzig,
and then they murder them.
Listen, we don't have much time. We need your help.
We need to get a message out and notify everyone.
No, I have a community here.
I cannot, I must take care of them. I cannot spread rumors.
Rumors?
Rabbi, these are not rumors.
Our people, they must be warned.
- The world, it must know the truth. - It cannot be the truth.
I know the Germans here they would not do this. No.
- Rabbi. - No, no, there is a war going on.
People are sick, scared, frightened for their lives.
This will cause panic. You will scare them even more.
But they should, they should be scared. Look.
Look at these names.
No. These are just the ones that we remember.
Look at my hands.
Every day they bury a thousand of our brothers and sisters.
Look at me and tell me you don't believe me, Rabbi.
Look at me!
I...
Oh, no!
[speaks Hebrew]
[sobbing]
Nothing I can say will do it justice.
You have to see it with your own eyes.
It will be the last thing you ever see, Rabbi.
We came here so that you, your family, this community will never have to.
Why, why, why, why are you here? I'm just a rabbi.
We were told that you had connections to the underground in Warsaw.
Oh! No, no.
Who, who told you this?
Wolf Kaminski.
[speaks Hebrew]
Rabbi, can you help us?
[banging on door]
Are you expecting anyone else?
No.
[door opening]
Rumkowski.
We heard you may have some guests.
Guests?
[Rumkowski] No one came looking for you?
[Rabbi] Who would come during curfew?
[Rumkowski] Then you don't mind if we come in?
I was just about to daven. Please, join me.
Your father would be happy to know that you didn't miss prayer.
[door closing]
That should hold the Judenrate off for a while, but they'll be back.
Tell me what happens in Chelmno?
We, we, we will write everything down.
But we need to know that you can get this out.
Have, have you something to write on?
Tell me everything.
The camp started operating on the 8th of December, 1941,
when the first transport of Jews arrived from Kolo,
Michael's village.
Over 700 were gassed that day.
They, they were, they were the first.
The first, the first day I arrived,
my...
[sobs] My...
My, my...
We will get everything done.
This will reach the underground
and they will get it to London.
I promise you this.
People will not remain silent.
[sobbing]
[Rabbi] The world will tremble.
Thank you.
[continues sobbing]
Thank you.
[emotional music playing]
Salomon's testimony was the first eyewitness account
of the Nazi mass murder of Jews.
The Jewish underground smuggled it to London,
where it was broadcast on BBC Radio on June 26, 1942.
This was the first news report about the Holocaust.
After the Chełmno gas van prototype,
the Nazis soon moved to gas chambers in camps like Treblinka and Auschwitz.
Of the 220,000 Jews who were deported to Chełmno,
only four survived.
[Lange] I am aware of the hardships you Jews have endured
since the start of the war and in the ghettos.
The horrific living conditions, the disease, the lack of food.
But I assure you, your suffering is finally over.
Rabbi Jacob Schulman did not abandon his congregation and
was taken three weeks after his meeting with Salomon and Michael,
along with the Jews of Grabow, to Chełmno.
They were all gassed immediately upon their arrival.
Salomon "Slamek" Wiener fled Grabow in search of
his surviving relatives, but was captured
and taken to the Belzec extermination camp,
where he was gassed in April 1942.
Before his capture, he managed to send one last message,
transmitting the first report on the gassings in Belzec.
Michael Podchlebnik parted ways with Salomon in Grabow,
survived the war hiding on a Polish farm,
and emigrated to Israel, where he remarried and had two sons.
Michael faced the guards of Chełmno in West Germany
one last time as a key witness in their 1962 trials.
Yes, we have a lie going on.
And we cheated the flute, too.
We caught the flute.
And then we said, you still have strength, you can still work.
And then you're here.
[music continues]
[man] This is the BBC reporting from London.
We will now present a special broadcast about horrible atrocities
committed on the Jews by the Hitlerite occupant.
Here in London, we have received detailed information describing
the entirety of the cold, calculated system,
in which thousands of members of the Jewish community
are being shot, gassed, and cruelly murdered.
These inhuman crimes committed on innocent people
cry vengeance to heaven.
They cry for a fair and strict punishment...
[music continues]
[music stops]