Luther smiles.
LUTHER
I’m glad you’re here with me, too.
They walk away together.
INT. BARRACK 314 - NIGHT
Several inmates, including SCHMUL and JACOB, are gathered around Luther’s bunk. A dim light overhead illuminates them. Rodin and Alfred are seated next to each other on Luther’s bunk.
SCHMUL
I think my lice have lice.
LUTHER
The lice in my bed have built an
entire village. The lights and
noise from their pubs keep me awake
at night.
Men chuckle.
LUTHER
What I wouldn’t give for a bath and
change of clothes.
SCHMUL
I would never take a bath again if
I could just have one last
satisfying meal.
Each man looks thoughtful.
SCHMUL
What about you all? If you had to
choose between a bath and a
sandwich, which would you take?
Everyone laughs, mumbling they would take the sandwich.
JACOB
Not me. First I would take a long,
hot bath. Then I would put on clean
clothes. After that, I would be so
handsome you would all want to give
me your sandwiches.
He raises his arms and flexes his skinny muscles. Everyone laughs. His shirt sleeve slides up, revealing the number on his forearm. Alfred sees it and Jacob sees him looking at it. Jacob puts his hand on Alfred’s shoulder. He pulls his shirt sleeve up so that the number is visible.
JACOB
You envy my number, don’t you young
Alfred? I know what you’re thinking.
Don’t suppose I haven’t imagined
myself in your shoes. When I look at
my forearm and see a number, it
reminds me that I’m a captive. But
I know that when you look at your
forearm and see nothing, it reminds
you that you are expendable.
Alfred smiles a nervous smile, looks up at Jacob.
ALFRED
Thanks for the reminder, Jacob.
JACOB
(to the group)
The allies are getting close. I
see planes nearly every day now.
They have to know we’re here, but
they leave us to die. It appears
the entire world has abandoned us.
SCHMUL
I pray you are wrong, Jacob. I’ve
heard the bombing for days now.
It’s getting closer. Can you tell?
LUTHER
That’s why the ovens are burning hotter.
They are taking more and more of us from
the work force. Six months ago, they
would come and take men from our ranks
once a week. Now it seems they are
coming every day. They call workers out
for “special duties,” but we all know
where they go.
JACOB
You are right, Luther. The next time
anyone sees them, they are on the
back of a cart. Soon there will be
no one left to dig the holes in which
to bury their ashes.
It becomes quiet for a moment.
LUTHER
I fear it’s only days until I have
my appointment with the ovens.
Luther bares his forearm to Alfred showing he has no number.
LUTHER
You see, Alfred. You and I are
brothers. We will be among the
first to go. Until then, we work,
we dream of food and pray our God
has not forgotten us.
The men are silent again. They all look at Jacob.
JACOB
We must make a pact. Those of us
who survive must tell the world
what has happened here.
ALFRED
No one will believe us. What we
have seen here I would not believe
if I hadn’t seen it myself.
LUTHER
Jacob is right. Those who survive
must honor the dead by telling this
story. Even if they don’t believe,
we must keep the memory of the dead
alive. Generations from now, Alfred,
they will know your mother…your
brothers.
Alfred nods.
JACOB
It is agreed then?
The men agree and put their hands together in the center of the group.
LATER
Alfred awakens in a crowded bunk. An inmate lies nearly atop him. Realizing the man is dead, Alfred screams, pushes the body off him, climbs over another inmate beside him, slips from his bunk. He drags his blanket with him and covers himself as he stands. His breath is visible. He walks to toilet holes in the center of the room, urinates into one hole. Steam rises from the stream of urine. He finishes, sees Rodin lying awake. He walks over. Rodin looks up and whispers to Alfred.
RODIN
Can’t you sleep?
ALFRED
I had to pee.
RODIN
No kidding. Everyone can hear it
when someone pees or craps. When
I hear someone get up I just hope
he won’t do something that adds to
the foul smell of this place. I
don’t think I’ll ever get used to
it.
Alfred looks at his hands.
ALFRED
It’s strange that I’ve gotten used
to this work. I’m hungry, tired
and feel like I could die any
moment, but my body just keeps
going on its own.
RODIN
When I’m working I think about each
shovel; is it heavy or light. I
think about how much mud I’ve
scooped and try to guess how little
I can dig and still look like I’m
working hard.
ALFRED
I know what you mean.
(beat)
Can I tell you a secret?
RODIN
Of course.
ALFRED
You have to promise not to tell
any of the others.
RODIN
I promise.
ALFRED
When I see the guards coming, I
look around at the other workers.
I try to make sure I appear to be
working harder than some of them.
(beat)
I hope that if they come for
someone, it’ll be one of them
rather than me.
RODIN
Why are you ashamed of that? We
all hope the same thing. We all
want to live.
ALFRED
But I think that even about the
workers I like, the ones I care
about.
Rodin pauses and thinks.
RODIN
Even me?
Tears fill Alfred’s eyes.
ALFRED
Yes. What shames me most is that
I think I’d think it even if my
mother was beside me.
Rodin looks away.
RODIN
Don’t worry Alfred. I suppose
that deep down, we all think the
same.
He looks back at Alfred.
RODIN
We’ll make it, you and me.
ALFRED
You and me.
EXT. BARRACKS 314 - MORNING
Workers are l
ined up in columns with their tools in hand. Capo Frankl organizes inmates preparing to move to the work area. Major Vogel on horseback rides up and a group of weak inmates follows. The inmates of Barracks 314 grow still and watch from the corner of their eyes. The officer stops his horse.
MAJOR VOGEL
Achtung, Männer. Gute Morgen.
Gutes Glück denn Sie. Ich habe
besondere Pflichten denn Sie.
Some of you are in luck. You
will have no digging today.
He dismounts and walks along the line. He points to several inmates, including Alfred.
MAJOR VOGEL
Sie drei Männer. (You three men.)
Sie. (You.) Sie zwei. (You two.)
Sie fünf. (You five.) You men
come with my group for special
duties today.
Reluctantly and nervously the men comply. Major Vogel re-mounts his horse and rides to the front. As the group begins to move ahead, Alfred looks pleadingly at Luther who subtly motions for him to slip back into their ranks. Alfred waits for the right moment and then carefully slips back into his own work detail group. Frankl sees him. They make eye contact with each other, Alfred looking at him with a pleading look, hoping he does not turn him in. Rodin stands next to Alfred. Frankl pauses.
FRANKL
Don’t just stand there you lazy
Jews. Let’s get to work.
Frankl turns and the group moves forward. Rodin and Alfred look at each other and breathe a sigh of relief. The group moves off.
EXT. A SHALLOW TRENCH – EVENING
Inmates dig in the mud. Frankl calls for them to stop. They climb out, line up behind a table where soup and bread are served. Alfred, Rodin, Jacob, Luther sit together. They look exhausted. As they eat, an American plane flies high overhead. Faintly in the distance bombs can be heard.
JACOB
Did you hear that?
RODIN
Do you think they’re coming for us?
LUTHER
I don’t know, Rodin, but they are
getting close. I have a feeling
that one way or another, we’ll see
the end of all of this quite soon.
INT. LATRINE – DAY
Alfred and Jacob work together. The commode has been removed and an exposed pipe is in the floor between them. Alfred makes faces as he reaches deep into the pipe and withdraws a handful of sludge. Jacob does the same as Alfred deposits his handful in a bucket between them. Jacob seems unaffected by the filthy job. Alfred scoops another handful from the clogged pipe.
ALFRED
This is the most disgusting
thing I’ve ever had to do.
Jacob says nothing, but continues.
ALFRED
Doesn’t this bother you, Jacob?
Jacob continues to work as he talks.
JACOB
Alfred, there’s a blessing in
all work, even work like this.
ALFRED
You must be joking!
JACOB
No, my boy. I’m not joking.
ALFRED
What can the blessing be of
swimming in shit?
JACOB
No, Alfred. It’s not the filth
that’s the blessing. Stand back
and look from a distance. Close up
you only see filth, but when you
stand back you can see you’re
inside where it’s warm. You could
be shoveling frozen mud out in the
freezing cold and snow.
ALFRED
I suppose the stink is so
overwhelming, I never thought of it
that way.
JACOB
Your problem, Alfred, is that you
can only see the worst in what is
happening. You see painful
digging. I see that I am strong
enough to dig while others lie
dying in the infirmary. You see
crowded sleeping conditions. I
see that I am surrounded by
warmth from the people next to me
on cold nights. Your mother died,
no? You see the loss of your
mother. But I see a mother that
was spared the pain she would
have endured if she had lived.
ALFRED
So you are saying that this place
and the terrible things that
happen here never get to you?
JACOB
Of course they get to me sometimes,
Alfred. Even Moses had a bit of a
temper tantrum once or twice.
ALFRED
A temper tantrum?
JACOB
Yes. Remember your Sabbath
lessons. He was tired of all the
complaining of the Israelites.
They wanted meat because they
were tired of manna.
ALFRED
God then gave them meat. I
remember.
Jacob laughs.
JACOB
Yes, He did, but He also told
Moses he would give them so much
meat that it would come out their
noses and they would grow to
despise meat. That is what
happened, too. Our Father in
Heaven didn’t take kindly to
Moses’ tantrum.
Jacob pulls a final handful of the clog from the pipe. He pours water through the pipe showing it is clear.
ALFRED
I have so many questions that
remain unanswered.
JACOB
Don’t you see, Alfred. It’s the
question that’s important, not the
answer. You want everything to be
packaged very carefully and neatly
for you, but that’s not the way it
can be. If I ask you who you are
and what’s important to you, can
you package your answer in one
word? In one sentence?
ALFRED
No.
JACOB
Of course you can’t. You are many
things. You are complicated, so
the answer to the question must
also be complicated. How much more
complicated are the truths of Almighty
God? Do you think His great mysteries
can be neatly wrapped into a single
word, a single sentence, just to satisfy
your earthly curiosity about some
issue? You’re smarter than that.
ALFRED
It’s as if you’re saying God plays
tricks on us, that He’s created us
to ask hard questions, but has no
intention of answering them.
JACOB
There’s a time for answering,
Alfred. If He answers too quickly,
you would not understand Him. If
a young boy asks a father what it
is like to fall in love, he can
only give a short answer. The
child cannot begin to understand
the many complexities of love.
Even as grown men, we don’t
understand our love for our wives.
We are simply in the process of
understanding.
ALFRED
So, you’re saying that I can only
hope to be in the process of
understanding God’s answers to my
questions?
JACOB
Exactly. As you grow, new truths
will be revealed. Should a child
abandon his father because at age
five he does not receive a full
explanation of what it means to
fall in love? No, of course not.
The father tells his child to be
patient and the answers come in
time. So, be patient Alfred.
Jacob stands and washes his hands and arms in the sink. Alfred joins him at the sink.
JACOB
There now. A filthy job is
finished. I’ve learned from
Moses’ mistake. What our God
prepares for me, I will accept.
Remember, just as the wilderness
was not home for our ancestors,
this place is not our home. I
trust God to watch over me just
as he did those so many years ago.
When I think of things that way,
my bitterness never lasts long. I
can always find a blessing in what
our tormentors meant to be
repulsive. It is for that reason,
dear Alfred, that they can never
win.
EXT. A SHALLOW DITCH - DAY
It’s pouring rain and prisoners dig in the mud. Rodin, Alfred, Jacob and Luther dig. They are emaciated. Rodin whispers under his breath.
RODIN
I can’t do this much longer. My
hands are cold, my body stiff. I
can barely feel the shovel in my
hands.
ALFRED
My grandfather used to say he
wasn’t sure he believed in hell.
Now, if he were here, he would
have no doubts.
LUTHER
Just when I think the conditions
can’t get worse, something happens
to discourage us. This rain makes
the mud as heavy as rock.
The men work in silence for a few moments before Joseph speaks.
JOSEPH
When I was a boy, we used to go to
my grandmother’s house every
Friday just before the Sabbath.
We stayed with her and came home
on Sunday. I remember riding in
the wagon with my sisters. I loved
that ride in the spring.
(beat)
Once, when I was maybe eight or nine,
I asked my father if I could walk