BY Pawel Grajnert
BASED ON A TRUE EVENT
The year: 2021
Except for moments where dialog is spoken or otherwise noted, the OLD GERMAN WOMAN’s voice, in the style of a secretary doing the filing, recites the names of randomly chosen victims of the Nazi regime at the Stutthof camp. Each one twice.
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
71889, DUSZINAT, RACHMIL.
DUSZINAT, RACHMIL. 40326,
PIOTROWSKI, EUGENIUSZ.
PIOTROWSKI, EUGENIUSZ. 79475,
KELLO, MARIE. KELLO, MARIE…
INT. OLD FOLKS HOME. NIGHT
At the end of a bland corridor in an elder care facility, a nurse tends to paperwork at a workstation. His head down in an open file.
In the foreground, a door opens.
Stealthily, an OLD GERMAN WOMAN, 90s, in a robe, who walks with a cane, escapes from her room as she closes the door silently behind herself.
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
101461, PAWELSKI, VIKTORIA. PAWELSKI,
VIKTORIA. 42446, ALEKSANDROWITS, ROCHE.
ALEKSANDROWITS, ROCHE. 47295, VEINIK,
CHANA. VEINIK, CHANA…
INT. OLD FOLKS HOME – OTHER END OF CORRIDOR. NIGHT
The old woman escapes down the corridor. Slowly.
No one at the desk notices. All heads are still down.
EXT. STREET. NIGHT
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
51804, KATZ, SZEREN. KATZ, SZEREN. 89040,
TUKSZ, SEREN. TUKSZ, SEREN. No number
assigned, HUBERT, SZABINE. HUBERT, SZABINE…
A car drives past a dark area between street lamps. It splashes water into the dark space.
Dripping wet, the old woman emerges from the darkness.
EXT. STAIRS TO OVERPASS. NIGHT
A bus passes on a street above the old woman as she struggles up some stairs.
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
86987, KOZIKOWSKA, WERONIKA. KOZIKOWSKA,
WERONIKA. 92064, SCHWARCZ, MARGIT.
SCHWARCZ, MARGIT. 36359, PETROW, ALEXEJ.
PETROW, ALEXEJ…
INT. BUS. NIGHT
From behind the old woman, a ticket checker approaches her on the bus.
TICKET CHECKER
(German)
Ticket please.
The recitation of the names stops abruptly, but the old woman does not twitch.
TICKET CHECKER
(German)
Madame, ticket please.
Nothing. A YOUNG MAN at the back of the bus laughs.
YOUNG MAN
(German)
She’s old enough to ride for free,
I think. Huh?
Other riders laugh.
The TICKET CHECKER moves on to the next person on the bus.
TICKET CHECKER
(German)
Ticket please.
The old woman looks out at the darkness outside once again.
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
No number assigned, CHYTRANSKA,
FRANJA. CHYTRANSKA, FRANJA. 83338,
SCHAFIR, RITKA. SCHAFIR, RITKA. 36483,
ZARKOWNIJ, LUKAS. ZARKOWNIJ, LUKAS…
Reflected in the window of the bus… appears the face of a YOUNG WOMAN in 1940s high fashion for a secretary.
INT. OFFICE. DAY
1940s.
The young woman listens to a recording and types away at a typewriter: A list of names under the banner of the SS at the top of the page.
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
44535, MARCINKOWSKI, ZENON. MARCINKOWSKI,
ZENON. No number assigned, OLECHWANOW,
ALEXI. OLECHWANOW, ALEXI. No number
assigned, KAMBALS, DONATS. KAMBALS,
DONATS . . .
INT./EXT. BUS. NIGHT
The recitation of names stops.
The YOUNG WOMAN’S image in the window is disturbed by:
A GROUP OF TEENS in soccer jerseys riding on skateboards up the sidewalk. Their names emblazoned above numbers: 15, MULLER, 22, FISCHER, 30, AKSOY, and 03, MAYE.
EXT. BUS STOP. NIGHT
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
No number assigned, KULINSKI, STANISLAW.
KULINSKI, STANISLAW. 56009, GRABOWSKI,
STANISLAW. GRABOWSKI, STANISLAW. 41894,
SAPIRENE, CHAVA. SAPIRENE, CHAVA . . .
The bus stops and the old woman steps off the bus.
The doors close and the bus pulls away.
The OLD WOMAN sees the teens approach. She turns her back on them and takes two steps directly under the light. The TEENS approach and pass her. They stop and turn toward her. She freezes. The recitation of names stops. One of the TEENs approaches.
Her face is a black disc as she stands backlit by the streetlamp above and behind her.
TEEN
(German)
Do you remember where you’re going, granny?
OLD WOMAN
(German)
I also remember your names: 15, Muller,
22, Fischer, 30, Aksoy, and 03, Maye.
OTHER TEEN
(German)
How did she know our names?
3rd TEEN
(German)
Leave her alone.
The TEEN who approached smiles, turns and rejoins his friends who ride away.
EXT. PARK. NIGHT
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
74998, GROSSKOPF, BLUMA. GROSSKOPF,
BLUMA. 26957, PSTRONG, FRANZ. PSTRONG,
FRANZ. 26266, JANKOWSKI, ANDREJ. JANKOWSKI, ANDREJ . . .
The OLD WOMAN stands on a park bench and breaks the bulb in a park lamp above her with her cane.
Glass rains down. She carefully brushes the glass off of her and sits down. A pile of glass crunches under her foot as she sits there on the bench under a broken park lamp.
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
35480, GRUZEWSKI, TADEUSZ. GRUZEWSKI,
TADEUSZ. 12488, SIERAWSKI, WITOLD.
SIERAWSKI, WITOLD. 43615, SALZBERG,
JAKOB. SALZBERG, JAKOB . . .
INT. OFFICE. DAY
1940s.
The young woman in the 1940s finishes typing, she pulls out the paper and places it on top of a pile on the desk next to the typewriter. She stands and looks at the paper on top of the pile in her arms.
YOUNG WOMAN
(German)
22650, POLAKOW, MAXIM.
She opens a knee-level drawer in a filing cabinet and begins to thumb through tabs:
YOUNG WOMAN
(German)
POLAKOW, MAXIM.
She finds the file, pulls it up, places some papers into it, pushes it down. She checks the next set of papers.
YOUNG WOMAN
(German)
75276, ICKOWITZ, BRACHA.
She pushes the one drawer shut and pulls open the one above it.
YOUNG WOMAN
(German)
ICKOWITZ, BRACHA.
Something catches her eye and she looks over to her left and out a window.
EXT. GARDEN/CONCENTRATION CAMP. CONT.
Beyond a beautiful garden, between the full branches of a tree and a thick bush with colorful flowers growing from it, stands the emaciated PRISONER of a Nazi death camp in gray, tattered prison garb. The PRISONER stops moving, feels the gaze of the young woman in the office, looks up and the two lock eyes.
The PRISONER’s eyes ask for help.
At first, the young woman in the window shows emotion, concern.
The prisoner almost smiles with hope.
But then the young woman in the window is suddenly embarrassed and then hateful for being faced with this responsibility. She shakes her head.
The PRISONER’S affect turns to disgust just as a rifle butt comes down on her head and a uniformed SS SOLDIER takes the place of the inmate in the space between the tree and the bush.
INT. OFFICE. CONT.
A hand taps the YOUNG WOMAN on the back. Startled, she turns around.
An SS OFFICER smiles a fatherly smile at her.
SS OFFICER
(German)
You’ve done a wonderful job. You have nothing to worry about. All of this will be forgotten. And all of us will be forgotten. And even you will forget.
He smiles at her.
SS OFFICER
(German)
Yes?
The YOUNG WOMAN smiles wanly and nods.
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
(German)
74390, BASZINSKA, UTA. BASZINSKA, UTA.
41925, SADOW, RIWA. SADOW, RIWA. 86459,
MINCENKO, VALERIANS. MINCENKO,
VALERIANS . . .
EXT. PARK. NIGHT
A hand lands on the old woman’s back. Startled, she turns around.
A light from a pen flashlight illuminates her face.
POLICE WOMAN
(German)
Here she is.
TWO POLICE MEN run up.
POLICE MAN
(German)
Is it her?
POLICE WOMAN
(German)
What’s your name?
The light blinds the OLD WOMAN, she shields her eyes from its glare.
POLICE WOMAN
(German)
What’s your name?
OLD WOMAN
(German)
I don’t remember.
POLICE MAN
(German)
Pick her up. We’ll figure it all out at the station.
The police officers lift the old woman to her feet and escort her away.
OLD WOMAN (V.0.)
(German)
33372, MAKOWSKI, MIECZYSLAW. MAKOWSKI,
MIECZYSLAW. 56918, DOMOWSKA, RIVE.
DOMOWSKA, RIVE. 92195, SPITZER, IREN.
SPITZER . . .