"THE ZONE OF INTEREST" (2023)

...a family picnicking in a sloping meadow by the sparkling * shore of a lake. Bright sunlight. *

Sat on a picnic blanket under a tree, is HEDWIG, (early 40’s), unassuming, wearing a swimming costume.

She’s feeding tiny slices of apple to their ten-month-old baby, ANNAGRET.

Her TWO DAUGHTERS, HEIDERAUD (11) and INGE-BRIGIT (9), are playing and searching for wild strawberries in the long grass.

ELFRYDA, (47), the German nanny, is lying in the shallows. HANS (6), is paddling nearby.

Beyond them, RUDOLF, (early 40’s), black short back and sides hair, black trunks, stands on the promontory looking out at * the lake.

Claus and Shwarzer join him and the three of them wade out into deeper water, up to their waists, slapping the water at each other with their arms.

Then they push out into the shimmering lake. *

Their three heads bobbing in the water. *

Revision 2.

The Höss family, dressed now, amble up the meadow and into a * glade of birch trees. Midges and butterflies dart and glint * in the sun. *

The boys share the weight of the hamper. Hedwig in her straw * hat walks playfully with the girls behind. *

Rudolf, dressed now, walks at the front, cradling baby * Annagret. *

Two 1940’s cars wind their way along a forest road. *

They turn onto a country road.

HEADLIGHTS POV: *

The glare from his headlights illuminates a rushing, black ribbon of road, and tall pine trees towering on either side, as dusk turns to night.

The sound of the children play-singing and giggling in the * back seat of the car. *

The back of a two-story family house. Upstairs and * downstairs rooms are lit by lights inside. Homely. *

Rudolf is visible through the window in a downstairs room. * He turns off its light, and walks through its door. *

The lit windows go dark one by one as Rudolf moves from * downstairs to upstairs turning off the lights. *

Rudolf and Hedwig lie in parallel but separate beds. Hedwig * turns off her bedside lamp, lays her head on her pillow, and * looks at her husband. *

Rudolf lies on his back in his bed, hands folded on his * chest, with an air of quiet contentment. *

Revision 3.

Empty hall with the back of a staircase leading down to it. *

At the top of the bannister a hand is supporting someone * climbing tentatively down, as we hear off-screen the sound of * three pairs of feet doing the same. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * You’d better not throw a bucket of * water over me or something. *

The supporting hand shifts carefully down the bannister to * the sound of two boys giggling. *

CLAUS’ VOICE (O.S.) * No, we’d never do that. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * It better not make me late. *

Now Rudolf, from behind, guided by Claus and Hans, reaches * the bottom of the stairs. He’s dressed in a tailored * military tunic, riding breeches, and boots, and there’s a * wide white cloth blindfold tied round his head. *

CLAUS * (guiding him towards the * back door) * This way and out *

DILLA, the FAMILY DOG - comes and goes throughout when we are downstairs in the house, and in the garden.

The boys help their unsighted father through the back porch * towards patio steps that go down to the back garden. *

In the full daylight we can see now Rudolf’s uniform is that * of a senior SS Officer with insignia. *

CLAUS * Watch out for the steps. * (beat) * Feel for it. And down. Perfect. *

The group walk carefully down the patio steps. *

Revision 4.

Claus unties the blindfold and whips it off his father. *

Rudolf blinks in the bright summer morning sun and sees * Hedwig, and the other children, also dressed for school, * standing on the lawn, a gleaming, wooden three-seater CANOE * in front of them.

Rudolf is lost for words for a moment. He walks over towards * them. *

RUDOLF * Is this for me!? *

HEIDERAUD * Yes! *

RUDOLF * Thank you! * (admiring the canoe) * Where did you get it? *

HEDWIG * (embracing him) * I have my sources. *

RUDOLF * (pointing at the canoe) * One, two, three passengers. * Who wants the first ride? *

Inge-Brigit and Hans both raise their arms. *

Hedwig passes Annagret to him over the canoe and he holds her * above the seat. *

...and places her gently down onto it. Annagret cries a * little and he starts singing a traditional German boating * song “The Skipper on the Rhine” to soothe her. *

After a verse he picks her up again and as he leans to pass * her back to Hedwig they kiss across the canoe. *

Revision 5.

ELFRYDA * (calling from the patio) * Come on.. coats ,bags.. * (claps her hands) * Chop, chop. *

The children are skipping back to the house to leave for * school. *

RUDOLF * Thank you children. Goodbye. *

Rudolf pulls on his SS death’s head cap, and adjusts the * brim.

HEDWIG * Inge, pull your socks up *

Rudolf strides along the path towards the garden gate in the * picket fence which separates the house from the side entrance * to KL Auschwitz, the concentration camp. *

Hedwig follows at a leisurely pace holding baby Annagret. *

Two STABLEHANDS hold the reins of Rudolf’s favorite bay horse Merer, in the yard. A mounting block to the side. A small * group of SS OFFICERS beyond, and an idling military truck * waiting for clearance at the checkpoint. *

Rudolf mounts up and the SS Guards salute and raise the barrier.

Rudolf kicks his heels into Merer’s flanks, and rides into the camp. *

Hedwig, with Annagret on her hip, walks the length of the flowerbed alongside the camp entrance. Stopping every now and then to smell the roses with her and name the other flowers. *

Polish PRISONER-GARDENER BRONEK, (40’s), wearing ill-fitting civilian clothes, pushes a new wheelbarrow along a stepping * stone garden path parallel to the concrete garden wall, * topped with barbed wire and security palisades, the other * side of which is an imposing Auschwitz building. *

Revision 6.

The wall runs the length of the villa’s vast top flower and * market garden. Beehives and a cornucopia of flora and small * tress. A paradise in full bloom. *

Then he corners through the gate into the back garden..

..along the path and up to the house. Past A YOUNG POLISH * MAID (17) hanging the Höss family’s underwear on the line. *

From afar, we watch him park the wheelbarrow, climb the few steps to the porch and knock on the back door.

SOPHIE (40s) the German housekeeper, appears in the doorway.A * brief acknowledgement then she goes down to the wheelbarrow with him. They peel off the cover and start to unload, piling * up bags and jars in Sophie’s arms. *

Loaded up, Sophie turns back inside. Bronek brings up a large * sack and a paper package wrapped with string from the * wheelbarrow and follows her up towards the back door. *

Sophie carries everything down the hall.. *

SOPHIE * (Calling out to Hedwig) * Bronek. *

...and enters the pantry where she starts to set down some of * the jars on shelves. *

Responding to Sophie, Hedwig, now wearing an apron, walks * past heading to the back door where Bronek hands her the * sack. She looks inside, grabs the paper package from him * under her arm, and goes back into the house. *

HEDWIG * (Calling out) * Marta! *

MARTA, a Polish housemaid (17), comes down the stairs. *

Revision 7.

Marta takes the sack upstairs. Hedwig walks to the kitchen * with the package, calling out to Sophie as she passes her in * the pantry.. *

..and she walks through the kitchen, where another POLISH * HOUSEMAID (17) sits mixing food in a bowel. Hedwig walks * through, starting to unwrap the package along the way.. *

..into the dining room, where Elfryda is standing holding the * baby whom she’s been feeding. *

The package is full of women’s silk underwear, which Hedwig * puts down in a small pile on the dining room table and then * spreads out. *

Hedwig leaves the room, and Elfryda and Sophie start looking * through the underwear, holding items up to see there size. * Marta and Aniela approach the pile gingerly from behind them. *

The bag Bronek gave her is on the bed. Hedwig opens it, * revealing an exquisite full-length brown fur coat. She lifts * it out, drapes it in front of her body and walks to the * mirror. *

She swings it over her shoulders, and puts it on. Her hands * goes into the pockets and she immediately feels something in * the right one. *

She pulls out a tube of lipstick. Places it on her dressing * table top. *

Returns to the mirror and pulls some poses to see how the * coat hangs. *

It’s a little big for her but it’s luxurious and she admires * herself regardless. *

Revision 8.

The lining catches her eyes and she draws up the hem to * inspect it. *

Hedwig is on the stairs handing the fur coat to Aniela below * her. *

ANIELA * Yes. *

Hedwig re-enters the bedroom and sits down at the dressing * table. *

Opens the tube of lipstick, and draws a little on the back of * her hand. Uses her finger to apply a couple of test dabs to * her lips. Satisfied, she applies it from the tube. Presses * her lips back and forth in the mirror. *

Then she closes the tube, and shuts it in a drawer. Wipes the * lipstick from her hand and lips with her apron. *

Rudolf, SS officer KARL BISCHOFF (40’s, in uniform), and * civilian engineers FRITZ SANDER (50’s)and KURT PRÜFER (50’s), * both wearing suits and fedoras, enter through the garden * gate. *

Sander carries a briefcase and a large rolled up paper, * Prufer, just a briefcase. Rudolf leads the way, the others * small-talk behind him. *

BISCHOFF * How was your journey?

Revision 9.

Rudolf turns at the top of the back porch, kicks off his * riding boots. *

BISCHOFF * No, no. Did you come via Prague or * Vienna? *

PRUFER * Prague. It’s fifty six minutes * faster. *

As the back door closes, Prisoner Gardener 1 waiting below, * hurries up to collect the boots. *

He brings them around the house to an outside tap and sink * and with a brush begins scrubbing blood and mud from their * soles, over which we hear: *

GERMAN WOMAN’S VOICE (PRE-LAP) * She was admiring a jacket I had and * asked me where I got it. And I told * her ‘Canada’. She said “how could * you go to Canada?”. *

HEDWIG’S VOICE (PRE-LAP) * She thought you meant the country. *

Hedwig, now in an almond white dress, and TWO GERMAN WOMEN * FRIENDS (30’s and 50s), wives of an SS officer and IG Farben * executive, nicely dressed, chat over coffee at the table. *

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND * Yes of course. *

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND 2 * It’s an easy mistake. *

Revision 10.

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND * Oh, it was so funny. Of all the dresses she could have picked out, she chose one that belonged to some little Jewess half her size. I got the zip up to about here for her.. (indicates the small of her back)) ..and it quite literally.. (makes a ‘v’ shape with her hands) ..like it was splitting. And I was trying to close it and close it..and jerking her around and all the time she’s looking at herself saying “God I love it”. Anyway, she took it. She said she’d lose weight so she could wear it.

While they speak behind her, Aniela is taking a small silver * tray, a bottle of schnapps, and a shot glass from a drinks * cabinet, and carefully filling the glass. *

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND 2 * Helga Palitsch’s husband only adopted that little Polish boy to keep her at home. That’s what she told me. And he bashes her around as well.

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND 2 * Didn’t you notice? She’s got * bruises on her arms. *

Aniela walks past them carrying the tray. We watch her * walking slowly along the hallway so as not to spill it, * toward the back door, while the women continue. *

Revision 11.

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND’S VOICE (O.S.) * Oh I forgot to tell you something. * Guess where I found this? * (beat) * In the toothpaste? *

HEDWIG’S VOICE (O.S.) * No. Really? *

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND 2’S VOICE (O.S.) * Is it real? *

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND’S VOICE (O.S.) * It is real. It’s a diamond. *

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND 2’S VOICE (O.S.) * How clever do you have to be? *

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND’S VOICE (O.S.) * Yes they are very clever. Ive * ordered more because you never know *

CONTINUOUS *

Aniela puts the bottle and glass on the patio table, then * collects Rudolf’s boots, now clean in the porch, and goes * back inside with them. *

Black shapes in the garden, with boots and hats, all coming * from the garden gate. *

In groups, fives, tens then more. Fifty or so now. CAMP SS * OFFICERS. All heading towards the house. *

We’re on Aniela as she returns along the hallway carrying * Rudolf’s boots, the women still chatting in the background. *

HEDWIG’S VOICE (O.S.) * Remember I told you about Brigitte * Frank’s fur at the Schilling * concert Rudolf and I went to? *

And she enters the kitchen... *

HEDWIG * The ermine one? *

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND * Yes. *

HEDWIG * Did I tell you? *

Revision 12.

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND 2 * I don’t think so. *

She taps an image of Frank in the centre spread. *

HEDWIG * And the emeralds, look. And * sapphires. *

GERMAN WOMAN FRIEND 2 * She looks like an empress. *

Rudolf, in his socks, Bischoff, Prufer and Sander are sat * around the coffee table, on top of which the roll of paper * has been unfurled. It shows a technical drawing and *

Sander is in mid-flow, using his pen to point as he explains * the design to Rudolf. *

Revision 13.

We see the paper from above. Engineering plans. A ground * plan, front elevation, and sections of a structure with * chimneys. A logo in one corner reads “JA Topf and Sons”. A * key in the other corner with the scale, date,. Sander’s hand * continue to point as he speaks. *

Rudolf stares, fascinated. *

Aniela walks to the living room and stops in front of the closed glass doors.

She puts the boots down. Knocks on the glass politely then leaves.

The sound of applause outside as Hedwig and her friends part * net curtains to watch through the kitchen window. *

Rudolf with the schnapps glass raised as the 50 or so SS * officers gathered around the bottom of the patio are * applauding. *

RUDOLF * Prost!

Revision 14.

He knocks it back. They hip! hip! him as he walks down the few steps to shake many hands. *

Lots of “Happy birthday Herr Commandant” and “I’m honoured to * serve under you” type greetings from different officers, and * “thank you”s from Rudolf. *

Some look like they’ve just arrived from hell. Filthy and * disheveled with bloodshot eyes. *

Claus and Hans are in their bedroom, back from school. Claus * is changing out of his school uniform into his pint-sized SS * one. Buttoning his trousers, then pulling on a pair of black * boots and stomping in them. *

Hans, still wearing his, is sitting on the floor using a book * about trains as a platform for his toy soldiers. And mumbling * commands at them. *

Rudolf and Claus on horses, flanks steamings, walk along an * embankment that cuts between two vast fields of bullrushes. *

In the distance we can hear indistinct male voices yelling * one-word orders in a hodgepodge of German and Polish. *

RUDOLF * (cocks his head) * You hear that? *

Then the sound of a marsh bird. A low, hollow sound, like an * empty bottle. *

They stop. *

They hear the bird again. *

Revision 15.

They walk on. *

Close on apples strewn about on grass in front of long marsh * reeds. *

They look like they’ve been discarded. *

A surging noise of heavy splashing and then suddenly the legs * of a horse thunder out of the marsh reeds onto the * embankment, hooves trampling the apples. *

A MOUNTED SS OFFICER looks around from atop the horse * scanning down into the marsh, yanking the reins this way and * that. *

In the far background we now see FACTORY BUILDINGS with * industrial chimneys and other plant (IG Farben’s synthetic * rubber works). *

He trots along the embankment a few metres more and bursts * down the embankment back into the cloak of reeds. *

Beyond him, barely visible in the marsh, are PRISONERS * carrying sacks. The voice of the Kapo barking at them * throughout. *

Rudolf and Claus arrive at the spot on their horses, and * pause to watch. *

KAPO * (Yelling in German and * Polish) * Come on!...Move!...Little rat! * Faster!...Work! *

Rudolf and Claus walk on. *

Rudolf sits at the dining room table, charmed by the candles * on his birthday cake.

Hedwig, Claus, Heideraud, Inge-Brigit, and Hans round the * table. Hedwig holds Annagret on her lap, who’s crying. *

HEDWIG * (to Hans) * You cried like this too. You were * even louder. *

Revision 16.

RUDOLF * (of Annagret) * What’s going on with her? *

HEDWIG * She’s strong isn’t she? *

Rudolf thinks.

Then blows out his candles.

Hedwig leads the family in song..

HÖSS FAMILY “For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow For he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny..

Rudolf stands looking through the gate to the lower garden, * puffing away at the remains of a cigar. The sound of water * dripping through camp noises in the background. *

He walks across the lawn and now we see their full paddling * pool, with a wooden slide, and a tall white outdoor shower, * which is dripping. Rudolf yanks the lever to properly turn it * off. *

He looks up into the sky above the camp buildings and tall * smoking chimney beyond the far garden wall, as he puffs on * the cigar in the twilight. *

Claus and Hans lie in their bunk beds in the dark. Both have * pocket torches. Claus on top, is propped up on his elbows * on his belly pointing the light at something in front of him. *

Revision 17.

CLAUS * Teeth. *

Close on him holding three gold teeth to the torchlight for * inspection, and ten others are on the bed sheet by an open * empty matchbox. *

Rudolf walks up the steps of the porch back into the house. *

The downstairs and two of the upstairs windows are lit by * interior lights. *

Rudolf is locking up for the night, bolting the back door of the house and turning off lights. The family dogs Dilla is * around.

Rudolf goes to the kitchen windows and locks those, and turns * off the light. *

Rudolf locks the glass doors to the dining room.

Rudolf draws the curtains and turns off the light. *

Rudolf secures the locks on the front door and turns off the * light. *

The house is quiet.

Rudolf walks up the stairs towards his bedroom.

He stops on the landing and turns off the light. *

The darkness reveals plumes of red-haloed smoke in the * distant background through the balcony door at the end of the * landing, before he suddenly turns the light back on. *

His eye caught by Inge-Brigit sitting on a step at the end of * the landing by the window in her nightgown. She’s staring * outwards, trance-like. *

Revision 18.

Rudolf walks towards and leans down slowly. *

INGE-BRIGIT * I’m passing out sugars. *

RUDOLF * (softly) * To who? *

INGE-BRIGIT * I’m looking. *

Rudolf reaches out a had gently towards her. *

RUDOLF * (softly) * Come. *

THERMAL NIGHT VISION: *

A YOUNG POLISH GIRL (15), holding a sack. She takes an apple * out of it and presses it into the wall of earth until only a * patch of it remains visible. *

Moves along a meter and does the same. Takes another apple * from her sack and pushes it into the earth. *

And again. *

Every few yards or so, presses another apple in.. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (PRE-LAP) * (reading) * And now the little white bird * showed them the way out of the * forest. Soon they arrived at a * large body of water and didn’t know * how to cross it. Suddenly a large * and beautiful swan came swimming * towards them.. *

END THERMAL NIGHT VISION: *

Revision 19.

Rudolf lies next to Inge-Brigit on top of her bed reading her * Hansel and Gretel. She’s under the sheet, her cheek resting * on his shoulder as he reads, eyes closed. Flickering red * light from outside dapples the bedroom wall.

Rudolf pauses, and looks across at Heideraud. She’s asleep. * He glances at Inge-Brigit by his side. Fast asleep too. *

He gently closes the book. *

The Polish Girl is at the far end of the ditch. Empty sack in * her hand. A trail of partially buried apples in the wall of * the ditch behind her. She climbs out onto higher ground and * into the pitch black night. *

Rudolf and Hedwig lie in their parallel but separate beds. *

Rudolf nods.

Revision 20.

Hedwig giggles.

HEDWIG * Will you?

She giggles, then snorts.

Revision 21.

Then giggles again at that.

They both giggle. They both oink.

CUT TO: *

OFF SCREEN: the slamming clank of a train carriage cattle * truck door opening. *

Looking up at Rudolf, he must be mounted on his horse, just * sky above, black smoke whips around him. *

OFF SCREEN: Sounds of women, children, and babies screaming * in panic. Mothers being forcibly separated from their * children. Dog barks, male German voices yelling orders. * Sounds of stream train engine hissing. A child’s cry. A * gunshot close by.. *

Rudolf glances downwards for an instant, looks back up and * out, impassively.. *

OFF SCREEN: That cry stops, but he awful sounds of children * wailing in terror continue.. *

As the screen fades gradually to white. *

Heideraud and then Inge-Brigit, dressed for school with * satchels on their backs, emerge from the front door and walk * along the garden path. Hans follows, and then Claus, putting * his satchel on. *

Over this we hear: *

Revision 22.

Rudolf is at his desk methodically desk counting and sorting * bills of different currencies - French Francs, American * dollars, Czech kronen - into separate piles. We hear this as * he sorts: *

Rudolf paddles his canoe down the middle of the Sola River. Kneeling between his legs, his young passengers, Hans and Inge-Brigit.

A light breeze rustles the tall bulrushes on either bank. Sunlight glistens off the water.

Revision 23.

RUDOLF * Did you know that storks fly as far * as Africa? *

The branches above are thick with morning chorus birdsong. The canoe drifts dreamily downstream.

INGE-BRIGIT * Three hundred? *

Hedwig, Claus and Heideraud are gardening in the flowerbeds nearest the house.

Hedwig is bent over with her hands in the earth, showing Claus what is a weed and what isn’t.

The canoe is moored on a small beach.

Hans and Inge-Brigit splash in the shallows nearby, teasing * each other. *

Rudolf stands waist deep in the river upstream, a fishing rod in his hand.

He stands very still, focusing on his float in hope of a bite.

He flinches suddenly. Looks down at the water he’s standing in. Then returns his focus to the float.

Then, feeling something brushing past his thigh, flinches again.

He looks down at the water. He puts his hand in and pulls out a fragment of a bone.

A human eye socket.

We look at him through it.

Revision 24.

He drops it then wades out hurriedly.

He throws down his rod on the bank and hurries along the shoreline, lapping dead fish, towards the children. Signaling for them to get out as he approaches.

They come to shore reluctantly.

He towels them off anxiously.

Rudolf is paddling back the way they came. The weather has changed and the children are shivering in front of him. Playfully making sounds through chattering teeth.

He paddles hard through the choppy water.

Hans and Inge-Brigit are in the tub together, protesting as Hedwig kneels in front of them, scrubbing them with soap and brushes. Elfryda sings to distract them.

Rudolf, wearing casual, Sunday clothes, is lying on the sofa * reading a book. But he seems distracted. In the background * the radio is on playing a German sports report. We watch him * for w while. *

The telephone on his desk rings. He glances at his watch, * then goes to answer it.

RUDOLF * (into phone) * Yes *

He listens a beat. *

Rudolf goes to turn off the radio. Then returns to the phone, * sits down. *

Revision 25.

Rudolf listens for a long while. *

Rudolf listens. *

Hedwig’s mother, LINNA HENSEL (early 70’s), is sat at the * kitchen table, hot, sweaty and clutching a cool glass of lemonade.

Revision 26.

RUDOLF * Yes. I’d better. *

HEDWIG * I’ll show mum to the girls room. *

Linna starts to rise.

Hedwig hands Annagret to Elfryda. Rudolf enters the living room and closes the door behind him.

They walk down the corridor.

Revision 27.

They climb the stairs.

Linna leans in to study them.

Hedwig shows Linna into the girl’s room.

Linna scans the room approvingly. Goes over to the window. *

HEDWIG * This is Heideraud’s bed here. *

LINNA * This is lovely. Truly. Such a * lovely room. *

Hedwig watches, gratified.

Linna smells the freshly cut flowers displayed in a vase by the bed. *

Then looks at the bed. *

Revision 28.

HEDWIG * Try it. *

The both sit on a bed. Linna leans across and touches Hedwig * on the knee, and they both giggle. *

LINNA * My girl. *

Hedwig and Linna are watching Sophie and Marta busily preparing plates of party sandwiches and cakes.

Elfryda and Aniela can be seen in the kitchen doing the same. *

HEDWIG * That’s spinach strudel, apple * strudel, potato salad. And your * cinnamon rolls. *

LINNA * My recipe? Very nice. *

Aniela enters and picks up a tray of cakes and carries them * out. Linna looks at her as she passes. *

HEDWIG * (of the cinnamon rolls) * Go on, there are loads.

LINNA * (takes one) Yum. *

Rudolf sits at his desk on the phone. *

RUDOLF * (dictating) * Subject - Lilac tree by the * Commandant guard barracks.. *

He drains a glass of water. *

Revision 29.

He hangs up. Then stares, unreadably, into the distance. *

They walk down the steps to the main garden. Inge-Brigit and * Hans are playing there in a kid-size metal pedal car. *

LINNA * (to Hedwig) * Jews in the house? *

LINNA greets Hans with a hug and a kiss. *

LINNA * My God. He’s got so big. * (to Inge Brigit) * and you have such nice hair. *

HEDWIG * (of the garden) * This is all us. * (pointing) * There’s a grape vine. Obviously, * it’ll grow. *

They turn past where the wall corners, and Linna sees the top * garden for the first time. *

Revision 30.

LINNA * It’s huge. I’m speechless. *

HEDWIG * It’s all my design. All the * planting and everything. The * greenhouse, the gazebo at the end. *

LINNA * Is that a pool? *

HEDWIG * Yes. I have gardeners. I couldn’t * do it alone. *

LINNA * With a slide? Oh Heddy. *

There’s a child-sized wooden row boat on the lawn next to the * pool. *

HEDWIG * Do you like it? *

LINNA * Of course I like it. How could I * not? *

HEDWIG * This was a field three years ago. * We just had the lower garden by the * street. And the house had a flat * roof. *

LINNA * It’s hard to believe. *

Linna turns. *

HEDWIG * Yes, that’s the camp wall. We * planted more vines at the back to * grow and cover it. *

LINNA * Maybe Esther Silberman is over there.

Revision 31.

Hedwig and Linna walk off, until they’re out of earshot, arm in arm through the top garden. *

HEDWIG * The azaleas there. There are also * vegetables. A few herbs. Rosemary. * Beetroot. This is fennel. *

LINNA * Sunflowers. *

HEDWIG * And here is kohlrabi. The children * love to eat it. Cabbage. Kale. * Runner beans. Pumpkins. Potatoes * and more. *

They arrive in the far corner, where the beehives are. They watch the bees come and go from a distance.

Revision 32.

LINNA * It’s a paradise garden. * (beat) * And Rudolf is okay? *

They arrive at the gazebo.

They sit.

They giggle at her good fortune.

They take in the garden. *

HEDWIG * The linden trees are turning * yellow. It smelled so nice when * they were flowering. * (pointing up to the vine * on the gazebo) * (MORE)

Revision 33.

CUT TO: *

MONTAGE OF FLOWERS: *

A bed of red petunias in bloom *

Climbing roses on a wall trellis *

Closer on the roses *

Bees crawling on orpines in bloom *

Marigolds *

Sunflowers *

CLOSE UP on a white dahlia *

CLOSE UP a purple dahlia *

As off-screen we start to hear a voice over the wall crying * out in pain. *

CLOSE UP on a chrysanthemum *

CLOSE UP on a red dahlia *

Off-screen the tortured voice gradually increases *

We stay on this red flower *

As the screen becomes gradually redder.. *

And the off-screen sound of the voice gets louder.. *

Until the red flower disappears in the red screen *

And the off-screen spasms of pain get louder.. *

Suddenly all the sound cuts out completely. *

And we are left in the red. *

Revision 34.

The Höss children and a group of school friends - some in * swimming costumes - are gathered around a garden table where * a MAN is showing them a stork. Garden party entertainment. * The stork flaps its big wings, and the children laugh with * excitement. *

Heideraud and her female SCHOOLFRIEND, (12), are by the lobby table, leant over the Höss House Guestbook. They are in their * bathing suits, dripping wet from the pool. Heideraud is reading aloud.

She studies the illegible signature. *

Rudolf, now wearing a white suit with white shoes, is pacing * up and down the patio, and smoking a cigarette agitatedly.

The sound of splashing and laughter can be heard.

Heideraud and her Schoolfriend, deep in chitchat, walk out the house and past him towards the upper garden.

He grinds the cigarette with his heel, then walks down the steps.

Revision 35.

Claus is courting his GERMAN GIRLFRIEND at the side of the house. Away from prying eyes. They hold hands, they walk, they kiss, they giggle..

Picnic tables and deckchairs facing the pool where the Höss children and A FEW OF THEIR SCHOOL FRIENDS frolic and swim. * Outdoor toys are strewn about. A big wooden train set lines * one side of the pool. A child-sized teepee is pitched on the * lawn. *

Rudolf walks over to the pool. Watches the kids play happily. Far back enough not to get his suit splashed. *

Some of the parents and nannies, sit chatting under the gazebo at the far end. He waves at them.

Hedwig is in a lounger sunning herself. Linna is dozing in * another nearby. The family’s TWO PET TORTOISES trudge across the lawn.

Rudolf walks over to Hedwig and sits down next to her.

He leans forward. Elbows on knees. Sighs once.. long and deep.

Revision 36.

Rudolf gets up, resigned, and walks back towards the house.

Hedwig pulls herself out of her deckchair and follows, barefoot.

They reach the back door.

Hedwig follows him through the kitchen. Marta and Aniela are tidying away the picnic food.

Revision 37.

Rudolf walks down the corridor, opens the front door and exits.

Hedwig stands in the open doorway, watching him quicken his step towards the front gate.

She slams the front door.

And slips in the same moment.

Water on the floor by the lobby table in front of her.

Marta hurries from the kitchen.

Marta dashes to the kitchen. Hedwig catches her breath. Gathers her thoughts.

Hedwig, in shoes and cardigan now, walks purposefully down the front path to the gate. She opens it. Crosses the road, then takes the wooden steps down to the river..

Revision 38.

Rudolf stands on the bank. Hans’s and Inge-Brigit’s sodden sandals next to him. The canoe is moored to a small jetty nearby.

He is throwing stones into the fast-flowing river.

Hedwig arrives, goes over and stands next to him. Folds her arms. Looks around.

Rudolf shakes his head.

Revision 39.

Revision 40.

They both say nothing. Stare into the fast-flowing river instead.

They pick up the sandals and walk back to the steps together.

Linna, left dozing, wakes in her deckchair to find the swimming party over. The guests have all gone and the staff * have cleared up around her. Aniela and Marta are up by the gazebo bringing the last of the crockery back to the house.

Linna takes in the peace and quiet of the garden. And a tall single arc of black smoke drifting, phantom-like, across the late-afternoon sky, high above the wall.

She rises. Unnerved by it. Then turns and walks back to the * house. Over which we pre-lap *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * Do you all understand? *

Revision 41.

CLAUS, HEIDERAUD, HAN, INGE-BRIGIT * VOICES (O.S.) * Yes *

The Höss family are sat at a dinner of turtle soup. Rudolf at the head of the table. Hedwig stood behind him. Her arm resting on the back of his chair.

Sullen faces all round. A pregnant pause. *

HEDWIG * It’s time for bed. *

Murmurs as the family rise from the table and start to clear * up. *

Heideraud is asleep in her bed. Inge-Brigit is absent. A * flickering red light dapples the walls. *

Linna lies in bed, but her eyes are open looking towards the * window. *

Faint sound of crying baby above... *

Which is loud in Elfryda’s room. *

She is sat, blind drunk, in her nightdress on the edge of her * bed, pouring from a bottle of vodka. Anesthetizing herself. *

Annagret screams in her cot in the corner. *

Revision 42.

We look back at Linna, in her nightgown, through glass, the * distant red flames of the crematorium chimney reflected in * the glass. *

She looks at it quickly, then lets the curtain drop. *

Linna is by the now-shaded window, looking down pensively. *

She turns and walks back to the bed. Picks up a handkerchief * from it and holds it to her as nose as she sits down on the * edge of her bed. *

Hans, in bed, holds his torch out, making shadow shapes in * its beam with the other hand. *

Hedwig lies in bed, fast asleep. Undisturbed by hellish * sounds from the camp. *

Alone, in the dark quiet of the stables, Rudolf, wearing * white trousers and shirt, stands in his horse Merer’s stall * feeding her carrots. *

RUDOLF * Good girl. There you go.. There you * go. It’ll be hard for you too. I * know that. Don’t you think I know * that? I know that. I love you my * girl. Yes I do. *

She munches and listens and breaths on her master’s hand as * he tells her all about it. *

LATER *

Rudolf stands by his desk holding a phone receiver to his * ear. *

Revision 43.

RUDOLF * (into phone to his * adjutant) * Call Walter Durrfeld first thing * and see if he can join us at * selection. Tell him they’re Dutch * and he can have his pick. Otherwise * I’ll see him at the IG lunch. * (dictating) * Letter to Kurt Prufer and Fritz * Sander, Topf and Sons. *

He begins to pace around his desk holding the phone. *

He stops by a window, places the phone on the sill, raises * the blind. Outside he can see his back garden over the camp * wall, the greenhouse in the background. *

He peers to the right, in the direction of the family house. * He pulls the blind down. *

He drops the blind. *

A light double tap on his office door. Rudolf cups the * receiver with his hand. *

Revision 44.

The door is opened by a REDHEADED WOMAN, (30’s), wearing * civilian clothes. *

Rudolf points her matter-of-factly, to the seating area at * the far end. She sits. *

The Redheaded Woman starts to take off her shows. *

Rudolf hangs up. He keeps a lustful eye on the woman, now * barefoot. *

He walks slowly over, and stops a few feet from her. *

Puts his hands on his hips and sways lasciviously. *

A faint, pin prick of light approaches through the darkness. It’s Rudolf, lurching in his white suit down a long, underground tunnel from the camp. *

We hear his voice dictating another letter to his adjutant as * he walks. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * Letter to Gruppenführer Glücks, * IKL. Subject: Transfer. * (beat) * Dear Gruppenführer Glücks, I would * like my family to remain at 88 * Bielitzstrasse, KL Auschwitz for * the duration of my transfer.. *

Revision 45.

His dictation continues as he emerges through a door in the * mouth of the tunnel and into the basement of the Höss house. * Grey-white clammy skin. He locks the door behind him. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * ..It would be a great favour to me * for this to be permitted. * (beat) * I must stress what a wonderful * environment Hedwig is making for * the children since settling here... *

Then lights a kerosene lamp. He walks over to the laundry * sink with it, turns on the taps. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) (CONT’D) * An inspiration in many ways for our * new German community in the East... *

He undoes his belt and his trousers fall to the floor. Then * pulls his underpants down to his knees. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) (CONT’D) * If this is acceptable, provision of * a simple lodging for myself in * Oranienburg will suffice. I would * be very grateful for a speedy * answer. Heil Hitler, et cetera. *

Then he plunges his hands in the sink and scrubs them. Then * leans over and scrubs his genitals *

Hedwig lies in bed fast asleep, next to Rudolf’s still-made * empty bed. *

Rudolf does up his trousers, and pushes his hair into shape * in the mirror. *

Rudolf, dressed now, emerges from the basement. He turns a * light on, to find Inge-Brigit sleepwalking in the pantry, * gazing at nothing in particular.

Revision 46.

He picks her up gently and walks to the corridor, her hands * instinctively holding onto her father’s back. *

THERMAL NIGHT VISION: *

No light outside. The open mouth of a sack flat on the * ground strewn with pears. *

A couple more are thrown in. *

Now we see the Polish Girl we saw placing apples at the ditch * earlier, ALEKSANDRA, throwing the low-hanging pears she’s * gathered from a tree. *

Throughout, we hear Rudolf’s voice off-screen reading Hansel * & Gretel to Inge-Brigit. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * (reading) * The little snow white bird flew * down and sang, “Be warned, be * warned.” *

Aleksandra carries a now bulging sack of pears as a sling * over one shoulder. *

She walks up past an SS warning sign in German and Polish * (’Camp area KL Auschwitz/ Entry is forbidden! Violators will * be shot on sight! / The Camp Commandant) which she * disregards... *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * (reading) * Gretel understood what the witch * had in mind. *

Revision 47.

...And onto the black slag of an empty construction site. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * And said, “Please show me first, I * don’t know how to do that.” The * witch sat on the shovel and Gretel * pushed her into the oven, as deep * as she could. Then she closed the * iron door of the oven and secured * it with a bar. The witch got cooked * alive as a punishment for her * horrible deeds. *

She looks misshapen by the sack of pears she’s carrying. Her * tiny figure walks down towards the machinery on the far side. * There are likely more than a thousand prisoners working here * during the day. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) (CONT’D) * Gretel ran straight to Hansel, * unlocked the goose cage and let him * out. He jumped out and threw his * arms around his sister’s neck. They * kissed one another, cried with joy, * and thanked God. The little white * bird sang, “Pearls and gems for * bread crumbs.” *

She dips down, out of sight, and into one of it’s deep * trenches. *

END THERMAL NIGHT VISION: *

Rudolf is unbuttoning his white shirt, undressing for bed. * Hedwig still fast asleep in the other bed. *

THERMAL NIGHT VISION: *

Aleksandra pauses every few yards to deposit pears in the * earth near the spades planted planted in the ground. *

As she does so, she spots a small, circular tin can pressed * into the earth. *

She removes it and opens the lid. Peers inside. *

Revision 48.

We see a sheet of paper tightly folded-up lengthwise coiled * inside. *

Aleksandra closes the can, puts it in her bag, and leaves a * pear in its place, before continuing. *

Aleksandra is stock still astride a bicycle set furtively * back from the road among trees. She’s looking intently out * from her hiding place at two SS MEN, and a huge pig, passing * nearby. *

She waits for her moment, then cycle silently across the * street and drops down into another. *

Aleksandra turns onto a narrow track and freewheels down it * towards the houses below. *

She stops at the bottom, dismounts, then pushes her bicycle * through a back yard. *

LATER *

She rests it at the back of her apartment building, walks * down the side passage, skips up the front steps and hurries * inside. *

THERMAL NIGHT VISION ENDS: *

MOMENTS LATER *

A woman, her mother WANDA (40’s) opens the door for * Aleksandra. *

WANDA * (in Polish) * Here you are at last. *

Wanda is sat embroidering by kerosene light. In the * background Aleksandra is asleep in a bedroom. *

Revision 49.

Then the smell comes. Foul. Overpowering. Wanda stands and * hurries to the curtained living room windows, which overlook * the street. Draws them, revealing an open window, and through * it in the distant night sky blazing crematorium chimneys. The * sound of wind gusting. *

She shuts the window, re-draws the curtains, and goes into... *

The kerosene reading light from Aleksandra’s bedside table * flickers in the draft. Wanda hurries over to the open * bedroom window, where the same view is glimpsed, and closes * that too. *

Over this we hear a real archive recording of a MAN’S VOICE, * JOSEPH WULF speaking in Yiddish *

JOSEPH WULF * (in Yiddish) * Words by Joseph Wulf. Written in * 1943 in Oświęcim, Auschwitz III. *

Wanda turns, stands with her back to the window looking at * Aleksandra who hasn’t stirred. The kerosene lamp on her * bedside table no longer flickers. *

Wanda goes to remove the light, and next to it in on the * table we see the now-unfolded piece of paper by the empty tin * which Aleksandra found at the construction site that night. *

The sheet is still holding the creases from its lengthwise * folds, but we can make out pencil hand-drawn musical notation * on it. *

Wanda takes away the light, leaving us in darkness for a * beat. *

PRE LAP: Very tentatively played piano notes. *

And then words - Joseph Wulf’s unsung lyrics to his song - * appear on screen, in gold letters. The words appear on * screen synchronized exactly with the piano notes as they are * played. And they fade away as the note decays. *

NB: the words should be written in the language of the * territory the film is showing in. *

Sunbeams *

Revision 50.

Wanda carries the light, and walks upstairs *

Radiant and warm *

Wanda opens a door to the balcony. *

THERMAL NIGHT VISION: *

Shutters clatter in the wind out here as Wanda emerges and * hurriedly rescues washing on the line from swirling ash, * putting it into a basket. *

Human bodies *

Young and old *

And we *

Who are imprisoned here *

Our hearts *

Are not yet cold *

Close on Aleksandra’s hand on a piano keyboard playing the * notes we are hearing. *

She is sitting at a piano in the living room sight-reading * the hand-drawn music written on the paper she found, which * rests on the music rack, still curling from its folds. *

Opened out on the music rack is the paper from inside the tin * can she found buried and she is tentatively playing the notes * she is sight-reading *

Softly the prisoner-composed melody fills the room. *

Soul afire *

Like the blazing sun *

Tearing, breaking through their pain *

Revision 51.

For soon we’ll see *

That waving flag *

The flag of freedom *

Yet to come *

Aleksandra finishes sight-reading the music on the paper. *

The four eldest Höss children, dressed for school, are buttoning up their coats.

Elfryda stands by the open front door holding their satchels.

Shwarzer is waiting outside to drive them.

As each of the children pass on their way out, they reach up, straight-armed, and she hooks their satchel onto it.

A daily practice designed to inculcate the correct Nazi salute.

Hedwig is sat at the dining table, leans forward to better smell her pike and potatoes. Two place settings; one for her, one for Linna opposite.

A little time passes. Then she gets up. Goes to the stairs.

Revision 52.

Sophie appears at the top of the stairs.

Hedwig skips upstairs. Sophie walks down.

Hedwig enters the girls bedroom.

Linna’s case is gone and the bed’s been made.

Hedwig comes back downstairs. Sophie waiting at the bottom.

Hedwig walks to the lobby.

Hedwig goes to the lobby table to see if there’s anything * there. There is. A folded paper, with ‘Hedwig Höss’ written * on it, tucked into the corner of the guest book. *

She unfolds it. Stands there reading. Then re-folds it.

Opens the front door. Looks out. Walks back to the dining room with the note.

Revision 53.

Hedwig enters, throws the note into the wood-fired ceramic heater. Then plonks herself down in the chair.

Aniela enters from the kitchen. *

ANIELA * (perplexed) No, Mrs. Höss? *

Hedwig is stretched out in the bathtub. *

Rudolf and Claus trot along the edge of a field, then drop * down onto lower ground. *

RUDOLF * Relax. Let her find it. *

They trot past strip fields where Polish farm LABOURERS are * working. Bonfire smoke washes over the landscape. *

CLAUS * Are you not going to be a * commandant anymore? *

RUDOLF * I’ll be head of all the * commandants. * (MORE)

Revision 54.

Rudolf digs his heels into Merer’s flanks. Both horses open * up now, cantering across the landscape. *

Elfryda, Heideraud and Inge-Brigit sit at the patio table.

The heads of different species of flowers are strewn across it. The girls are immortalizing them, one by one, into flower presses. *

ELFRYDA * It has a great name. It’s girl’s * eye, or tickseed. *

HEIDERAUD * Girl’s eye? *

ELFRYDA * Girl’s eye, yes. I guess that’s * because of its serrated petals. * Because they resemble the long * eyelashes of women and girls. *

A KAPO, BÖHNER (30’s) is repairing the greenhouse roof with * wooden planks he’s carrying from inside, under Hedwig’s * supervision. She walks into the greenhouse. *

Hedwig leans against a shelf surrounded by big green leaves * from potted plants and small shrubs. Smoking a cigarette now. * Her smoker’s corner. *

Böhner comes back in for another plank. Hedwig offers him a * cigarette from her pack, and her lighter, which he takes and * lights. He bends to pick up a plank, but she waves him to * stop. *

She watches him smoke, and he her. *

Hans sits on the rug playing with dice and soldiers. *

Revision 55.

Outside the bedroom window, the voice of Rudolf yelling can * be heard. He’s still on his horse as we can hear its clip * clopping . And the sound of prisoners being marched into the * camp. A returning work unit, with accompanying guards and * Kapos. *

Through the below we see Hans take notice of the sound * outside, which takes his attention away from his play. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * (shouting aggressively) * You there! Guard! Bring him here! *

Hans gets up and starts to move towards the window. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) (CONT’D) * (shouting) * What’s he done? *

SS GUARD’S VOICE (O.S.) * Fighting over an apple, Commandant. *

Hans pulls back the net curtain *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * (shouting) * Drown him in the river! *

He quickly pushes it back. The sound of agony outside. He * starts to move away from the window. *

SS GUARD’S VOICE (O.S.) * (shouting) * Come! *

HANS * (under his breath to * himself) * Don’t do that again. *

He returns to his game of dice on the floor. *

A Prisoner Gardener scatters human ash and ground bones as * fertilizer on the garden by the camp wall. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * (Shouting) * Move it! I don’t care! * (beat) * Move it! Get out! *

Revision 56.

Close on the Prisoner Gardeners fork turning ash and bone * into clods of garden soil. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) (CONT’D) * Are you going to stand there * trembling? Something to say?! *

A GERMAN VETERAN MILITARY BRASS BAND dressed in winter coats, * hats and boots. *

The CONDUCTOR - his back to us facing his band - swings his * arms and launches them into a bouncy traditional march. *

We look the other way at a city park covered in snow, below a * grey sky. SS OFFICERS WITH BRIEFCASES walking to work and * CIVILIANS, all dressed for the cold, pass by. *

Rudolf walks through frame - winter coat, gloves, briefcase - * then stops and turns to the bandstand for a while to enjoy * the music. *

His face is fuller. He’s put on weight. *

Mostly empty snow-covered park benches face the bandstand but * on three of them are TWO BADLY WAR-WOUNDED VETERANS (40’s) in * balaclavas and uniform, watching the concert, and a PORTLY * CIVILIAN MAN (50’s) reading the paper. *

Rudolf walks on. *

Coming the other way is a WOMAN WALKING A MINIATURE SCHNAUZER * (50’s). He stops to ask her about her dog. She stops. Rudolf * bends down to pat the dog. *

The conversation will be improvised, with Rudolf’s dialogue * including the following. *

RUDOLF * (to the dog) * Hello. * (bends down) * You’re lovely. Yes you are. * (looks up at Woman) * Male or female? What’s their name? *

The woman answers. *

Revision 57.

The woman talks about that. *

He stands. *

Walks away. *

PRE-LAP: a Concentration Camps Inspectorate office tannoy * announcement. *

ORANIENBURG, NEAR BERLIN - DAY *

The announcement continues over a GROUP OF CONCENTRATION CAMP * COMMANDANTS approaching from one end of a long corporate * office building white corridor. *

In the foreground TWO SS OFFICERS stand by the open double * doors of a large office. The tannoy announcement continues in * the background. *

An SS WAITER wheels out an empty trolley through the doors. * Inside there are coffee pots on an end table, and glasses and * water jugs down either side of a boardroom table, around * which are twenty empty chairs. *

One of HÖSS’S ADJUTANTS is going round placing a file folder * in front of each chair, while the other reads aloud from his * note book to Rudolf, who pours himself a coffee, then strolls * casually round the table, quality checking. *

Revision 58.

HÖSS’S ADJUTANT (reading) * Liebehenschel, Auschwitz I. * Hartjenstein, Auschwitz II / Birkenau. * Schwarz, Auschwitz III / Monowitz. * Haas, Bergen-Belsen. * Pister, Buchenwald. * Weiter, Dachau. * Koegel, Flossenbürg. * Hassebroek, Groß-Rosen. * Grünewald, Herzogenbusch. * Sporrenberg, Hinzert. * Goecke, Kauen... *

As attendees are listed, Rudolf regards a large wall map * which shows Germany and the countries under its occupation. * Black stickers denote the location of each concentration * camp. From afar, the effect looks plague-like. He sips his * coffee. *

HÖSS’S ADJUTANT (CONT’D) * ...Weiss, Majdanek. * Ziereis, Mauthausen. * Dieter, Moringen. * Hartjenstein, Natzweiler-Struthof. * Pauly, Neuengamme. * Göth, Plaszow. * Suhren, Ravensbrück. * Kaindl, Sachsenhausen * Werner Hoppe, Stutthof... *

Many CAMP COMMANDANTS and their ADJUTANTS are gathered and * chit-chatting while they wait for the meeting to begin. *

HÖSS’S ADJUTANT (O.S.) CONT’D * ...Schnabel, Vaivara. * Herbert, Warsaw. * Apologies for absence, Förschner, * Mittelbau-Dora. Sauer, Riga- * Kaiserwald. *

The camp commandants are sat either side of the boardroom * table. *

OBERGRUPPENFÜHRER OSWALD POHL, (50’s), is sat commandingly at * the centre. SS GRUPPENFÜHRER RICHARD GLÜCKS, (50’s), Inspector of Concentration Camps, is sat to his left.

Revision 59.

Rudolf is sat at opposite.

COLONEL GERHARD MAURER, (30’s), Director of Economic Administration, is sat at one end.

Adjutants, junior SS officials make up a second row behind.

A BUSINESSMAN, DR. MEINDL (50s), in a civilian suit and tie, * brown Homburg hat on his lap, is sitting by the doors. *

Other SS staff can be seen in offices in the far background. *

The men knock the table as an expression of appreciation . *

Revision 60.

POHL * Well deserved.

Pohl signals Rudolf to begin. *

RUDOLF * Thank you Obergruppenführer Pohl. Good * morning everyone. Two apologies for * absence; Sturmbannführer Förschner - * Mittelbau-Dora. Sturmbannführer Sauer - * Riga-Kaiserwald. You will appreciate * we have a very busy agenda today. The * Hungarian action is urgent and * complex, and will involve significant * and converging challenges at every * operational level. Please turn to the * first page in your files. *

The commandants open their files.

Dr. Meindl stands so he can be seen. He waves and sits again. *

Revision 61.

Rudolf walks home from work carrying his briefcase through * the snowy park, along with OTHER SS OFFICERS. *

Rudolf on his back in his pyjamas, in bed, head propped on a * pillow, but fast asleep. *

One arm hangs out over the edge of the bed and work papers * are strewn around on the floor, and a pen. *

A small bar heater is on at the foot of the bed. A painting * of a bird on the wall and a photograph frame on a dresser. *

Rudolf walks to work through the park again, carrying his * briefcase, past the empty bandstand. OTHER CCI SS STAFF * walking to work too, and some NURSES. *

In the far background black smoke rises, the aftermath of a * night bombing raid on Berlin. *

Rudolf, in some kind of reverie, stands at his office window. * Typewriters clack away behind him. He’s gazing out. *

The garden is all fallen leaves, frosted paths and bare * winter trees. The pool is frozen over. Snow on the roof of * the guard tower and camp building roof behind the garden * wall. *

Claus and Hans play. Claus holds a wooden club. *

Their play, conversation and scuffle will be improvised. *

At one point Claus catches Hans, and puts him in the * greenhouse, locking it behind him. *

The crematorium chimney behind the far garden well is * belching black smoke into the winter sky. *

Revision 62.

Claus goes over to sit on the wall, and makes a gas hissing * sound. *

PRE-LAP: CCI office tannoy announcement. *

DAY

Rudolf is stood, with SS-Sturmbannführer, WILLHELM BURGER, * (40’S) sat in a chair. Nearby, an OFFICE ADJUTANT (20’s) sits * at a reception desk. The announcement continues above the * sound of typewriters from the office beyond, as they wait. *

The office door is opened and GLÜCKS ADJUTANT (30’s) emerges. * Glücks in the background. *

GLÜCKS ADJUTANT (to Rudolf) Obersturmbannführer Höss. *

GLÜCKS * (from the office behind) * Rudolf. Come on in. *

Rudolf enters. *

Glücks Adjutant leaves, closing the door behind him. *

GLÜCKS (CONT’D) * How are you? *

Revision 63.

Glücks is standing in the middle of the room holding a * telegram. *

Maurer looks up from a sofa in the corner. Documents on his lap and in front of him.

RUDOLF * Good. *

GLÜCKS (looking at the telegram) * I’ve just received this. * Obergruppenführer Pohl met with Reichsführer Himmler to assess the numbers involved. *

He hands it to Rudolf. *

GLÜCKS (CONT’D) * And your name came up. *

RUDOLF * Okay. *

Rudolf reads it. Absorbs it. Moments pass. Rudolf folds the * telegram and looks up at Glücks. *

GLÜCKS * We’re moving Leibehenschel out of Auschwitz to Madjanek. He’s not energetic enough for this.

GLÜCKS You’ll receive operational orders from Eichmann.

GLÜCKS You’ll tell me what resources you need once you get there.

Revision 64.

GLÜCKS Any problems, come to me or Gerhard directly.

Maurer waves from the corner.

GLÜCKS (CONT’D) Those are your orders.

GLÜCKS How’s Hedwig?

GLÜCKS Obergruppenführer Pohl told me she sends the boss flowers from your * garden every week.

They shake. Glücks returns to his desk.

GLÜCKS Get the job done.

He turns to leave. Walking a little taller.

Glücks and Maurer are left alone. Glücks goes to sit down * opposite him. *

GLÜCKS * And? *

MAURER * I’m not sure yet. *

GLÜCKS * Relax. He won’t put them all up the * chimney. You’ll get your workers. * You’ll see. *

Revision 65.

Rudolf, mid-medical exam, laying in his underpants, on a * gurney in a white doctors office. *

A white-coated SS DOCTOR, (50’s), is examining him, * stethoscope in ears. He finishes with the stethoscope and * moves on to palpation, tapping on the back of his own hand * across Rudolf’s midriff. *

SS DOCTOR * (sensing something) * Are you sleeping okay? *

RUDOLF * Yes. *

SS DOCTOR * How many bowel movements do you have * per day? *

RUDOLF * Twice per day. *

SS DOCTOR * Urinating? *

RUDOLF * Without issues. *

The Doctor begins to examine Rudolf’s stomach with his hands. *

SS DOCTOR * Ill feel around now. On the surface, * first. If there is any pain, then * please let me know. *

Rudolf comes through a door and approaches a wall-mounted * telephone by a main stairwell. *

Corridor comings and goings through the following. *

Rudolf picks up the receiver and huddles into the phone. *

RUDOLF * (beat, waiting for the * operator) * This is Höss. * (beat) * (MORE)

Revision 66.

He waits holding the receiver for the call to be connected. A * group of three SS OFFICERS, and a BUSINESSMAN walk up the * stairs together in the background. *

HEDWIG’S VOICE (O.S.) * (through the receiver) * Hello *

RUDOLF’S VOICE * Can you talk? *

HEDWIG’S VOICE (O.S.) * (through the receiver) * Is everything OK? *

RUDOLF * Yes. * (enthused) * I have news. I told you I’d heard * rumblings but nothing concrete. *

HEDWIG’S VOICE (O.S.) * (through the receiver) * That news? *

RUDOLF * The Hungary thing. * (beat) * The old man gave me orders from * Heinrich. It’s happening at last. * I’m coming back to run it. Well I’m * very relieved about that. * (long beat, smiles) * I have to admit, I’m as pleased as * Punch. *

An SS DOCTOR carrying a folder comes out of the same door, * revealing an SS OFFICER sat on a bench waiting to be seen, * and skips down the stairs. *

Revision 67.

HEDWIG’S VOICE (O.S.) * (through the receiver) * No, no. Wait please. Tell Eleanor * Pohl... *

Rudolf stands alone smoking a Swiss cheroot by a table laden * with champagne in ice buckets, glasses, and a centrepiece ice * sculpture swastika. Three SS MEN and a woman in a fur coat * chat in a group nearby. *

HEDWIG’S VOICE (O.S.) CONT’D *

...when she receives her parcel, to look in the compact. * They’re inside. *

He looks preoccupied and stiff. Music from a string quartet * leaks from inside the tall windowed doors of the adjoining * room. *

Rudolf stubs his cheroot out in a standing ashtray and moves * towards the doors. *

Rudolf enters high walled room covered with antler trophies * and an imposing fireplace, through which PARTY GUESTS are * still arriving. Some have stopped to watch the string * quartet. WHITE-JACKETED WAITERS with trays pass to and fro. * Rudolf ambles through. *

NAZI DIGNITARIES, SS, ARMY OFFICERS, WAR WOUNDED, VETERANS, * IG FARBEN EXECUTIVES, WIVES and other CIVILIANS, of all ages, * shapes and sizes, mingle. Uniforms, black tie, evening gowns. * WHITE-SUITED WAITERS come and go. *

A party in full flow. *

He enters awkwardly. Small groups of party guests in here. Mingling and chatting.

He catches the eye of the ‘lady of the house’, ELANOR POHL. * She is surrounded by friends. Respectfully, he goes to greet * her. We watch their small-talk from a distance. She seems * animated and happy to see him. *

Revision 68.

Then, with a little servile bow, he excuses himself and meanders away towards the next salon, his eyes darting from group to group, as Elanor Pohl raises a glass to another * guest. *

A grand piano plays. Guests pass through to and from the * ballroom beyond. *

Rudolf is being greeted by Dr Meindl from Steyer-Daimler- * Puch, now wearing black tie, with a group of senior SS * OFFICERS, including EICHMANN (30’s). Drinks and smiles all * round. *

An older SS MAN interrupts and pats Rudolf on the back in * congratulation. *

After a few moments, Eichmann grabs two champagne glasses * from the tray of an SS WAITER. Hands one to Rudolf. Makes a little toast to him. The two men chink glasses. *

Rudolf, drink-less, makes his way along the hallway, which * leads to the huge internal French windows of the ballroom. *

He stands looking in, people watching. Then looks up and * around at what must be the impressively-high ceiling within. *

After a short contemplation of it, he turns around, notices * the central stairs behind, and climbs them in search of a * better vantage point to observe. *

He arrives at a landing. It’s darker up here, save for * blazing chandelier light coming from the ballroom. Tall glass * doors open onto a viewing balcony. *

A MIDDLE-AGED COUPLE are out there. Rudolf waits his turn. * Bides his time, hands behind his back. *

Then the middle-aged couple leave and return to the party. * Rudolf walks over to the viewing balcony. *

He walks out onto it, and peers over the ledge at the ballroom below. *

The huge windows of a ballroom. Chandeliers blaze inside. *

Revision 69.

A throng of guests.

He surveys them.

Most stand in groups socializing. Others, in the centre, waltz. He looks up at the gilded ceiling.

Then again at the mass below. Takes it all in. His lips are moving, like he’s calculating. *

PRE-LAP *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * I heard Himmler’s calling it * Operation Höss. *

HEDWIG’S VOICE (O.S.) * That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for * you. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * Than you, Mutzi. It’s your name * too. *

HEDWIG’S VOICE (O.S.) * Who was there? *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) * To tell you the truth I wasn’t * really paying attention. *

Then at the mass below. Takes it all in. His lips are moving, * like he’s calculating. *

RUDOLF’S VOICE (O.S.) (CONT’D) * I was too busy thinking how I’d gas * everyone in the room. Very * difficult, logistically, because of * it’s high ceiling. *

Hedwig stands by Rudolf’s desk holding the phone. She’s * wearing a winter nightdress, slippers, and her hairs down. * She’s obviously been called to the phone from bed. *

HEDWIG’S VOICE * Well, It’s the middle of the night * and I need to be in bed. *

Revision 70.

Rudolf is sitting at his desk, speaking on the phone with * Hedwig. His feet are up on the window sill. He looks at the * snow falling outside. *

RUDOLF * I shouldn’t have called so late. I was * just excited to tell you the name.

HEDWIG * You can tell me about it when * you’re back. *

HEDWIG * Yes. * Goodnight.

She puts down the phone and starts to walk away. *

He hangs up. Then walks out of his office.

Hedwig enters and turns off the light on her way to bed. *

Rudolf, in his overcoat, locks the office door behind him and * walks down a long corridor towards the stairs. Pumping his * little fists in self-congratulation. A smile grows, ever so * slowly, across his face. A skip in his step. If he could * dance he would. *

Revision 71.

He walks down the first flight, but at the landing he slows * suddenly. *

He clutches at the bannister, convulses, bent double, and * vomits on the polished stone floor.

After spitting out the last bit of vomit, he gingerly * continues down the next flight... *

But then convulses again. *

A final long wretch, and spit. It’s all gone. *

He cautiously straightens up. SS officer’s hat in hand by his * side. *

Looks one way down the long empty dark corridor. No one * around. *

Then the other way, towards camera. *

A white pin prick of light in a black screen. *

Indeterminate noises, becoming footsteps. Human voices we * can’t make out. The clank of unlocking. *

Now three sides of a door are described in light as it creaks * open. The pin prick was its peephole seen from the inside. *

The door’s been opened by TWO POLISH WOMEN, CLEANERS in * present day blue outfits, lanyards round their necks, * carrying cleaning materials - cloth, spray bottle, broom, * dustpan. *

The light reveals dark mottled cement walls and floor inside, * a modern fire extinguisher and signage in Polish. (’Wyjscie * Ewakuacyjne’/ Emergency Exit). *

We’re inside the gas chamber of Crematorium I in what is now * the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim. *

PRESENT *

Above Crematorium 1, the other side of the chimney we saw * previously from the Hoss’s garden and house. *

Revision 72.

There is museum signage outside for visitors. The cleaners * bring in their materials. *

MUSEUM - DAWN, PRESENT *

One cleaner sweeps the concrete floor. *

PRESENT *

The other cleaner wipes the black cast iron corpse delivery * trolleys and brick furnaces designed and built by Topf and * Sons. *

DAWN, PRESENT *

A wall of 1930’s battered suitcases piled high behind glass * across the screen. *

Their owners family names and addresses scrawled in different * hands on most of them in white letters. *

ANOTHER CLEANER carries a vacuum cleaner past the length of * them. *

We’re in Block 5 of Auschwitz I, the exhibit of ‘Physical * evidence of the crime’ where items seized from murdered Jews * deported there for extermination are displayed. *

ANOTHER CLEANER wipes the high display glass in front of a * big pile of children’s shoes, carefully wiping fingerprints * with a cloth. *

The sound of the vacuum cleaner, sucking up the dust and * detritus of yesterday’s visitors. *

Closer on the small shoes, singles as well as pairs. *

MUSEUM - DAWN, PRESENT *

Along the length of the corridor now a vast pile of more old * shoes behind glass on either side. *

TWO OTHER CLEANERS wipe the glass, one on either side, while * Another Cleaner vacuums the floor. *

Looking up at the floor to ceiling mountain of shoes. *

Revision 73.

DAWN, PRESENT *

Another cleaner vacuums in front of a display case of * 1930/1940’s prosthetic limbs, crutches and supports. *

DAWN, PRESENT *

ANOTHER CLEANER wipes the glass of a display case of blue and * white striped prisoner uniforms in Block 6, the exhibit of * ‘The life of the prisoners’. *

MUSEUM - DAWN, PRESENT *

A long, corridor lined on either side with three rows of * black and white framed photographs. *

A CLEANER noisily vacuums the floor, and in the distance TWO * CLEANERS wipe photographs on either side. *

In the foreground we can make out the photographs are shaved- * headed Auschwitz prisoner registration photographs. *

We’re suddenly back to Rudolf on that landing in the empty * CCI building, exactly as we left him in Scene 136 after he * vomited. *

He’s still looking down the corridor towards camera. Silence. *

Almost as if at the Museum corridor we were just looking * down. *

SS officer’s cap in his hand by his side. *

He slowly turns around, and steps down the staircase, still a * little gingerly. *

We watch him descend another floor, and another, his steps * more confident now. *

Revision 74.

He puts his cap on his head. *

Down another until we can’t see him, but the sound of his * footsteps continue. *

CUT TO BLACK *

His footsteps carry until he’s gone too far to hear them any * more. *

End music starts. Alarming, in ascending patterns. *

END