A fiction based on contemporary documents
and the writings of P-L. Basse, H. Boll and E. Junger
Ladies and gentlemen, cast your eyes on these athletes!
Ready to break records, young fellows?
CALM AT SEA
On your marks...
Get set...
See you by the fence later, Odette!
I think of you with the rising sun And again when the day is done!
That won't help you win!
Ifs Lamartine!
What a child!
Yes, indeed, what a wonderful victory!
And the prize is...
this magnificent bar of soap!
For a better sluice-down in the shower!
Sport's a wonderful thing.
In the right spirit, well organized...
And our tobacco?
Of course.
One pack per week per detainee.
Some just arrived.
For tonight, then?
Tomorrow. With the other provisions.
1941 Choisel internment camp
Odette.
OK?
Did you have your Spanish class today?
Keep out!
There's room for two
She's polygamous, see?
A true revolutionary!
Like Krupskaya, Lenin's wife.
He's already married.
Really? So young?
Behold the burning birth of the moon
Stulcas, 'tis a hear? spilling o'er the water...
You come to tease
With tiresome wit
The girls by the fence
And you, a married man
Think yourself the most interesting of all!
lips, pour your divine saliva Voluptuous blood, steam of the gums
And the trembling fire of your kiss. ..
Where did you learn such filth?
At school.
It's a sublime poem by Louys,
which isn't taught at school, alas!
But he wouldn't know that.
No, I left early.
He left school
because his father had been arrested.
Really, Guy?
Someone had to take his place.
That's how you ended up here?
No, for handing out leaflets at the cinema.
And also for "irregular riding of a bicycle".
Come off it! You can't be arrested for that!
I swear! The police edict of 15th March 1925.
And you?
The students' march. "To the Arc DE Triomphe!"
That was the slogan.
Thousands of us on the Champs-Elysees.
It was the first time.
- When? - 11th November.
In memory of the last war.
They arrested you there?
At the Sorbonne, a few days later.
Get inside, ladies!
He unfurled a French flag from his satchel.
Get in your huts!
My name's Benjamin.
Makes you sound like a kid! I'm Marcel.
So I call you Benjamin?
Everyone knows me, anyway. Call me Gilbert.
Brustlein? Was that you, the Barbes metro job?
You're not to know that.
He'll have our orders.
We have to kill an officer or two. lt's up to us to decide.
Anytime, anywhere in town.
It has to look like average people who couldn't take any more.
Understood?
Two 7.65 calibres.
They get jammed.
I prefer 6.355, they're smaller. I've got two.
You had them on the train?
And you had your papers checked?
Discipline, dammit!
The Party won't tolerate adventurers!
1918? They're in a dream world!
Especially as we didn't even get this far.
Get it wiped off.
Captain Sieger didn't pursue them,
seeing as he wasn't armed.
When he got back to his colleague he was already dead.
A French doctor certified the death.
Hotz was appointed Feldkommandant of Nantes in 1940.
He was held in high esteem by the local people.
The motive for the murder could not have been his professional functions.
His private life, too, was beyond reproach.
And according to the French police?
The terrorists were very young,
probably members of the Communist Youth.
Unless they're Gaullists.
If the culprits aren't arrested very soon,
Berlin will demand excessive reprisals again.
- Heil Hitler! - Good morning.
His Excellency Ambassador Abetz.
The Fuhrer has heard about the murdered officer.
Berlin finds out before me
what's happening in your backyard!
It's very awkward for me
to be informed by the Fuhrer.
Your Excellency,
the General is already working on this case.
The French police have several leads, but no results yet.
Nantes is surrounded with roadblocks, there's no way out.
The Fuhrer is expecting your reprisal propositions
before noon.
What time is it now?
It's 10:40.
What's the situation in town?
The locals are denouncing each other,
there are searches in the street, a suspect has been apprehended...
Gentlemen, do not take this matter lightly.
When Private Moser was killed,
the reprisals extended only to three communists.
Goebbels rightly believes
that a German life has more value.
But in this case the victim was an officer.
Expect no leniency.
The Fuhrer has ordered the execution of at least 150 hostages.
That's a terrifying figure.
A hundred and fifty?
How will we win the hearts of the French people then?
For the moment they still trust us.
The Nazi Party and the SS don't care about history.
Napoleon would never have allowed such a thing in Prussia.
According to the Ambassador, the Fuhrer is fuming.
But he doesn't realise the effect it'll have on the population.
It's just blind vengeance!
I'll offer a reward of a million gold francs
for any information. Try to win some time.
We have barely one hour.
I'm an officer, not a butcher!
Abetz must have alerted all Berlin.
I have to draw up the lists.
What lists?
Of hostages.
Hello, I'm Mrs Lalet.
I know he's to be released tomorrow,
but I took the night train, hoping to see him now.
No problem, Madam. Your husband's a fine fellow.
I'm glad he can return to his studies.
I'll have him called.
Stromboni,
call Lalet, Claude.
You're being freed.
You get out tomorrow.
I will need the register.
Which one?
The names of all the detainees.
Well, well, Mr Chassagne!
Former comrade,
former union secretary...
To what do we owe the honor?
Desire! So you're here?
Yes. As you might have been if you hadn't changed sides.
Watch it, Desire!
I'm inspecting the camp for the Prefect.
- What can I do for you? - For me? Nothing.
But for us political prisoners, a lot!
Like releasing us all!
Victor Renelle! How are you, old man?
It'd be nice to be treated at least as well as the pimps!
- There are common criminals here? - You don't know much, "Inspector"!
I'll sort you out later, Granet!
And do what I can for you, Victor.
Bastard!
The Wehrmacht is fighting valiantly in Russia.
You mustn't weaken in France.
We suspect English parachutists
All the more reason to shoot a few Frenchmen.
They'll beg the English to stop such attacks.
And the people's reaction?
The French are too individualistic
to understand collective punishment.
It's not in their mentality.
Explain that to the Fuhrer.
We're not in Poland!
50 hostages right away, then twice 50 after that.
It's too soon, if we hope to obtain confessions.
Yes.
We need to play for time. The people will be grateful.
We are governing France with a thousand officers.
Collaboration is essential.
That's why we're suggesting three times 50.
The Fuhrer will decide at what intervals.
Colonel Speidel.
Once you get the list of the hostages, send me a copy.
Call Nantes.
I want a report every hour.
In the meantime, shall we have lunch?
Sir, I'm having lunch with Sacha Guitry at Prunier's.
It would be awkward to cancel.
Cheteaubriant sub-prefecture! government offices
Hello, ladies and gents!
Herr Kristucat.
Deep shit, Mr Lecornu!
We have a big problem.
You, as Sub-Prefect, and I, as Commandant
are responsible for Choisel camp.
With its political prisoners it's a storehouse of hostages.
We have to draw up - for your Minister in Paris
and for General Stulpnagel - a list of hostages.
150 names for tomorrow.
Herr Commandant Kristucat,
I'm in charge of the French administration.
Reprisals are the German army's business.
I am sorry, but I cannot comply with such a request.
Gentlemen,
I've just been to Choisel.
There's a subgroup in that camp.
Political prisoners that we looked up at Germany's request.
They're all in hut number 19.
Lecornu, do you have a list of them?
No, I do not have such a list.
I've never seen one.
You surprise me.
Would you rather shoot decent Frenchmen
than help us root out dangerous elements?
- How many in that hut? - About 20.
We need a lot more.
We seized the camp register earlier.
Let's do it.
As you just said,
ifs a real storehouse of hostages.
They're almost all political, even the women.
Nein, no women!
Come and sit down, Mr Lecornu.
To do it properly, let us pick, for the moment,
two hundred.
Paris can select from them.
But the choices must not seem arbitrary.
There must be a logic.
What logic?
None could have committed this murder!
There are three criteria.
Political affiliation,
geographical proximity, I.e. preferably local people...
Commandant,
it is unfair to punish local people
for an attack committed, I believe,
by communists from Paris.
They may have been agents from London.
English, perhaps, but not French.
How can you be so sure?
It is not a French tradition
to cowardly shoot in the back soldiers doing their duty.
Let's say communists, then,
half of them from this region.
All the names are here.
Perhaps your secretary could give us a hand.
Miss Duboc.
Sir?
Write...
No pimps, no pickpockets
- Only political prisoners. - OK, no pimps...
So we take the communist bosses.
Here's one.
Renelle, Victor. He's a real loudmouth.
Note that down, Miss. Renelle, Victor.
How old?
About 50.
Captain Seiger saw the killers. They were very young.
That's the third criterion.
OK, but he's a real hardliner.
There's Granet too from Gennevilliers
Note that, Miss. Granet, Desire.
I was told they were friends of yours, Mr Chassagne.
Friends, no.
Comrades, once.
They're communists who refused to fight for France in 1939,
at the time of the German-Soviet pact.
Now they're ignobly trying to make up for that.
I'll leave it to you.
See if there are any Jews too.
These terrorists are all in the pay of the Soviets and Jews.
Abachi, Georges. 22, Jewish.
A youth battalion leader from the 17th arrondissement, Paris.
Bloch, Leon.
Cohen, Jules. David, Emile...
Jungen
I'd like you to keep a record of these events,
hour by hour.
Everything that happens,
everything that's said.
Not a military report. Something more literary.
Like Stendhal's report of Napoleon's campaign?
I know you'd prefer Holderlin,
but what I want is "historiography
Just one copy.
Yes, Sir.
Keep it simple.
Thank you.
Have you heard from your family? Are they well?
I feel awkward enjoying such creature comforts.
My family in Germany does not live as well as you here.
Materially, you mean.
I know you suffered the humiliation of defeat,
but I have two sons on the Russian front.
That's our real enemy.
I've heard nothing more about the list.
We should avoid stirring things up while hope remains.
If your police find the culprits,
we can forget about the list.
Unfortunately, the police have found no trace of them.
A million gold francs should have an effect.
How much is that worth?
Fifteen million. A fortune.
Keep your guard up, Guy!
Move your legs!
Look, it's Max Schmeling!
Come on, Guy...
Don't let your guard down.
I bid you good day, Miss.
Is the sea still far?
Do you have wine?
Please.
Thank you very much.
This is cider, is it not'?
Hello, Cadette.
Wish I could get my hands on teats like those, eh?
You have cigarette?
Hello.
Hello, mate.
Got a cigarette?
Aren't there any here?
You're kidding!
We get three per day. Which last me about an hour.
After that its dog-ends for 23 hours!
Now that's what I call a smoke!
From Rhineland?
You bet! Are you joining us?
- 3rd Company? - That's us!
Can you carry my pack?
The bike's a bit wobbly, but...
I can't let a mate down. Come on, then.
Back to work.
Hand me the flask.
Where is it?
Behind the tent.
So here's the grand gentleman
who isn't strong enough to carry his own pack!
Sir! I thought the bike would come in useful.
You "thought"?
Yes, Sir.
Haven't you been taught to avoid thinking?
No.
My superiors encouraged it, in fact.
And where was this?
Saxon Division, 31st Company, on the Russian front.
There's no thinking here! No intelligence! Understood?
What's your military training?
Grenadier and telephonist.
Bullshit!
We have too many telephonists, but never enough grenadiers.
Were you wounded?
A bullet in my left shoulder. But I write with my right hand.
Wonderful!
If you can hold a pen you can pull a trigger.
Starting tomorrow, firing practice with live ammunition.
And tonight, a bit of guard duty.
Dismissed.
The names of the hostages were taken from various lists.
Communist MPs,
partisans, unionists,
those guilty of violence towards German soldiers...
Among the communists there are also some Jews.
We have every social class,
but mostly working and middle class.
It's unavoidable, then?
Berlin has made it clear
that the Fuhrer has approved of staggered executions.
- The general is complying? - He managed to negotiate.
There won't be a third group of fifty.
That's to his credit.
It doesn't help his standing in Berlin.
France is just a colony to them.
And Stulpnagel
still dreams of a great European alliance. As do I, in fact.
The French see things differently.
We must convince them.
There's no cure for the humiliation of defeat.
Our victory was due to our technology.
Our industry will grow more after the war,
and France will depend on us.
At the industrial level.
But France remains superior
in matters of taste and culture.
L'art de vivre.
Are these attacks l'art de vivre ?
The terrorists are a tiny minority.
You're a writer, Junger.
Do you still write?
A diary, nothing more.
Faced with the SS,
I feel like the white captain overpowered by black slaves
on the Benito Cereno .
- What'? - It's a story by Melville.
You're still a man of letters.
I try to be.
Let me see.
You should get that abscess treated by the dentist in Chateaubriant.
Will you tell Touya, Doctor?
I could get a pass to go into town.
You didn't seem in much pain yesterday!
It's time that wisdom tooth came out.
Your head needs more of that!
You messed around at school too.
I didn't! They made that up as an excuse for kicking me out.
All because of my dad.
With him in prison, you should behave.
That's what I told my mum. I'm the head of the household now.
Listen to Timbaud. He knows what he's talking about.
We have plans for you.
Plans?
Plans as in...
escaping?
Idiot! Keep in shape, go to classes...
At least you won't have wasted your time here.
Odette!
Give me your hand.
Come closer.
GUY--
Our time will come.
Be patient.
"Our" time? That calls for a smacker!
A smacker?
A kiss.
You promised, you swore...
See, you don't keep your promises!
Remove your hand.
Close your eyes.
Purse your lips.
That's not fair!
The curfew is now at 7. Everyone inside!
Come on, lads, it's time!
In your huts!
I repeat: the curfew is now at 7.
Be quick about it!
OK, son?
Yeah.
I saw you with Claude.
By the fence?
No, boxing. You like boxing, then?
Yeah, a lot.
- A chance to beat people up? - No.
That's not what boxing's about
Boxing is all about respect for others.
- Do you want to be a boxer? - No.
- A doctor. - A worthy profession.
But when they arrested my dad, I quit school
so I could help my mum.
I didn't take my exams,
so I can't get into university.
Get inside. Something's up.
The Krauts aren't even trusting the gendarmes.
Replace me!
I made the Germans remain outside.
- It undermines my authority. - You've had escapees before.
- We couldn't shoot! - I'll authorize it.
In writing!
Paper?
Will you be up to it?
I was in the colonies.
Be prepared for anything tonight.
No one must escape.
Is it for tomorrow?
Unless we catch the culprits.
A 1934 Riesling
All we need now is girls!
It is perfectly right,
perfectly justified,
for Germans to be killed by Frenchmen.
If the Germans didn't want to be killed by us,
they should have stayed at home and not waged war on us.
Those who are currently being killed
by patriots wielding ri?es, revolvers or knives,
are merely preceding all the others who wlll join them in death.
But there is a tactic to this war
The war of the French people must be waged
by those whose duty it is.
In other words, by myself and the National Committee.
All combatants,
those within the country and those outside,
must follow orders exactly.
But the orders right now...
Granet,
that wireless you're hiding under your briefcase...
Send it home or you'll be in solitary.
But you've already searched and it's allowed.
Have your friends been whining?
That has nothing to do with it!
It's no longer allowed. Send it home.
And Sunday we were getting on so well!
We have a right to some music.
I've learn that you're using it to receive instructions.
There's a code number 66, which precedes instructions.
Sixty-six!
The pimps invent all that stuff
to get in your good books.
You should kick them out
The Krauts'll give them jobs!
As you're insinuating I listen to informers,
I'm confiscating the wireless!
As representative of the political prisoners, I protest!
This is an infringement of...
My ares!
- Touchy, isn't she? - With good reason.
What do you mean?
A terrorist attack in Nantes this morning.
Hotz was killed.
The Germans are going to kill 100 hostages.
Including you lot!
Not a word to the others, you hear? Not a word!
Clear off!
If it was our lads, it was a bad idea.
30 comrades shot is a high price to pay.
Probably some chaps sent from Paris. To relieve the pressure there.
Who'd have expected such a reaction? For Moser they killed 3.
How did they get from 3 to 30?
That's easy, teacher. You add a zero!
Don't try to understand.
The three for Moser were guillotined.
What will they do with us?
Hanged, guillotined, shot, quartered...
What does bumping off a German officer get us?
Could be another order from Moscow.
I was against the Party's pact with Hitler.
Allying with fascists we'd fought in Spain... But it's different now!
Those who give the orders are cowards,
letting innocent people pay the price.
If the Revolution requires such methods as these,
those who carry out these acts should sacrifice themselves
rather than their comrades.
If 30 of us are killed,
it'll reveal what the Germans are really like.
The people will realise Hitler is at war with them
and they will rise.
No more collaboration!
Yes, we won't die for nothing.
It'll be a turning point.
Leave martyrdom for Catholics!
I fought in order to live. Why don't we run?
Yes, a mass break-out!
I have a place not far away.
You're dreaming!
Fernand and Henaff got away.
Without all those angry Krauts.
We'll take them by surprise. We've got nothing to lose.
With my wooden leg?
I'd prefer barbed wire to a firing squad.
- They'd just take other hostages. - Where from, if we all go?
- The next hut. - They're not political.
They don't care. Just more bloodshed.
So what do we do?
If I had my flying machine
we'd soon be out of here.
Like angels!
You may laugh but ifs true.
I cobbled together an aeroplane.
We're not sure of anything for the moment.
It's true, they're just rumors.
Michele is right.
Not a word to the others.
It only concerns us.
It's awful, not telling what I know.
That lucky devil Claude will be released tomorrow.
Here.
Thanks.
I don't know why I shouldn't get out too.
Odette made me a promise today.
"Our time will come, " she said.
Rino.
Try this one.
- Where'd you get it'? - From my mum.
You're lucky.
I know.
She sent it to me
in a parcel.
It cost her 41 francs.
It's really nice.
Curfew!
If I see a light, I'll shoot it!
Malleus Maleficarum.
I found it at Beres.
The Venetian edition from 1574.
You're mad, Ernst! You shouldn't have!
At another time I'd have kept it.
Back when
I was studying drugs,
and I was looking into sorcery and demonism...
I hope you like it.
You spoil me!
That's my strategy!
Do you still frequent the Madeleine area?
For as long as a certain Parisian fortress
continues to resist me!
You shouldn't.
It's dangerous.
- And not just medically. - I feel healthy enough.
And those creatures amuse me.
Today,
this one had a tiny hat no bigger than a bird's nest,
with a long green feather with which she tickled my...
You're disgusting!
The things they say...
No, stop!
I don't want to hear your filth!
I've been surprising myself, on my walks,
by picking out places where I could one day settle down.
- In Paris? - Yes.
This war will not last forever.
Our General sees us united in one great Europe.
A Germanic one, of course.
Not necessarily.
Do you really believe
this regime will end?
In violence, yes.
In the historical tradition
of the assassinated tyrant?
Some people think so.
- In Germany? - Even here.
You?
They make appeals to me.
But I prefer the role of witness.
An observer? Even, to some extent, a voyeur?
No. I am not afraid of action.
But I am a soldier, not a murderer.
In any case,
I feel no calling to change the course of history.
Yet that is what you are doing,
by being here as the occupier.
All I am doing
is honoring the uniform, which is every officer's duty.
And never forgetting the wretched all around us.
In the Rue Vieille du Temple,
I saw Jews being arrested, families separated.
The sobbing of the children was unbearable.
Did your uniform help you save any of them?
Where's the front line?
At a point between high and low tide.
It's somewhere over there that they'll land.
One day or another.
Hey...
Any of those good cigarettes left?
Password?
"Poacher"!
Arsenal!
Hare stew tomorrow!
I could do without the live firing practice.
Could you shoot a man?
It's him or me.
I don't know...
Shut up or you'll end up in Dachau.
If there's trouble brewing,
just act crazy. Play it up and shout,
"I can't kill!"
Be quiet!
Coffee's ready!
Guy! Wake up, pussycat!
Here are the lists returned by the Interior Ministry.
They've barely made any changes.
Well done. It shows you did diligent work.
On the contrary, Commandant, there are some serious mistakes.
One of the men is about to be released.
The student Lalet, Claude.
Another, Renelle, a chemical engineer,
should have been released a good while ago.
And a third is only 17.
Moquet. He's just a kid.
I remember. He was on Chassagne's list.
But why?
He wasn't one of the definite 27 hostages.
You can't shoot those three.
I can't change it, Lecornu
The list was approved by Paris
Some legal sense must be applied.
I'll supply you with the necessary documents.
Or the German army will be seen to be shooting innocent men!
And children!
I can make a phone call
to try to demand a pardon for those three.
Thank you.
But on one condition. You choose three others to replace them.
To make the task easier,
here's the register.
Just pick the first three names not already on the list.
Notice. Cowards have murdered
the Feldkommandant of Nantes by shooting him in the back.
So far, the killers have not been caught.
I have therefore ordered the shooting of 50 hostages.
Another 50 will be shot
if the culprits still evade capture.
Signed, General Von Stulpnagel.
We're not very popular!
Shit!
The bastards!
The Party didn't expect this.
This'll stir up the shit. I hope they don't just dump us.
Come off it, we're their heroes!
It wouldn't be the first time "for tactical reasons"...
Shut up, Marcel!
Anyway, we have to split up.
I have no idea where to go.
Stay away from stations, hotels...
I know someone in Rennes.
I didn't hear that. Neither did you, Marcel.
- And the guns? - We keep them.
War is so bloody stupid!
When we've changed society, there'll be no wars.
In the meantime, our comrades are in for it!
What do you mean?
I recognised three or four names.
They'll understand.
What if we give ourselves up?
Me, at least. I fired.
Show some pride!
Better one than fifty!
The Krauts think there's more than one of us.
More than three. That we're an army.
We will be, once we've woken up the sleeping patriots.
Keep on talking!
As for me...
Gilbert!
Don't fight among yourselves!
Leave me, I've made my mind up!
Let me go!
We can't fight among ourselves!
Here's the list.
Attention!
All prisoners in their huts!
Immediately!
Lunch is canceled.
You again, Timbaud?
What's going on?
Back in your huts.
No grub?
Back in your huts, I said.
Is this your doing or an order from the Krauts?
Hey, out it out!
In your huts!
Can't leave it for Touya!
I've washed my laundry. One less job for my wife
Even if it's still wet.
The whole town's talking about it.
They won't be long now.
Time to turn the page.
A page of history.
It's time we smoked these.
We're coping OK for firing-squad beginners!
That's it!
It's us.
They're coming for us.
Ready, section!
Be vigilant.
Get in position.
Gentlemen,
come out when your name is called.
Pesquet, Antoine.
Lefevre, Edmond.
Gardette, Maurice.
Granet, Desire.
Timbaud, Jean-Pierre.
Pourchasse, Henri.
Bourhis, Marc.
Guegin, Pierre.
Grandel, Jean.
Poulmarc'h, Jean.
Desire Granet.
Timbaud.
They're shooting them here?
All those called, go to hut 6.
I wasn't called.
Nor me.
We're not going, then.
It's a lottery.
Line up in threes!
What do they want with us?
Hurry up, get outside!
Quick about it!
Line up in threes!
All those I call, step forward.
Kerivel, Eugene.
David, Emile.
Bastard, Maximilien.
DE La Vaquerie, Charles.
Good God, you're not going to shoot these kids!
Gaudin, get back!
Take me,
but not these kids!
Le Panse, Julien.
Those I called, go to hut 6.
That makes 21.
Gentlemen.
If you please...
Tellier, Raymond. Out.
Khuong, Huynk.
Bartoli, Titus.
I'm sorry. You should have stayed in Tonkin.
Lalet, Claude.
It's a mistake.
My liberation took effect this morning.
Come on.
You have the slip.
My wife's waiting for me!
Your name is on the list.
Come on!
Give this to my wife.
Kiss her for me.
Two more, Commandant.
The last...
DrTenine, Maurice. And Moquet, Guy.
No, he's the youngest!
Present.
Farewell.
Farewell, pals.
Long live freedom, Comrades!
Where are they taking you?
Come on, get a move on!
That's the lot.
I'm getting out of here!
DE La Vaquerie!
Stop it! Come on, calm down!
Take it easy...
How will they do it?
Not here, surely!
Haven't you seen the machine-gun?
They could hang us from the beams.
The Sub-Prefect!
Gentlemen,
you must know what my presence means.
You have been designated by the Germans.
I am sorry, but I could not stop it.
You will be shot within the hour.
Where? Here?
You'll be taken to the sand quarry.
On behalf of France, I regret this with the utmost sincerity.
Even the 17-year-old?
Alas, yes.
In Nantes, at the same moment,
an equal number of Gaullist and Nationalist hostages will be shot.
Courage, gentlemen!
Vive la France!
Yeah, and the Republic!
You may write to your families.
Gentlemen.
You like writing...
It's now or never, don't you think?
You're right.
My Darling Mother, My Dear Brother, My Beloved Father,
I am going to die.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming.
I don't know what sort of welcome you'll get. They're all communists.
How do you know?
Because of the lists we drew up.
How did you get mixed up in this?
I have acted as an official with a sense of responsibility.
Responsibility? You should leave that to the Germans!
I couldn't let decent Frenchmen die.
And you're still part of it!
Why? How can you not realise that?
No politics, please.
Yes, let's talk politics!
This hostage policy is madness.
And endless.
A firing squad leads to a killing, a killing to a firing squad...
It's a vicious circle.
- Are you a Christian? - Of course.
You don't act like one.
Don't be a slave to your orders.
Listen to your conscience.
My friends,
I have not come here to attack your convictions
or beliefs.
Yes, I'm a priest.
If some of you wish to benefit from my ministrations,
I am at your disposal.
But I wish mainly to point out that I am here
to share your final moments,
to help you as you make this ultimate sacrifice,
and to urge you to die
as a Frenchman should.
I come also as a friend,
to receive any last requests or messages,
and your letters.
Mr Curate
Do you know why we in particular, here in Choisel, were picked?
Or what exactly happened in Nantes?
No, I don't know anything about those matters.
Thank you.
By the time you receive this letter I shall be gone,
executed by the Germans for a crime I did not commit.
I shall die bravely...
My Dear Henrietta...
...with no regrets...
Promise to be brave
For two months I've been thinking of these last moments, far from you...
Darling, I have always loved you...
I am a hostage
I die a victim of my ideals...
My last thoughts will be of you. I shall not tremble.
My Dear Yvonne,
Be as brave as I am.
Show courage and confidence.
There are 27 of us...
Words
cannot express the intensity of this moment...
I remember how we used to stroll, picking mushrooms...
My last thoughts will be of you...
Hey, student... Can you help me?
"This letter is my last.
"I am going to die
"with 27 comrades.
"I have only a short while left to live.
"I'll be far from you..."
Lalet, Claude!
Father, can you help me?
Permission to see your wife. Ten minutes.
Ten minutes!
Not so fast!
All my life I've fought for a better mankind.
I believe you will see this dream realised.
My Dear Raymond,
It's over
You'll never again see your beloved Daddy.
Such grief for a child...
you two, the loves of my life, and the great ideal of my life.
The two great loves of my life, promise me you'll be brave.
Vive la France!
Long live the international proletariat!
One last time I send you millions of kisses.
Your beloved Pierre Timbaud.
Here are the 500 francs I have on me, which will be useful to you.
A million kisses, Pierrot.
My Dear Dad,
If I have caused you and Mum any grief
then I send you my love one last time.
I have done my best to follow the path you set out.
One last farewell to all my friends,
and to my beloved brother.
May he study hard so he'll be a man.
Mum, what I ask of you,
what! want you to promise,
is to be brave and to overcome your grief.
I cannot write any more. lam leaving you all
Mum, Serge and Dad.
With love from the depths of my young heart
Be brave.
Your loving Guy
Gentlemen...
Today at 2 p.m. there was a call from the Vichy government.
Marshal Petain expressed his unease thus...
"All this blood will fall on us.
"There is only one honorable solution,
"for me to give myself to the Germans as a hostage.
"To this end, I shall present myself at the demarcation line
"near Moulins, in the Allier."
What do you think?
Old school.
The hero of 1918.
Thank you, Father.
Barthelemy, Henri, railwayman, three children.
Victor Renelle, chemical engineer.
Michele, Charles, former MP.
I am Khuong. Please give this to my wife.
Farewell.
Lieutenant Tenine, doctor and communist.
Timbaud, known as Tintin. Thanks.
We don't share your religious convictions,
but your church had its martyrs too.
We too believe in our cause.
We die for France and the international proletariat.
Lalet, it's time. Let's go.
Guegin.
Raymond Laforge.
Grandel.
DE La Vaquerie.
Gentlemen, ifs time.
Line up in twos.
We must decide how we're going to die.
We refuse blindfolds.
- We'll shout Vive la France I - Or "Death to Hitler!"
With courage we can face anything.
Out You go!
Move it along!
Hurry up, get in the truck! You too!
Be brave, Comrades!
I'm only a worker, but my overalls are cleaner than your uniform.
Odette!
Guy!
Give this to the girls. They'll know who it's for.
This is the final struggle
Let us group together, and tomorrow...
Mr Curate, pray for us.
Claude!
Stop or I'll shoot!
Eugenie!
It's the Minister, for you.
Yes, Sir.
Yes, they've just left. All 27.
Very well, we'll see to it.
They're two short in Nantes.
So?
We have to find two more.
Out of the question!
Just those on the list!
Sir,
Marshal Petain has just withdrawn his offer.
Instead, he's going to make a solemn appeal to the French people.
He'll condemn these attacks
and call on the people to collaborate.
His speech has been approved by Berlin.
I fear it doesn't have quite the same effect
as "Marshal Petain: hostage".
Two men per post.
For tying the hostage. Get moving!
Attach blindfold, untie, clear the body away.
Cover the blood with sand.
Three riflemen to each post.
Stand twelve paces away.
In each group of three,
one man will be firing a blank.
Ready for rehearsal!
Put the rope under the arms.
Now is the time to practice tying the knot.
Your movements must be calm and precise.
Reassuring, so to speak. Unflustered.
You must be able to untie the knot easily.
And quickly.
Like that.
Keep up a rhythm.
The faster it is done, the cleaner the execution.
As we have 27 candidates,
we have to do the whole thing three times.
Silence!
These men are criminals, Jewish scum and Bolsheviks,
who cowardly murdered one of your comrades!
For those of you with no knowledge of anatomy...
The heart is here.
The military nurse will place a white cross here
once the hostages have been blindfolded.
Stop chattering! It's in the rulebook, 351213
Any questions?
No.
- Sir. - Yes?
I don't know if I'm capable.
What?
You're a potential officer of war! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?
Others might do it better than I.
Yes, loads of them could! Soldiers, not little girlies!
But ifs you that needs it! In line, Mr Paper-Pusher!
In Nantes the first hostages have already been shot.
Impressive.
No incident, no violence.
With discipline and in absolute calm.
Everyone is commending the courage and dignity of the condemned men.
Man only seems to find his true grandeur when faced with death.
When one extols the human will and hope in this way,
other signs become evident.
I'm going to request my removal from office.
Whatever decision I take
will be the wrong one. Whether I act or not.
Sir, I would not dare to criticise your decision,
but you are held in great esteem
by the Wehrmacht and even by the local people.
Your ancestors fought in Russia at Napoleon's side.
You have more credibility than anyone else.
If you could bring an end to this policy of retaliation,
France would be grateful to you.
Ropes ready!
And ammunition!
- Release the cuffs. - Gentlemen.
Above all, stay calm.
Calm and precise.
Maintain the distances.
Very good.
Good.
Rhythm!
Very good.
Distribute the ammunition.
One bullet per man.
Remember 22nd October, two in the afternoon.
My last thought will be of you.
It will help me get through this last ordeal.
I kiss you one last time.
Your husband,
in thanks for the loving life you gave him.
Am I dreaming?
Farewell. Farewell forever I love you.
No.
Let us sing.
Let us sing with all our strength.
Poor darling Toto.
Other Totos will sing too.
At least I have lived.
Now you can tell Camilla that I loved her madly.
Poor madman that I was!
Division...
Load!
Aim!
Fire!
Order arms!
Gentlemen!
Stand up straight!
Not a bad act.
But I've seen better.
You need to work at it.
He's not faking.
Next!
Calmly!
Take off the cuffs.
Forward. Walk.
Maintain the distances!
Come on! Rhythm!
- Freedom! - The Party!
The international proletariat!
My Dear Odette,
I am going to die with my 26 comrades.
We are being brave.
What I regret is not having had what you promised me.
A thousand big cuddles from your loving comrade,
GUY-
Big kisses to Marie and the others.
Come down!
Move it!
Show some nerve!
Stand up, damned of the Earth
Stand up, prisoners of starvation
Reason thunders in its volcano
This is the eruption of the end
Of the past let us make a clean slate
Enslaved masses, stand up, stand up!
The world is about to change its foundation
We are nothing, let us be all...
Not so dramatic, gentlemen! Calmly...
That's good.
Stand there, don't be the last!
Grit your teeth.
Let us love the fugitive pain, let us make haste, enjoy...
Long live the German Communist Party!
- Communism! - Freedom!
Seventeen and a nan' years old H's been a short life.
I have but one regret: to be leaving you all.
Order arms!
My Dear Little GU}I,
If I could write you a letter where you are now,
I'd tell you that most of us women
have been taken to another camp, at Aincourt.
From the train I could see the sea.
It was so beautiful
that I'd have loved to swim in it with you,
as we dreamed.
The sea
was as calm at dawn, as somnolent, as our whole country.
But now everything will change.
The indignant people will rise and you won't have died for nothing.
I'm giving you a real big smacker this time!
Your Odette.
Odette is now 86 and lives in Drancy
Chassagne was acquitted after liberation
Gllbert Brustlein was expelled from the Party
Touya was transferred to Africa
Lecornu was decorated
Ernst Junger's work was published by La Pleiade