Draft Screenplay
OVER BLACK
We hear sounds of Russian military voices shouting orders and marching feet.
CUT TO:
CU of a dirty window with bars. PULL BACK to INT Soviet Jail Cell
The walls are roughly whitewashed and scrawled with graffiti, some of it in Cyrillic characters and a little in Hebrew. The cell contains a metal framed bed with brown blankets. There is a plain table and chair beneath the high barred window. A man sits at the chair writing with the stub of a pencil on rough sheets of paper.
RAOUL (V.O.)
My name is Raoul. If you say the name Wallenberg in Sweden they will think of bankers and industrialists but I never really wanted to join that part of the family. I was probably a bit of a disappointment to Grandfather Gustav but he was good to me and sent me to America in l931 to study architecture.
CUT TO: Students walking in sunshine in a university campus.
RAOUL (V.O.)
I spent three and a half marvellous years in Michigan. In fact I wrote to Grandfather something on the lines of, “When I now look back upon the last school year, I find I have had a completely wonderful time." There didn't seem to be much opportunity for an architect in Sweden so I was whisked off to Cape Town and then later to Haifa, in Palestine.
CUT TO: Men sitting in open air café in Haifa. They are thin and look careworn. They talk animatedly.
RAOUL (V.O.)
It was here that I first came across those European Jews who had fled from Hitler's Germany. Their pitiful stories of life under the Nazis and their horrific journeys escaping from certain death were very moving.
CUT TO: Sequence of Raoul greeting Koloman and views of work in parts of Europe ending with views of Jews being rounded up by German soldiers.
RAOUL (V.O.)
It was around this time that I met Koloman Lauer, a Hungarian Jew. He was a director of a Swedish-based import and export company specializing in food and delicacies. My language skills and my Swedish nationality were just what were needed to keep business going in these difficult times and we became good friends and work associates. I travelled all over France, Germany and Hungary. Goodness, what things could be seen. In the spring of 1944 we began to see clearly what Hitler's “Final Solution" to the Jewish problem was. It was May of that year when two Jews escaped from Auschwitz bringing news of the horrors. It could not have come at a worse time for Koloman and his people. The Germans had refused Miklos Horthy's demands for a separate peace and had rolled into Hungary. Horthy was ousted and Ferenc Szalasi, the head of the Hungarian Nazis took over. It wasn't long before Eichmann had the cattle trucks rolling. The destination was Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern Poland, a one-way trip.
CUT TO: CU of Raoul writing. He pauses and puts down the pencil, rubbing his hands together and blowing on them.
RAOUL (V.O.)
They began deporting Jews from the countryside but the Jews in Budapest knew that it would soon be their turn. They looked around in desperation for some lifeline to cling to. It was Per Anger who came up with the idea. Per was a young diplomat in the Swedish Embassy who hit on the idea of issuing Swedish passes to Jews in the area.
CUT TO: INT Swedish Embassy. Per Anger is talking heatedly to the ambassador who sits at a large oak table.
Per Anger
I believe that the German authorities can be persuaded to honour these passes, Sir. In fact, I know they will. I went out yesterday and tried it. I have two young Jews in the Embassy now.
CU Ambassador's face.
Ambassador
How many passes do you think you can deal with, Per?
CU Per's face
Per Anger
I could get through a thousand easily, Sir.
Ambassador
Take it seven hundred and start thinking about what we are going to do with these people. Can they be left safely in their own homes or do we need to bring them into the Embassy? Do we need to arrange for them to leave Budapest and if so, how can it be done?
CUT TO: Raoul writing in his cell.
RAOUL (V.O.)
It was clear that reinforcements would be needed if this good work was to continue and urgent messages were sent to Stockholm. The Americans had formed the War Refugee Board to try to help the beleaguered Jews and when they realised what we Swedes were up to they were in touch with Stockholm to find someone who could lead a mission to Budapest. They chose me. Why? I don't know. They chose Folke Bernadotte first; of course, and why not? He was the head of the Red Cross in Sweden but the Hungarians would have none of it. Koloman put my name forward. He said a lot of silly things like I was a quick thinker, energetic, brave and compassionate. But he did say one sensible thing. He said I had a big name. The name Wallenberg would open doors. The family name would be useful, and it was. A great many people thought I was too young. I thought I was too young but the memory of those stories in Haifa made me keen to do a good job and in June of ‘44 I became First Secretary at the Swedish legation in Budapest. I knew I needed more than just a few passes if I was to do any good. I insisted that I had full powers of action. I didn't want to have to run to the ambassador every five minutes or I'd never get things done. I sent them a memo and told them so. I was very surprised when my memo came back approved by Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson. I was even more surprised that it had been countersigned by King Gustav. That bastard Eichmann had been a very busy man by the time I had arrived in Budapest. In less than two months he had deported four hundred thousand poor souls to the death camps. I was determined I would save as many as I could of the two hundred and thirty thousand that were left. We would have to be just as busy as he. And we were. Buildings were rented for the Red Cross. They were labelled “Swedish Library” and “The Swedish Research Institute”. They became neutral territory and made safe places for Jews to hide.
CUT TO: Swedish Embassy sequence showing designing and making passes.
RAOUL (V.O.)
I designed a special Swedish pass. It had to be just right. I knew that the authorities were easily impressed by flashy badges and symbols so the passes were in our national colours of blue and yellow and had the three crowns of Sweden in gold in the middle. There were special stamps and important signatures to really make them an impressive document. They had no value at all in international law but they were impressive enough to make the German and Hungarian authorities take notice of them. At first, I was allowed to issue fifteen hundred of them but with a little persuasion I got another thousand added to that. By the time people realised how useful the passes were, I had issued over four and a half thousand. It kept the printer out of mischief for a while and I did have a few hundred workers to help with the task, most of them Jewish.
OVER BLACK
We hear sounds of Russian military voices shouting orders and marching feet.
CUT TO:
CU of a dirty window with bars. PULL BACK to INT Soviet Jail Cell
The walls are roughly whitewashed and scrawled with graffiti, some of it in Cyrillic characters and a little in Hebrew. The cell contains a metal framed bed with brown blankets. There is a plain table and chair beneath the high barred window. A man sits at the chair writing with the stub of a pencil on rough sheets of paper.
RAOUL (V.O.)
My name is Raoul. If you say the name Wallenberg in Sweden they will think of bankers and industrialists but I never really wanted to join that part of the family. I was probably a bit of a disappointment to Grandfather Gustav but he was good to me and sent me to America in l931 to study architecture.
CUT TO: Students walking in sunshine in a university campus.
RAOUL (V.O.)
I spent three and a half marvellous years in Michigan. In fact I wrote to Grandfather something on the lines of, “When I now look back upon the last school year, I find I have had a completely wonderful time." There didn't seem to be much opportunity for an architect in Sweden so I was whisked off to Cape Town and then later to Haifa, in Palestine.
CUT TO: Men sitting in open air café in Haifa. They are thin and look careworn. They talk animatedly.
RAOUL (V.O.)
It was here that I first came across those European Jews who had fled from Hitler's Germany. Their pitiful stories of life under the Nazis and their horrific journeys escaping from certain death were very moving.
CUT TO: Sequence of Raoul greeting Koloman and views of work in parts of Europe ending with views of Jews being rounded up by German soldiers.
RAOUL (V.O.)
It was around this time that I met Koloman Lauer, a Hungarian Jew. He was a director of a Swedish-based import and export company specializing in food and delicacies. My language skills and my Swedish nationality were just what were needed to keep business going in these difficult times and we became good friends and work associates. I travelled all over France, Germany and Hungary. Goodness, what things could be seen. In the spring of 1944 we began to see clearly what Hitler's “Final Solution" to the Jewish problem was. It was May of that year when two Jews escaped from Auschwitz bringing news of the horrors. It could not have come at a worse time for Koloman and his people. The Germans had refused Miklos Horthy's demands for a separate peace and had rolled into Hungary. Horthy was ousted and Ferenc Szalasi, the head of the Hungarian Nazis took over. It wasn't long before Eichmann had the cattle trucks rolling. The destination was Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern Poland, a one-way trip.
CUT TO: CU of Raoul writing. He pauses and puts down the pencil, rubbing his hands together and blowing on them.
RAOUL (V.O.)
They began deporting Jews from the countryside but the Jews in Budapest knew that it would soon be their turn. They looked around in desperation for some lifeline to cling to. It was Per Anger who came up with the idea. Per was a young diplomat in the Swedish Embassy who hit on the idea of issuing Swedish passes to Jews in the area.
CUT TO: INT Swedish Embassy. Per Anger is talking heatedly to the ambassador who sits at a large oak table.
Per Anger
I believe that the German authorities can be persuaded to honour these passes, Sir. In fact, I know they will. I went out yesterday and tried it. I have two young Jews in the Embassy now.
CU Ambassador's face.
Ambassador
How many passes do you think you can deal with, Per?
CU Per's face
Per Anger
I could get through a thousand easily, Sir.
Ambassador
Take it seven hundred and start thinking about what we are going to do with these people. Can they be left safely in their own homes or do we need to bring them into the Embassy? Do we need to arrange for them to leave Budapest and if so, how can it be done?
CUT TO: Raoul writing in his cell.
RAOUL (V.O.)
It was clear that reinforcements would be needed if this good work was to continue and urgent messages were sent to Stockholm. The Americans had formed the War Refugee Board to try to help the beleaguered Jews and when they realised what we Swedes were up to they were in touch with Stockholm to find someone who could lead a mission to Budapest. They chose me. Why? I don't know. They chose Folke Bernadotte first; of course, and why not? He was the head of the Red Cross in Sweden but the Hungarians would have none of it. Koloman put my name forward. He said a lot of silly things like I was a quick thinker, energetic, brave and compassionate. But he did say one sensible thing. He said I had a big name. The name Wallenberg would open doors. The family name would be useful, and it was. A great many people thought I was too young. I thought I was too young but the memory of those stories in Haifa made me keen to do a good job and in June of ‘44 I became First Secretary at the Swedish legation in Budapest. I knew I needed more than just a few passes if I was to do any good. I insisted that I had full powers of action. I didn't want to have to run to the ambassador every five minutes or I'd never get things done. I sent them a memo and told them so. I was very surprised when my memo came back approved by Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson. I was even more surprised that it had been countersigned by King Gustav. That bastard Eichmann had been a very busy man by the time I had arrived in Budapest. In less than two months he had deported four hundred thousand poor souls to the death camps. I was determined I would save as many as I could of the two hundred and thirty thousand that were left. We would have to be just as busy as he. And we were. Buildings were rented for the Red Cross. They were labelled “Swedish Library” and “The Swedish Research Institute”. They became neutral territory and made safe places for Jews to hide.
CUT TO: Swedish Embassy sequence showing designing and making passes.
RAOUL (V.O.)
I designed a special Swedish pass. It had to be just right. I knew that the authorities were easily impressed by flashy badges and symbols so the passes were in our national colours of blue and yellow and had the three crowns of Sweden in gold in the middle. There were special stamps and important signatures to really make them an impressive document. They had no value at all in international law but they were impressive enough to make the German and Hungarian authorities take notice of them. At first, I was allowed to issue fifteen hundred of them but with a little persuasion I got another thousand added to that. By the time people realised how useful the passes were, I had issued over four and a half thousand. It kept the printer out of mischief for a while and I did have a few hundred workers to help with the task, most of them Jewish.
CUT TO: A man in a jewellery shop he is clearly Jewish and is finishing closing the shop.
David (v.o.)
“I am David and I make watches. The Lewensteins keep this part of the world in time they say. Now I am running out of it. I have sold my watches, this shop; my tools, everything, to have enough to get this skinny Jewish body out of Budapest to somewhere safe.
CU View of David in a mirron studying his face.
David (V.O.)
I have hope, a slim hope. I don't actually look very, you know, Jewish. I pity those Sephardic Jews who would even look Jewish in a clown costume. So, I take off my yarmulke with a silent prayer and hope He understands.
PULL BACK to view David removing his yarmulke and putting it into the bottom of his bag. He picks up the bag and a parcel wrapped in paper and leaves the shop.
CUT TO: EXT Shop with Lewenstein and Son above the door. David locks the door and camera follows as he walks into the distance in a busy Budapest street.
DISSOLVE TO: Budapest Railway Station. Two German soldiers stand watching the passengers as then pass by.
Dieter Schultz is every inch the Oberleutnant, from the skull on his cap badge, through the Iron Cross (2nd Class) to the mirrored shine on his jackboots. The leather patch over his left eye completes the effect. His companion is Claus Rebecca corporal who is bored with life.
Schultz
I hate this lousy job, Claus. I hate Budapest. God let me lead my men in battle again soon.
Rebec
Are you in a hurry to lose the other eye, Dieter my friend? I know it's boring here but at least here we are in one piece. I hear its cold on the Russian front and a lot of nasty little communists want to fire metal bullets into you or carve bits off you, the bits that haven't already dropped off in the snow.
Schultz
But the glory of the Reich Claus, what about that? My father is a general and if my mother would let him he would have me in some position where I could do some good, not here supervising traffic movements. But little Dieter has to be kept safe from harm.
Rebec
Well, you are an officer and I'm only a lowly corporal so that's why I'm bored but happy to be safe, whereas you're bored and unhappy. I don't mind being here; none of these trains has taken a pot shot at me for days. Hello, who's that little fellow? My little “Juden” antenna says he's out without his proper insignia.
CUT TO: David standing by the engine looking lost. He is wreathed in steam from the engine.
Schultz (V.O.)
He doesn't look much like a Jew.
Rebec (V.O.)
Bet you he is. A bottle of schnapps says they've taken his helmet off. Come on Dieter, at least it'll break the boredom.
Schultz
Hey you! Show me your papers.
David
My papers, Herr Major… my papers.
Rebec
Yes, your papers, little Jew boy. Don't think you can get around the Oberleutnant by exaggerating his rank. Where are your papers, you little shit?
Raoul (O.S.)
I have them, Herr Oberleutnant. I was just checking them for him to make sure everything was in order.
CUT TO: CU Raoul with a Swedish pass in his hand.
Raoul
I'm afraid that this is a Swedish citizen, gentlemen. Here is his pass - l think that you'll find it's in order.
CUT TO: Schultz and Rebec examining the pass and looking at each other.
Schultz
It seems to be in order, Herr…
Raoul (O.S)
Wallenberg, Raoul Wallenberg, First Secretary to the Swedish Embassy here in Budapest.
CUT TO: David looking amazed. Raoul walks into frame taking the suitcase from David. They walk past the Germans and Raoul takes the pass from Schultz. Raoul
Thank you, Herr Oberleutnant. Now take good care of that young man. I'm sorry I was a little late meeting the train but I was delayed, business you know…
SHOT between the Germans’ heads of the pair disappearing down the platform.
DISSOLVE TO CU of Raoul writing.
Raoul (V.O.)
How many times did that little scene take place on railway stations and by road-sides? I handed out my passes, I bullied, cajoled, persuaded. At my best, I could have sold snow to Eskimos. Each one a minor victory, a life saved from the hell of the camps. Some I could not save. So many I was not able to help. I weep for each life I could not preserve. The work went on.
DISSOLVE to sequence of shots of Raoul speaking to Germans, on platforms, on the track before trains of cattle trucks with heads and hands sticking out. Shots of Raoul walking along the roofs of the trucks, handing passes down to the hands which clutch at them eagerly. Shots of German officers exhorting their men to fire on him but the men firing deliberately high. Raoul jumping down and demanding the doors be opened and the people with passes released to him.
DISSOLVE to Raoul writing.
Raoul (V.O.)
Towards the end of '44 I moved over the Danube to the ghettos of Pest. I found myself a strange ally there. Pa'l Szalay was high up in the Police force and a member of the Arrow Cross. He was very useful to me in many ways but especially in the January of '45 when news came that Eichmann planned to massacre everyone in the ghettos. I had a special job then for Szalay.
DISSOLVE TO INT German HQ Budapest, the office of General August Schmidthuber. A female secretary shows Szalay into the spacious office. The General sits at an enormous desk.
Secretary
The Herr General will see you now, Herr Szalay.
General
Come, Szalay,what is it now?
Szalay
I have a note for you Herr General. It is from the First Secretary of the Swedish Embassy.
General Schmidthuber takes the note to the window and reads it in the sunlight.
General
What does that Wallenberg want now? The man is a thorn in my flesh. Ah, he asks me to intervene to stop Eichmann's little plan to clear the rest of the ghettos. He reminds me that the Russians are advancing, that the allies are advancing. He reminds me that we are the only ones not advancing and that very soon there will be an end to this war and there will be a reckoning. At this time he would be good friend to have but a bad enemy. He tells me that he would see that I would be held personally responsible for the life of every occupant of the ghettos. He is right of course. Eichmann will disappear like smoke when the Russians get close and we will be left to carry the can for what has happened. The General goes to the door and opens it.
General
Hilda, get me SS-Obersturmbannfuehrer Eichmann on the phone. Thank you for the note, Szalay. I take it our young First Secretary has worked his magic on you as well. Tell him I will do what I can and I trust that at the appropriate time it will be remembered. I am a soldier; I hate to make war on civilians whoever they might be and I certainly don't see why I should be put up against a wall and shot for it.
DISSOLVE TO Raoul writing in his cell.
Raoul (V.O.)
I couldn't believe my luck. At the last minute, the massacre was cancelled and two days later the Russians arrived. They found ninety-seven thousand Jews alive in the ghettos. God, and a lot of hard- working people managed to save a hundred and twenty thousand people in Hungary.
CUT TO EXT the road into Budapest; High shot from behind the right shoulder of a lone figure standing in the centre of the road. Russian tanks halt a few yards from him and a Russian officer dismounts and walks towards him. PAN IN TO CU.
They speak in Russian, subtitles are given in English.
Lev Krevenski
Who are you?
Raoul
Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish chargé d'affaires for the Russian-liberated parts of Hungary. I request to be allowed to visit the Soviet military headquarters in the city of Debrecen, east of Budapest. Whom do I have the honour of addressing?
Lev Krevenski
I am Colonel Lev Krevenski of the People's Army of the Soviet Union. You speak excellent Russian, Comrade. You had better come with me.
DISSOLVE TO Raoul in his cell.
Raoul (V.O.)
On the way out of Budapest, I called in at one of the Swedish houses and spoke to Dr Erno Peto. I told him where I was going and that I didn't know whether I was guest or prisoner. I expected to be back in eight days. Since I have lost track of time I guess it could have been eight years and I guess that the question of my guest status has been well and truly answered. They say that I am a spy. I suppose I have done enough underhand and under cover things in the last few years that some might think it of me. I tried to do what was right for people who had no power. I used what little power I had to help them. What more could I do?
PULL BACK AND UP AND FADE TO BLACK BLACK FRAME QUOTE APPEARS
Raoul Wallenberg disappeared into the Soviet Union on 17 January 1945. Whether he is alive or not is uncertain. The Russians claim that he died in Russian captivity on 17 July 1947. A number of testimonies indicate, however, that he was alive and that he still could be alive.
EXT Yad Vashem, The Avenue Of The Righteous, Israel. Camera starts high above an avenue of trees and pans in to read across nameplates beneath individual trees Camera pauses at nameplate showing Oscar Schindler then moves on. Pause again at the name of Per Anger and on to the plate which shows Raoul Wallenberg, Righteous among the Nations. A hand places a stone at the edge of the plate.
FADE TO BLACK. Roll credits.
David (v.o.)
“I am David and I make watches. The Lewensteins keep this part of the world in time they say. Now I am running out of it. I have sold my watches, this shop; my tools, everything, to have enough to get this skinny Jewish body out of Budapest to somewhere safe.
CU View of David in a mirron studying his face.
David (V.O.)
I have hope, a slim hope. I don't actually look very, you know, Jewish. I pity those Sephardic Jews who would even look Jewish in a clown costume. So, I take off my yarmulke with a silent prayer and hope He understands.
PULL BACK to view David removing his yarmulke and putting it into the bottom of his bag. He picks up the bag and a parcel wrapped in paper and leaves the shop.
CUT TO: EXT Shop with Lewenstein and Son above the door. David locks the door and camera follows as he walks into the distance in a busy Budapest street.
DISSOLVE TO: Budapest Railway Station. Two German soldiers stand watching the passengers as then pass by.
Dieter Schultz is every inch the Oberleutnant, from the skull on his cap badge, through the Iron Cross (2nd Class) to the mirrored shine on his jackboots. The leather patch over his left eye completes the effect. His companion is Claus Rebecca corporal who is bored with life.
Schultz
I hate this lousy job, Claus. I hate Budapest. God let me lead my men in battle again soon.
Rebec
Are you in a hurry to lose the other eye, Dieter my friend? I know it's boring here but at least here we are in one piece. I hear its cold on the Russian front and a lot of nasty little communists want to fire metal bullets into you or carve bits off you, the bits that haven't already dropped off in the snow.
Schultz
But the glory of the Reich Claus, what about that? My father is a general and if my mother would let him he would have me in some position where I could do some good, not here supervising traffic movements. But little Dieter has to be kept safe from harm.
Rebec
Well, you are an officer and I'm only a lowly corporal so that's why I'm bored but happy to be safe, whereas you're bored and unhappy. I don't mind being here; none of these trains has taken a pot shot at me for days. Hello, who's that little fellow? My little “Juden” antenna says he's out without his proper insignia.
CUT TO: David standing by the engine looking lost. He is wreathed in steam from the engine.
Schultz (V.O.)
He doesn't look much like a Jew.
Rebec (V.O.)
Bet you he is. A bottle of schnapps says they've taken his helmet off. Come on Dieter, at least it'll break the boredom.
Schultz
Hey you! Show me your papers.
David
My papers, Herr Major… my papers.
Rebec
Yes, your papers, little Jew boy. Don't think you can get around the Oberleutnant by exaggerating his rank. Where are your papers, you little shit?
Raoul (O.S.)
I have them, Herr Oberleutnant. I was just checking them for him to make sure everything was in order.
CUT TO: CU Raoul with a Swedish pass in his hand.
Raoul
I'm afraid that this is a Swedish citizen, gentlemen. Here is his pass - l think that you'll find it's in order.
CUT TO: Schultz and Rebec examining the pass and looking at each other.
Schultz
It seems to be in order, Herr…
Raoul (O.S)
Wallenberg, Raoul Wallenberg, First Secretary to the Swedish Embassy here in Budapest.
CUT TO: David looking amazed. Raoul walks into frame taking the suitcase from David. They walk past the Germans and Raoul takes the pass from Schultz. Raoul
Thank you, Herr Oberleutnant. Now take good care of that young man. I'm sorry I was a little late meeting the train but I was delayed, business you know…
SHOT between the Germans’ heads of the pair disappearing down the platform.
DISSOLVE TO CU of Raoul writing.
Raoul (V.O.)
How many times did that little scene take place on railway stations and by road-sides? I handed out my passes, I bullied, cajoled, persuaded. At my best, I could have sold snow to Eskimos. Each one a minor victory, a life saved from the hell of the camps. Some I could not save. So many I was not able to help. I weep for each life I could not preserve. The work went on.
DISSOLVE to sequence of shots of Raoul speaking to Germans, on platforms, on the track before trains of cattle trucks with heads and hands sticking out. Shots of Raoul walking along the roofs of the trucks, handing passes down to the hands which clutch at them eagerly. Shots of German officers exhorting their men to fire on him but the men firing deliberately high. Raoul jumping down and demanding the doors be opened and the people with passes released to him.
DISSOLVE to Raoul writing.
Raoul (V.O.)
Towards the end of '44 I moved over the Danube to the ghettos of Pest. I found myself a strange ally there. Pa'l Szalay was high up in the Police force and a member of the Arrow Cross. He was very useful to me in many ways but especially in the January of '45 when news came that Eichmann planned to massacre everyone in the ghettos. I had a special job then for Szalay.
DISSOLVE TO INT German HQ Budapest, the office of General August Schmidthuber. A female secretary shows Szalay into the spacious office. The General sits at an enormous desk.
Secretary
The Herr General will see you now, Herr Szalay.
General
Come, Szalay,what is it now?
Szalay
I have a note for you Herr General. It is from the First Secretary of the Swedish Embassy.
General Schmidthuber takes the note to the window and reads it in the sunlight.
General
What does that Wallenberg want now? The man is a thorn in my flesh. Ah, he asks me to intervene to stop Eichmann's little plan to clear the rest of the ghettos. He reminds me that the Russians are advancing, that the allies are advancing. He reminds me that we are the only ones not advancing and that very soon there will be an end to this war and there will be a reckoning. At this time he would be good friend to have but a bad enemy. He tells me that he would see that I would be held personally responsible for the life of every occupant of the ghettos. He is right of course. Eichmann will disappear like smoke when the Russians get close and we will be left to carry the can for what has happened. The General goes to the door and opens it.
General
Hilda, get me SS-Obersturmbannfuehrer Eichmann on the phone. Thank you for the note, Szalay. I take it our young First Secretary has worked his magic on you as well. Tell him I will do what I can and I trust that at the appropriate time it will be remembered. I am a soldier; I hate to make war on civilians whoever they might be and I certainly don't see why I should be put up against a wall and shot for it.
DISSOLVE TO Raoul writing in his cell.
Raoul (V.O.)
I couldn't believe my luck. At the last minute, the massacre was cancelled and two days later the Russians arrived. They found ninety-seven thousand Jews alive in the ghettos. God, and a lot of hard- working people managed to save a hundred and twenty thousand people in Hungary.
CUT TO EXT the road into Budapest; High shot from behind the right shoulder of a lone figure standing in the centre of the road. Russian tanks halt a few yards from him and a Russian officer dismounts and walks towards him. PAN IN TO CU.
They speak in Russian, subtitles are given in English.
Lev Krevenski
Who are you?
Raoul
Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish chargé d'affaires for the Russian-liberated parts of Hungary. I request to be allowed to visit the Soviet military headquarters in the city of Debrecen, east of Budapest. Whom do I have the honour of addressing?
Lev Krevenski
I am Colonel Lev Krevenski of the People's Army of the Soviet Union. You speak excellent Russian, Comrade. You had better come with me.
DISSOLVE TO Raoul in his cell.
Raoul (V.O.)
On the way out of Budapest, I called in at one of the Swedish houses and spoke to Dr Erno Peto. I told him where I was going and that I didn't know whether I was guest or prisoner. I expected to be back in eight days. Since I have lost track of time I guess it could have been eight years and I guess that the question of my guest status has been well and truly answered. They say that I am a spy. I suppose I have done enough underhand and under cover things in the last few years that some might think it of me. I tried to do what was right for people who had no power. I used what little power I had to help them. What more could I do?
PULL BACK AND UP AND FADE TO BLACK BLACK FRAME QUOTE APPEARS
Raoul Wallenberg disappeared into the Soviet Union on 17 January 1945. Whether he is alive or not is uncertain. The Russians claim that he died in Russian captivity on 17 July 1947. A number of testimonies indicate, however, that he was alive and that he still could be alive.
EXT Yad Vashem, The Avenue Of The Righteous, Israel. Camera starts high above an avenue of trees and pans in to read across nameplates beneath individual trees Camera pauses at nameplate showing Oscar Schindler then moves on. Pause again at the name of Per Anger and on to the plate which shows Raoul Wallenberg, Righteous among the Nations. A hand places a stone at the edge of the plate.
FADE TO BLACK. Roll credits.