TITLE: BUCHENWALD
EXT. BUCHENWALD-==NIGHT
The camp is flooded with light. The truck approaches the gate, over which is written: “Recht oder Unrech mein Vaterland” (“my country, right or wrong”).
We see a sign on the bars of the gate: “Jedem das Seine” (“to each his due”).
Gates are opened and the truck is waved into the camp. The campers jump from the truck and are immediately assaulted by prison guards, screaming and pushing them, occasionally hitting them. They are herded together.
PRISON GUARD
(screaming)
Remove your clothing. Now. Now. Now.
Bondy and the other look around frantically.
OTTO
Where are the girls?
Bondy rushes to one of the guards.
BONDY
Were are the girls from Gross-Breesen? Where are…?
The guard strikes Bondy with a club knocking him down.
PRISON GUARD
(yells to the other guards)
This one wants girls. He’s here two minutes and already he wants girls.
The guard kicks Bondy as Joseph and Otto rush to rescue him and bring him back to the group.
PRISON GUARD (CONT’D)
(in a rage)
I tell you for the last time. Strip. Now.
The Gross-Breeseners all strip and are then herded into a building where they are given ill-fitting striped prison garb, then they are pushed forward to barbers who shave their heads. They are then herded back into the yard and then toward their barracks. They hurriedly pass other prisoners, one of whom whispers to Bondy.
PRISONER
The wire fence is electrified. It kills.
DISSOLVE—FLASH FORWARD
INT. LIVING ROOM—NIGHT
The reunioners are remembering.
OTTO
I was terrified.
JOSEPH
We were all terrified.
LILY
What happened to the girls?
OTTO
They were brought to the city jail and released back to the camp the next day. We didn’t know this and were all sure that something terrible had happened to them.
LILY
Did you ever understand why they released us. I mean, they had us, then they let us go.
JOSEPH
How do you explain what goes on in an insane asylum? They just weren’t ready to finish the job.
OTTO
They learned quickly, though.
CARL
Do you remember what happened to Bo? I remember.
LILY
What about him?
CARL
Unbelievable.
DISSOLVE—FLASHBACK
INT. BARRACKS—NIGHT
The barrack is crowded with men milling around, some lying packed together on makeshift shelves that act as beds. Bondy wanders into view. He sits, stunned, on the edge of the bed. Suddenly, he begins to cry. He becomes tremulous, his entire body eventually shaking. First Joseph, then Carl, then some of the others come forward to comfort him. He slowly recovers.
BONDY
I’m sorry.
JOSEPH
Are you all right?
BONDY
In the pink. In certain situations, it is appropriate to cry. A man should never be afraid to cry if it necessary.
CARL
Can anything ever happen that Curt Bondy won’t turn into a lecture about life?
BONDY
Probably not.
CARL
That’s what I was afraid of.
JOSEPH
I’m glad to see you react this way. I was beginning to think you weren’t normal.
BONDY
All too normal, I’m afraid. (beat) So. I think we can help some of the men here.
CARL
Bo, I think you need some rest.
BONDY
I don’t see that we have a choice, Carl. In Gross-Breesen, we learned to help one another, but we live in a bigger world. We can be of help.
JOSEPH
I’m not sure we are up to this, Bo.
BONDY
If not us, who?
Joseph is reduced to silence.
BONDY (CONT’D)
(to all)
Any ideas?
JOSEPH
I think first we should identify those men that need the most help. Then we can decide how best to spend our time here. (looks around) That man there looks feverish. Let’s start with him.
DISSOLVE—FLASH FORWARD
INT. LIVING ROOM
The reunionists remain in discussion.
CARL
Look, it was terrible, but being arrested, put into Buchenwald, did us some good.
WOMAN
(angry)
You’re crazy.
ANOTHER MAN
Shame on you.
CARL
No, listen. We were terrified for the 30 days we were there. We were sure we would die, but we didn’t. Some of us were beaten, but we all survived. Then when we were released, it was as if we started a new life. Life was never more glorious. And the most important thing, it got us the hell out of Germany. We were lucky because we knew, we saw, what was coming, and got the hell out. It never would have happened if we hadn’t have been arrested.
ANOTHER WOMAN
You must be the same guy that turned horseshit into fertilizer.
CARL
Not me, no, but isn’t it wonderful to know that that can happen?
DISSOLVE-FLASH BACK
EXT. MANSION—DAY
We see the farm in disrepair. We see dust again on the road. We hear a TRUCK. There is a pause before we see, POV mansion, some of the campers straggling back into the camp, singly or in pairs. There is a lethargy in their dragging themselves into the camp, a depression, as if terribly overburdened.
They have changed. Several of the girls emerge to greet them. Esther rushes to hug Joseph, Greta to Otto, and Marlene to Carl.
INT. MANSION
Once in the house, they whisper among themselves and wander around the debris filled house all with the feeling of despair. Some cry as they find most of the objects in the mansion having been destroyed. Some begin to clean up the mess, picking up chairs and tables, sweeping the piles of broken glass.
JOSEPH
How long have you been back?
ESTHER
Almost a month. I went home for a while, but came right back here. I wanted to be here when you got back.
JOSEPH
(tearfully)
How did you know I’d be back?
ESTHER
I didn’t.
We hear SCREAMING OS. The others rush to the noise and find Otto smashing things in a rage.
OTTO
I cannot go on like this. I have to get out of here.
JOSEPH
You can go on like this. You have no choice.
OTTO
I have a choice. I can no longer stay in Germany.
JOSEPH
We all are leaving. That’s why we’re here. To prepare us to leave.
OTTO
I’m leaving tonight. Tomorrow.
JOSEPH
And your family?
OTTO
They…
Otto calms down and sits to ponder.
JOSEPH
Look, it is more urgent. We all know that now. Now we must plan, together, with our families, the next step. Bo said to be patient.
Bo is standing at the door listening.
BONDY
I said that before we were arrested. Seems to me the rules have changed. Particularly the rules about time.
DISSOLVE—FLASH FORWARD
INT. LIVING ROOM—NIGHT
The reunioners.
LILY
But what about those who didn’t leave?
CARL
Exactly my point. That’s why we were lucky. Lucky to be in Gross-Breesen, lucky to have parents who pushed us to go, lucky to be arrested, lucky to leave. But maybe more than luck. Maybe we grabbed the opportunity when we could. That’s how come I made such a success in America. I grabbed the opportunity when I could.
LILY
Without regrets.
CARL
My dear, not a day goes by when I am not haunted by regrets. Every day I wake up and want to call my parents, to talk to them, to tell them about my children. To give my parents nachis, but this can’t happen. But understand, it can’t happen not because I made it out, but because they couldn’t. I told them (begins to cry), but they wouldn’t believe me. I tried, but….
JOSEPH
I remember going home after we were released from Buchenwald. It had been a month since Kristallnacht, but my parents still weren’t sure of what was happening. I guess they didn’t want to believe.
DISSOLVE—FLASH BACK
INT. APARTMENT—DAY
Joseph enters his parents’ apartment. His father and mother rush to him, embrace him.
FATHER
Joseph, we were terrified that something had happened to you.
JOSEPH
Something did.
MOTHER
You look the same. We were so worried.
JOSEPH
I’m not the same, Mama. I have grown since I lived at home.
MOTHER
Yes, yes, I can see.
FATHER
Are you sure you are okay, that those beasts didn’t harm you?
JOSEPH
It was…look, we all survived.
MOTHER
We have been frantic.
JOSEPH
Listen to me. This is the beginning. It will get worse. We must all leave.
FATHER
Leave our home?
JOSEPH
Leave Germany.
MOTHER
Impossible.
FATHER
Where to? When? How? How can we be expected to…
JOSEPH
Listen to me. What happened to us, to the campers, this is the beginning. We are sure of it. It will get worse. We are all in danger.
Father and Mother sit and ponder.
JOSEPH (CONT’D)
It is clear. There is no doubt.
FATHER
And you?
JOSEPH
Bondy has arranged my leaving.
MOTHER
When?
JOSEPH
Maybe a week.
FATHER
For how long?
JOSEPH
Until it is safe to return.
MOTHER
When will that be?
EXT. GARAGE
Bondy is working on his bicycle in the garage. Joseph is in a turmoil, talking to him
JOSEPH
When will that be?
BONDY
Hand me the wrench.
JOSEPH
(hands him the wrench)
When will that be?
Bondy works a bit more, stops, mulls.
BONDY
Here’s my problem, Joseph. I have ten kids ready to leave. The rest need more training before they will be ready. Eventually, I hope. As of now, there’s you, Carl, Otto, a couple of others.
JOSEPH
Esther?
BONDY
She’s ready. She doesn’t have a place to go, yet.
JOSEPH
I, she, wants her to go with me.
BONDY
Where to?
JOSEPH
Anywhere, Bo. Anywhere.
BONDY
And that’s the problem. Ready to, but no place to. As yet.
JOSEPH
What will happen to you when we’re all out of here?
BONDY
Hand me the screwdriver.
JOSEPH
(hands him the screwdriver)
Bo, what…
BONDY
I heard. I’m purposely not telling. I will keep in touch. Where ever you wind up, I’ll know. I’ll keep in touch.
DISSOLVE—FLASH FORWARD
The reunioners are talking.
CARL
Not a month went by without my hearing from him. Whether it was phone or letter, Bo was there.
OTTO
Can you imagine the nerve of the guy to go back and start all over again?
DISSOLVE—FLASH BACK
TITLE: HAMBURG, GERMANY—1952
Bondy is teaching a class.
BONDY
So then the issue is that of excessively reaching beyond our human limits in our quest to become Gods.
STUDENT
That has been a problem of mankind since the Greeks.
ANOTHER STUDENT
It seems to me, history has clearly demonstrated how disastrous this excessive reaching can be.
BONDY
Good. So then, when studying the social patterns of Man…
DISSOLVE—FLASH FORWARD
EXT. COUNTRYSIDE—DAY
We hear Joseph and Otto as they speak over the following: Joseph is in a car driven by his daughter, Lily. They are driving though the outskirts of an industrial town. Lily stops the car and asks directions of a passerby who shakes his head, indicating he doesn’t know. The second attempt produces an arm waving set of directions. The car makes a turn and heads into farmland.
JOSEPH (OS)
You know I went back.
OTTO (OS)
Back? To Gross-Breesen?
JOSEPH (OS)
To Gross-Breesen. Yes. I went back. Three years ago.
OTTO (OS)
INT. CAR
JOSEPH (OS)
I wanted to make sure I remembered.
OTTO (OS)
You want to remember, I want to forget. (beat) So?
Lily is driving, Joseph along side. They drive for a while in silence.
JOSEPH
Are you sure this is the right road?
LILY
That’s what the man said. What do you think?
JOSEPH
It’s been nearly 60 years, Lily. I think…wait…turn here. Those woods…
We see a brief flash of previous scene of Joseph walking in the woods with Esther as teenagers.
JOSEPH (CONT’D)
Yes, the house should be over this…
The mansion comes into view.
LILY
Is that it?
JOSEPH
It must be. (beat) Yes. I recognize the…yes. That’s it. Of course.
The car pulls up in front of the old mansion. Joseph and Lily sit and stare at the house, which is evidently abandoned.
LILY
We came a long way for you not to get out, Dad.
Joseph does not answer, but continues to sit staring at the house.
JOSEPH
I was here for nearly two years.
LILY
A long time ago.
JOSEPH
No, not really.
Joseph gets out of the car and walks around the grounds. As he stares out into the surrounding fields, we see a brief flash-back of the campers working the farm, hear their VOICES. We hear a brief sound of TRUCKS. Joseph looks frightened, turns rapidly to look, but sees nothing. Dust from the road is raised, but only a single car passes.
LILY
Dad, are you okay?
JOSEPH
Yes, it was…nothing, Lily. I’m okay.
Joseph walks to the house, pauses, then enters. We HEAR a brief snatch of a PIANO, then silence. As he walks through the rooms we see additional brief glimpses of previous scenes, a series of ghostly reminders of Joseph’s previous life in the mansion. He stands at a window, looks out, and watches as Bondy once again introduces him to Esther.
LILY
Dad?
JOSEPH
(pointing)
Come here. Do you see that tree?
LILY
Yes.
JOSEPH
It was under that tree that I met your mother.
LILY
That’s where it all began?
JOSEPH
That’s where you began. (waving his arm around) I don’t know where all this began, but I know where it should end. (points to his head) It should have ended, but it never did, Lily. It never, ever did.
Joseph quietly begins to weep and is comforted by Lily.
DISSOLVE—FLASH FORWARD
INT. LIVING ROOM
Reunioners talking.
OTTO
Joseph, I never figured you for a sentimental old man.
JOSEPH
Not so old.
OTTO
Old enough to know better. Me, I could never get into nostalgia.
JOSEPH
Too sentimental?
OTTO
Too painful. (beat) Now. It so happens Greta and me, we brought a few thousand pictures of our grandchildren.
GRETA
Not a few thousand. Five hundred tops.
MARLENE
Carl, go get our pictures. You want to see pictures, we’ll show you pictures.
JOSEPH
Lily, get the albums.
The reunioners all begin to scurry around, opening valises, photo albums, laughing, pointing as we pull back and come to…
FADE OUT
***
For all installments from “Gross-Breesen,” click here.
Previous installments:
Henry Meyerson’s full-length and one-act plays have been published by Samuel French, Inc and have been internationally produced. His plays The Activist and Jump Jim Crow earned grants from The New Jersey Council on the Arts. Many of his short stories have been published through the years. Meyerson has a Phd in Clinical Psychology and an MFA in Playwrighting. Synopses of his full-length plays and screenplays can be found at his website.
