I call him Rolf. That's probably his name too.
Shoot.
Here.
You want to publish this?
In the West. With your help. Will you help me?
Have you told Christa about this?
No.
Good, I'll help you
...under the condition you continue to keep it a secret.
What?
Georg, it's for her protection.
This is something for "der Spiegel" magazine.
I'm good friends with one of the directors, Gregor Hessenstein. You know him?
- Not personally. - You need to meet him.
But publishing under your name is out of the question.
Unless an intensive 48 hour interrogation sounds appealing.
Man, it's cold.
So, to my place after all?
There are no Stasis watching me.
May I remind you, I'm a personal friend of Margot Honecker and a National Prize winner.
2nd class winner.
I'm telling you guys, my place's clean.
Well, if we could somehow be sure...
I had an idea how we could check your apartment.
You guys know my uncle Frank visits every Saturday from West Berlin with his slick, gold Mercedes.
For Herr Hauser, this seems pretty risky.
Yeah, Georg's right.
Just dismantling the back seat and hiding your nephew underneath.
I don't know, I just don't know.
Believe me fellas, they won't look under there.
Quick glance under the axle, knock on the exhaust pipe and that's it, I'm over, Paul too.
They certainly aren't the brightest on the border. You guys have that all wrong.
- Which border crossing are you taking? - Heinrich-Heine Street.
Always Heinrich-Heine Street.
The guys know me there, me and my gold Benz. I'm good friends with the border patrol.
Believe me, I'll call in 2 hours with a bottle of Schultheiss in hand
...and give you guys the good message: Paul is over.
What's up with Paul's Stasi-guy?
Rolf, Rolfy... He thinks Pauly's at home.
Alright, I gotta go.
Otherwise the boy's gonna suffocate in the car. Then he'd really be in trouble, wouldn't he?
Want another beer?
Checkpoint Heinrich-Heine Street.
Subscriber?
Whatever.
Just this once, friend.
- Dreyman. - Ok, as promised, "Paul is over".
No checks? Nothing?
Naw, nothing out of the ordinary. Those guys aren't that bad.
- So, he's over. - Thank you for doing this for us.
Don't mention it. It wasn't all that dangerous.
Yeah, I guess not.
- Yeah good, then thank you. See ya. - Later.
What do we say, if someone asks what we're doing together?
We'll say...
We'll say you're helping me write a play.
For the 40th anniversary of the GDR.
Yeah.
That's sort of right.
Who would've thought our State's security is so inapt.
Who'd of thought such idiots even exist!
Just wait.
"7:32pm: No further noteworthy incidents."
Hi captain. Listen to this for a sec.
For those in the West, we know why the rate was the highest in '67.
But in 1977, you need to explain that, clarify the social conditions.
It ought to still be a literary piece, not a journalistic inflammatory pamphlet.
The article is great the way it is.
I just want to make sure that it'll be properly understood on our end.
It's going to create a stir either way.
- That's Hauser. - Of course that's Hauser.
Then he's not in the Wes...
They're writing a play together.
For the 40th anniversary.
Well, it doesn't sound like a play to me.
What does it sound like to you?
I dunno, but not a play.
You think quite a bit, 1st sergeant Leier.
Are you an intellectual?
Me? No. That's not me.
Then don't act like one.
I chose you for this assignment for your technical skills, not for asking questions.
Let your superiors do the thinking.
Sorry captain, I'll just...uh...
Have a good day, uh great day. Good work. I mean...Good luck with the work.
I can probably rewrite this.
I'll send you then what we have on the subjects.
Two weeks. Can you handle that?
Then I can possibly get it into the first March issue, maybe even the cover.
That's Christa.
Georg?
Christa, this is Gregor Hessenstein.
- Christa Sieland. - Yes, I know.
So what're you guys conspiring to do?
Hauser and I wanted to write a play together for the Republic's 40th anniversary.
Written by 2 people?
"Der Spiegel" might do a report on it. Maybe.
- And who's playing the main lead? - We actually wanted to ask you that.
Christa, which role would you rather have, Lenin or his dear old mother?
You can choose.
Well I can see I'm not wanted here. I'm gonna take a nap.
I commend your caution.
The less people that know about this project, the better. The Stasi aren't people you want to trifle with.
With that in mind, I brought you something.
I would've preferred the torte.
-I already have a typewriter. - One that's been documented by the Stasi.
If this text is written with your typewriter and intercepted at the border,
...then you'll be thrown into Hohenschoenhausen the next day.
And that wouldn't be too swell. Paul can attest that, huh?
Unfortunately all I have in this mini format is red.
That bother you? Writing the article in red?
Shouldn't be a problem.
You have a place to hide the typewriter after using it?
- I'm sure I'll come up with something. - Don't treat this lightly.
I don't want the next article to be: "Where's Georg Dreyman gone to?".
No one other than us knows this typewriter even exists.
Is the apartment really secure?
Yeah.
This apartment is the last place in the GDR, where I can say what I want unpunished.
Good. Then let's drink to that.
The bottle is real.
Cheers to you, for showing all of Germany the true face of the GDR.
Cheers! This is better than the Russian stuff.
Here's to a great success.
I need to see Comrade Grubitz. It's urgent.
I'm sorry, but the earliest available time is tomorrow at 2:30...
If our informant's exposed, then we'll get rid of the congregation, close the whole church.
It's as simple as that.
He ought to call the Pope and complain to him.
Now that's enough. I've had enough of this nonsense.
Wiesler, glad you're here.
Gotta show you something.
"Terms of Imprisonment for Political/Ideological Dissidents of the Art Scene, according to Personality Profiles"
Pretty academic, huh?
Check this out.
Disseration advised by Professor Anton Grubitz. How do ya like that?
I gave them a B. They shouldn't think that earning their doctorate is easy with me,
...but this is really great work.
Did you know for example there are only 5 kinds of artists?
For example, Dreyman. He's type 4: Hysterical Anthropocentric.
Can't be alone, always has to talk, have friends around.
You wouldn't want to put someone like this on trial. He'd flourish there.
Everything has to be done by the book, outside the public eye. We're done with him quicker that way.
Complete isolation without telling him how long he'll be there.
No contact with anyone, not even with the guards.
Best way to deal with him: no persecution, maltreatment or scandals.
Nothing he could write about later.
After 10 months, we let him go. To his surprise.
Doesn't give us any more trouble.
You know what the best part is?
Most of these Type 4s we dealt with don't write any more,
...or paint, or whatever it is artists do.
And that's without us pressuring them. It's just...
...so to speak
...their fate.
What did you want? Any developments from Dreyman?
I wanted to talk to you about that.
I think it's time...
Time for what?
...that we make the operation smaller.
I don't think day and night shifts are required for such an uncertain case.
Uncertain, huh?
So, you don't think we'll find anything for the Minister?
Maybe if the operation were smaller and more mobile,
...if we could find out some things about "Lazlo" outside of his apartment.
Should I give Udo the case?
I'd rather take it myself.
Why?
Might still find something.
I need to be able to...
...come and go as I please during the day, at night.
Maybe he's doing something outside his apartment.
Something about this bothers me.
You're not telling me something.
Fine, I'll pull Udo out.
I could actually use him in this church case.
File the request with me in writing,
...and give "lack of suspicious facts" as your reasoning.
And Wiesler?
A piece of advice:
We're not in school anymore. With projects, it's not about grades here,
...but success.
...on Hans Beimler St. counts everything, knows everything:
how many shoes I buy per year: 2.3,
...how many books I read in a year: 3.2,
...and how many students graduate every year with an 4.0 GPA: 6,347...
"5:00pm: 'Lazlo' read the first act of the anniversary play to Hauser and Wallner."
"Dentist office"
- We're not writing a play, Christa. - You don't have to tell me.
- But I want to. It's a piece about... - You don't have to.
Maybe I'm as undependable as your friends say.
I'm on your side.
No matter what.
Strain in the German/German relationship.
"Der Spiegel" published a story today from an unnamed East German writer about suicide in the GDR.
It was prompted by a number of suicides of East-Berlin artists,
...the latest, the theater director Albert Jerska.
Jerska took his life on Jan. 5th of this year after a 7-year career ban.
Since 1977, the GDR has stopped publishing its number of suicide cases.
In that year, Hungary is the only European country with a higher number.
Yes General, we have...
Yes, we have...
General, we have an informant at "der Spiegel" who's obtained a copy of the original article.
- Obtained?! Way to control things. Who wrote that shit?
He didn't know who the author was either. Because of the typewriter's font, we can...
- You can't do anything. Give me names.
General, I will as soon as I find something.
- I hope so. Otherwise, I'll kill you myself.
Andrea, where's the writing expert?
In conclusion, the typewriter can only be a domestic portable typewriter.
More than likely, it is a Colibri.
If the original had been in black, I could say for sure.
- And who has a typewriter like that? - It's hardly used in our Republic.
What's that mean? What's Hauser use, for example?
The journalist Paul uses the Valentino model.
- But this model has... - Yeah, yeah. And Wallner?
Uses a domestic Optimal Elite.
- Georg Dreyman? - He writes the first draft by hand
...and the final draft on a Wanderer Torpedo. He's never written on anything else.
How big would this Colibri typewriter be?
It's one of the smallest produced.
19.5 x 9 x 19.5 cm
So, not hard to smuggle in as a book?
Thank you. You can go.
Goodbye, comrade.
GDR: The Secret Suicide Statistics
Andrea, put me through to Captain Wiesler.
"4:00pm: The group is exhausted from lots of writing."
- Yes? - Wiesler, have you heard about this suicide article?
In "der Spiegel", yeah.
From where?
Hauser called Dreyman and told him about it.
- Wiesler, this is extremely important for my career and your's:
Did he mention anything suspicious? Or do you have any ideas?
I don't believe he mentioned anything. No he didn't.
On the 27th, a "Spiegel" editor using a fake name crossed the border at Checkpoint Bornholmer St.
...and stayed here for 4 hours, Gregor Hessenstein.
The 6th division followed him to Prenzlauer Berg, then lost him.
Did he have any contact with Dreyman?
- Wouldn't I have reported that? - Yeah, of course.
This text has "Poet" written all over it. I'd be surprised if I'm wrong.
Well, keep your ears open.
Shit.
Get in.
If an employee deceives you, they're severely punished?
Yes, yes they are.
A woman too? Or no?
Of course.
Shouldn't someone who serves a bigger man cooperate?
You could say that.
Or maybe you should.
This is where Christa-Maria Sieland gets her illegal antipsychotic drugs.
Thought you ought to know, it's in your division.
Whether you break her neck or not, I'll leave that up to you.
Either way, I don't ever want to see her on a German stage again.
Now get out of here.
Shut the door!
Frau Sieland, come with us to clear up this issue.
Come on.
Well...
Comrade Sieland, looks like the end of your career.
That's too bad. You were good.
Quite good.
A little too short, wasn't it?
Have a seat.
So what's a non-working actress do?
Please.
Isn't there anything I could do for you?
- For the State Security? - It's a little too late for that.
I know almost all our artists. I could find out a lot for you.
I believe you but that won't help you.
Maybe there's something else I could do for you
...something that wouldn't be unpleasant for either of us.
Unfortunately you've... how should I put this?
Made a powerful man your enemy.
That's why I'm more restricted than usual.
Is there anything that can save me?
I'm sorry. No.
There is one thing...
...since you hang around a lot of writers and artists.
You don't happen to know anything about an article that was in last week's "Spiegel"?
An article about suicide?
State Security. Open the door.
Open up!
The light in the study is on.
Break the door down before he destroys the evidence.
Crowbar.
I don't think that's necessary.
- What's wrong comrades? - We have orders to search your apartment.
Here's the warrant.
- What're you looking for? - Security matter.
Bols and Muehler: bedroom, corridors Reske: kitchen, bathroom, hallways.
Heiser and Thomas: living room, study. Go.
What did you burn?
Bad texts.
This is Western literature, no?
That book was a present from Margot Honecker.
- What's the situation? - Everything's going to plan.
Nothing. Just some Western books and newspapers.
- No sign of the target. - Were you thorough?
Yes sir. How should we proceed?
- Lieut. Colonel? - Get your men out.
Here is the address of the Ministry. If something's been damaged, you can request compensation.
I'm sure everything's fine.
Yes?
Wiesler, I'll be expecting you at Hohenschoenhausen tomorrow at nine.
Well, I'll say what we're all thinking. It was Christa-Maria.
The Stasi nabbed her, she ratted you out.
It wasn't her.
How do you know?
You said yourself, she wasn't with you last night.
She knows the hiding place.
Yeah, she knows.
If you're right, and the search does trace back to her,
...then she's our guardian angel.
Meeting Lieut. Colonel Grubitz.
Captain Wiesler.
Interrogation room #76
Yeah? Come in.
Sit down.
And?
What was that about?
"What was that about?" You're asking me?!
What do you suspect Dreyman to be?
He's the writer of the "Spiegel" article.
Who says?
Come on.
I dunno how you could've done such sloppy work and missed this,
...but I know you're different than that, particularly as an interrogator.
So I'm giving you one last chance.
Bring me Prisoner 662. Immediately.
Are you still on the right side?
- Yes. - Then don't mess it up this time.
Should I restrain the prisoner?
She's not a prisoner, she's an informant now. You can go.
So you're the officer in charge?
Then take charge of me.
10 hours left.
9.5 actually...
...before Herr Roessing tells the audience, you're unable to be present due to an illness.
And that will be the last time the theater world talks about you.
Is that what you want?
Tell us where the evidence is.
There is no evidence.
There is no typewriter. I made that up.
I hope not.
Then we'll have to keep you here.
Perjury carries with it the penalty of at least 2 years in prison.
Dreyman is going to prison either way.
Your statement took care of that
...along with the evidence we've already found in the apartment.
At least save yourself.
You wouldn't believe how many people are here because of futile heroism.
Think about your audience.
"Think about your audience." He's gotta be joking.
Think about what the State's done for you
...your entire life.
Now you can do something for the State. It would thank you.
Tell me where the typewriter is.
Dreyman will never know.
I'll let you go right now.
We won't go until you are there with him.
You know how to act surprised.
And tonight you'll be back on stage...
...in your element
...in front of your audience.
Tell me where the documents are.
Where are they?
In the apartment.
Under the door threshold, between the living room and hallway.
You can remove it.
You mean here? Mark the correct spot.
You look a bit worn out. Don't forget, you're an informant now.
With that come responsibilities like conspiring, secrecy, but also privileges.
Serhabla.
Call Wiesler for me.
Captain Wiesler has already left, Lieut. Colonel.
I see.
Very good. You're dismissed.
What's a knight do, when he's thrown off his horse?
He gets back on.
Go in and sleep it off.
What happened has nothing to do with your home situation.
No, but with the entire country.
Christa?
Don't come near me. I was at Karschner's and there wasn't any water. I need a shower.
- You left pretty fast. - Well, the "Lazlo" case is still going on.
- They're both in the apartment? - Yeah.
Today's report.
The last report for the "Lazlo" file.
Why didn't you call me?
What?
Why didn't you call me?
I was in the countryside.
Hand the nail brush.
The Stasi were here, they searched the apartment.
Who was here?
State Security, open the door!
Stay here.
Hello Comrade Dreyman. Lieut. Colonel. Grubitz from the State Security.
Just wanted to make sure last night's job was neatly carried out.
The study? We'll go in there.
Look through every book, page by page.
Well what do we have here?
This threshold doesn't look too kosher to me.
Could this be a secret compartment?
Leave her. She's not a suspect.
That actress.
I was too weak. I can never make right what I've done.
Nothing needs to be made right. Understand? Nothing.
I have the typewrit...
Forgive me, forgive me...
Take your men back to headquarters. The mission is over.
Comrade Dreyman, I called the search off. We received bad information
I'm sorry.
Come on.
Don't delude yourself, Wiesler.
Your career is over...
...even if you were smart enough to cover your tracks.
At most you'll be stuck in some cellar hole opening mail until you're retired.
That's in 20 years.
20 years.
That's a long time.
"Gorbatschow voted General Secretary of Central Committee"
4 years and 7 months later
The Wall is open.
The border patrol's opened the gate. The elation is overwhelming.
Thousands are storming through. It's unbelievable
That's right listeners. Nov. 9th, 1989 is a historical turning point...
2 Years Later
Dear child, what's wrong?
Your Arthur no longer lives.
Arthur? Isn't it possible you're wrong this time? I saw him just this morning.
No sisters, believe me. He has fallen.
The faithful men stand around him as you do me,
...because of the high sun, only 7 narrow shadows are cast on his noble, dead body.
The powerful wheel has ground him up. I see it
...and would rather see any other horror.
Why am I not spared from this vision?
Elena, Go home and mourn.
I'll finish your shift.
Too many memories, huh?
Same here. I needed to leave too.
But what about you?
Haven't written since the fall of the Wall.
That's bad.
After all, our country invested in you.
But I basically get you, Dreyman.
What's there to write about in this Federal Republic?
Nothing to believe in any more, to rebel against.
It was nice in our little Republic. People understand that now.
- One thing I have to ask you. - Anything, dear Dreyman. Anything.
Why wasn't I ever bugged?
You monitored everyone. Why not me?
You were completely monitored.
We knew everything about you.
I was completely monitored?
Completely bugged. The whole program.
That's impossible.
When you have a chance, look behind the light switches.
Knew everything...
We even knew that you couldn't really give our little Christa what she needed.
To think, people like you lead my country...
Research Facilty and Memorial Normannen St.
Wait just a moment. Your file is in one or more folders.
I ordered the folder chronologically. Older ones, on top. Newer ones, on bottom
Hat's off to you.
Operational record "Lazlo" opened against Georg Dreyman, codename "Lazlo".
Suspicious evidence given by Minister Bruno Hempf.
"Lazlo" daily receives the "Frankfurter Allgemeine" newspaper from a courier without official permission.
Suggest leaving the courier and "Lazlo" alone, so as not to raise suspicions to surveillance.
"Lazlo" and CMS unwrapped gifts. Afterwards prob. sexual intercourse.
Paul Hauser's uncle visits from West Berlin.
They tell him about the play Hauser and "Lazlo" want to write for the Republic's 40th anniversary.
We're expecting detailed information about the planned anniversary play: content, etc.
Contents of the first act:
Lenin is in constant danger.
Despite increasing pressure from the outside, he sticks by his revolutionary plans.
Lenin is very exhausted.
HGW
HGW XX/7
I, Christa-Maria Sieland
...bind myself by my own free will, to work unofficially with the State Security.
This decision is based on my conviction that I...
Georg Dreyman is the author of the "Spiegel" article, "From someone who's crossed over".
Accomplices are journalist Paul Hauser, Karl Warn...
Based on evidence from Minister Hempf, Christa-Maria Sieland was incarcerated on Mar. 10th for substance abuse
...and brought back to town on March 11th at 1:50 pm,
...having confessed the hiding place of "Lazlo's" documents
...and accepted the duties as an informant, codename "Martha".
1:50 pm?
Then how did she...?
After an unsuccessful search on Mar. 11th and the car accident killing informant "Martha"
...the operational record of "Lazlo" was discontinued.
Sidenote: Promotion suspension for HGW goes into effect today.
Duties transferred to Dept. M.
With that, it is recommended not to entrust him with any further assignments.
10:50 am: Started control post in front of "Lazlo's" apartment
3:10 pm: "Martha" goes straight home from Hohenschoenhausen to him.
Search of the apartment with results report follows.
End of the "Lazlo" file. HGW, 3:15pm.
Who is HGW XX/7?
Stop here.
To Uferland St.
2 Years Later
Georg Dreyman The Sonata of Good Men
Dedicated to HGW XX/7, for my gratitude.
29.80.
Want it gift-wrapped?
No, it's for me.
English subtitles by herrkelm With help from hagbard