Der kleine Löwe und die Großen oder Die Patriarchen und die Diplomatie

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From all German stations,

including those of

the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia,

the General Government,

the Brussels Two

and Luxemburg stations,

and the Paris station.

In the Night Concerts series,

the Deutsche Rundfunk presents

the Seventh Symphony

by Ludwig van Beethoven,

conducted by Wilhelm Furtwngler.

Warsaw, early August 1944

DIPLOMACY:

Europe was consumed by war.

We were all going to die.

After the Landings,

the Allies marched on Paris.

The Germans planned to destroy,

to raze everything.

Especially Paris.

Nothing was to be left standing.

The Fhrer's orders.

Paris,

the night of August 24-25, 1944

Here's your coffee.

You haven't slept all night again.

Morning, Maryse.

Tell Mayer to bring me

my uniform and boots, please.

But it's 4 a.m.

Do as I ask.

Morning, sir.

Morning, Mayer.

General,

you're standing against the light.

Not even a child would miss you.

Children are asleep at this time.

Come inside.

Please.

What's that, Mayer?

Looks like a man

taking his dog for a walk.

Such arrogance!

The Parisians think we're finished.

Mayer, pills!

Quickly!

- Should I call Dr. Fischer?

- No.

Take long, deep breaths, sir.

Are you ready?

Yes, sir.

Alfred has the car ready.

But, General...

It's not a favor I'm asking you,

it's an order.

Take that letter to my wife.

Tell her

I was only doing my duty.

Chocolates. For the children.

General, your telegrams.

Okay, fine.

The enemy broke through

our defenses last night.

Reinforcements?

That's fine, thank you very much.

Mr. Lanvin?

This way, please.

Why that way?

The General's orders.

They're near Soissons, 3 hours away.

The roads are minefields.

They'll be here at noon,

if there's no more sabotage.

The enemy's only 2 hours away.

Gentlemen...

If Paris falls, all of France falls.

And the Americans march on Germany.

There's no other choice left to me.

The explosion will be heard in Berlin.

And 50 years from now, too, I bet.

Well, sir?

What are you going to do?

My duty.

You can rely on me.

I know.

I have faith in you.

Thank you, Mayer.

But as the French say,

you only die once,

but you stay dead a long time.

Don't delay, get out of the city.

Rest assured.

I'll be in Baden-Baden tonight.

Drop by Caf Karl.

Eat a pretzel for me.

Alfred!

For the General's wife.

Have a good trip.

What is it?

- You must leave.

- I know. Just a moment.

It's pointless. The fun is over.

I can't go out without my eyes.

Mr. Lanvin.

Good morning.

Major Ebernach

and the French engineer are here.

Have them wait a moment.

The General's orders are to dig in

in Paris.

We'll give the enemy hell.

We'll fight street by street

to the last bullet.

That way, we'll hold them up a while.

They won't be in Germany anytime soon.

- I'll take that.

- Fine.

What took 40 minutes in Kowel

will take longer in Paris,

but afterwards

there won't be a stone left standing.

Sorry for making you use

the backstairs.

I'd rather not alarm the staff

or our troops.

Suits me.

I won't boast about this.

Your expertise

will be very useful to us.

You know, I regret...

Spare me your qualms.

I have my own.

Of course,

he didn't help us voluntarily.

But, as he's the expert,

I suggest he explains personally.

Lanvin, you have

the General's attention.

All right, then.

The bridges...

33 of them, in all.

And a dozen more on the outskirts.

All rigged with explosives.

Except the Pont Neuf, right here.

It's the oldest.

It will allow you

to cross between both banks

and to use the island

as a stronghold.

Blowing up the bridges

will cause the Seine to burst its banks,

like in the flood of 1910.

Rubble will dam the river.

All of south-eastern Paris

will soon be under water.

Le Marais, first.

Then, the flooding

will spread to Nation and Bastille.

Probably 3-4 meters deep in places.

That means no electricity,

no sewerage, nothing.

Buildings and streets will collapse.

We don't need explosives in this area.

The Seine will do the job for us.

Go on, Mr. Lanvin.

Five minutes after the bridges,

Notre-Dame cathedral...

the Louvre...

and the Opera

will in turn explode.

Taking the city center with them.

Nothing will be left.

And the stations?

Of course, the stations...

Debris from Orsay Station

will help block the Seine.

Likewise, the destruction

of the other stations,

Austerlitz, Lyon,

Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est

and St. Lazare,

will paralyze the right bank.

If I'd been told

as an Architecture student

that one day I'd blow up Paris...

Humanity is resilient, Ebernach.

Outside Sevastopol,

to prepare your attack,

I had no hesitation

in blowing up the old fort.

Ebernach, in Sevastopol,

I had to carry out

the hardest order of my career,

the liquidation

of the Jewish population.

I obeyed that order

and accepted all the consequences.

I know.

We dug the mass graves.

And we filled them in.

Today, it's Paris!

Three tons of cheddite

around Place de la Concorde.

Four tons in parliament

and the basement of Les Invalides.

And 4 submarine torpedoes

on each leg of the Eiffel Tower.

The Arc de Triomphe

will blow with Place de La Concorde

to clear a line of fire

along the Champs-Elyses.

That will take 20 minutes.

And then, believe me,

Paris will be unrecognizable.

Good work.

The Parisians will remember you.

If there are any left.

What's your estimation of casualties?

It's hard to escape from hell.

The current population's

around 1.5 million.

That's not too bad.

Tell your men to be ready.

They are.

One of my platoons

is checking the time-switches.

It'll take 15-20 minutes.

Then the platoon leader will call you.

His name?

1st Lieutenant Hegger.

Where is he?

I'd rather tell you that in private.

Bressensdorf...

Keep an eye on Mr. Lanvin.

Don't let him go anywhere.

Yes, sir.

Where is he?

At the parliament building,

the Assemble nationale.

General, my task is complete.

I request permission

to leave Paris with my unit.

What?

You want to go?

With your permission.

1st Lieutenant Hegger

will lead the operation.

I've known him since Ukraine.

I fully vouch for him.

We are needed elsewhere.

Immediately after France fell,

the Fhrer visited Paris,

to show his architect, Speer,

the city he admired most,

especially the Opera,

his favorite monument.

They went around it twice.

So why destroy it?

Hitler wanted Berlin

to be as beautiful as Paris,

and bigger.

Now, four years later,

Berlin is in ruins,

while Paris

is as glorious as ever. See?

It's unbearable for him.

Even if it serves no strategic purpose,

Paris must be flattened,

especially the Opera.

Choltitz.

Berlin?

I'll hold.

I was cut off.

Put me through to Berlin, will you?

Morning, General.

Consul?

I'm not interrupting, I hope.

I didn't hear you come in.

To be honest, I didn't knock.

May I?

The stairs are pretty steep.

I thought you'd left Paris.

How did you get in here?

Your hotel

is admirably located

in the heart of the capital but...

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