Der kleine Löwe und die Großen oder Die Patriarchen und die Diplomatie Page #4

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I was wrong about you, General.

And about myself.

I was sure I could dissuade you

from doing something so crazy but...

I clearly overestimated my capabilities.

So, we'll never see that dome again.

No more Louvre,

no more Place de la Concorde.

No more children playing in the parks.

No more towers of Notre-Dame.

Everything must go. Forever.

And you have no remorse?

No.

What kind of man are you?

All for what?

You know destroying Paris is pointless.

It's gratuitous. Purely gratuitous.

Germany has lost the war.

You've lost too.

What are you talking about now?

Don't pretend otherwise.

You fought in Russia, Italy, Normandy...

You're looking down the barrel.

On all fronts.

Sooner or later, the Allies

will reach Germany and then what?

The Red Army is in Poland,

headed for Romania and Hungary.

You'll be surrounded

and it will be all over.

Look out there,

look at the city,

and tell me if it's worth it.

It's out of the question.

You'd rather not look

reality in the eye?

Whose reality? Yours or mine?

The reality

that destroying Paris is absurd.

Yours then.

Not mine alone.

The world is watching you.

In the end, you,

General Dietrich von Choltitz,

will be held responsible.

All for what?

To delay the Allied attack on Germany

for a few weeks?

It makes no sense.

I understand that you have your orders

and must obey them.

But surely, at some point,

obedience ceases to be a duty.

In your whole career,

have you never had a doubt or even...

a hesitation

over the legality of an order?

Even if that were the case,

I have no right to incite uncertainty

among my men

through my own insubordination.

A general at the front

must be a model for his troops.

Hans...

Wire this to HQ.

What about my call to Berlin?

The blast should blow the bridge away,

like a cyclone.

As it's steel,

we need to add 30 kg of explosives.

Right there and there,

where they intersect, okay?

- Is the damage fixed?

- Changed and checked.

Line, please!

Communications still down.

Sh*t!

I'll try from the roof.

You remind me of Abraham.

Who?

Abraham, in the bible.

When God orders him to kill his son,

Abraham obeys.

He sharpens his knife,

builds an altar,

raises his arm to stab Isaac,

never expecting

God to intervene at the last.

How can one justify doing that?

By claiming he was doing God's will

or feared His wrath?

But that misses the point, which is,

what child

would want a father like that?

If not for its beauty or people,

save Paris for you, your soldiers

and Germany!

For Germany?

Believe me,

if you destroy Paris,

it will be a disaster for Germany.

The repercussions of such a crime

go beyond the war.

Germany will be made an outcast.

Your children

and those of the survivors

will wear the swastika in their flesh.

Just as others

currently wear yellow stars.

You certainly are a fine talker.

Abraham...

A Jew.

It's an interesting analogy.

I no longer believe in God,

but I remember the bible well.

In fact, you're asking me

to betray the oath I took

to serve my country.

You're asking me

to betray my whole upbringing.

My father was a soldier.

My grandfather was also a soldier.

My ancestors fought Napoleon

in his Russian campaign.

And I have been in two wars.

Let me finish.

I saw everything in those wars.

The intoxication of victory

and the humiliation of defeat.

I, too, want this one to end,

the sooner the better.

But I will never capitulate.

If Hitler told you

to kill your little boy,

you wouldn't hesitate?

Like Abraham, 4,000 years ago?

You're becoming insolent.

You hardly leave me any choice.

- We're here to see the General.

- Follow me.

We bring a message

from Heinrich Himmler.

Very well. I'll inform the General.

Where's the...

Kitchen? Eat?

Nothing left, can't help you.

Show us anyway.

Your boys, all gone.

Show me!

What's the plonk?

It's the last bottle we have. Cider.

Open it up!

It's from Normandy.

Get it open, I said!

Give it here.

Gentlemen.

We've come from Berlin.

Crossed through the lines.

An absolute miracle!

On an important mission

from Himmler.

Concerning?

The destruction of Paris.

You must assign to us

a reconnaissance unit.

That's the Louvre, is it?

Across the street?

Himmler wants a few artworks

for safekeeping.

You came all this way from Berlin?

Where'd you get the fuel?

What do you care?

We commandeered it.

From fighting units?

From chickens fleeing the enemy.

Men you allowed

to leave the city,

cowards incapable of defending it.

The Bayeux Tapestry,

some paintings by Rubens,

two Caravaggios,

rolled up, without frames,

so they fit in the trunk.

And the Mona Lisa?

Himmler only wants those.

Gentlemen,

I think you have arrived too late.

You refuse to obey Himmler.

Stpnagel, your predecessor,

will be hanged today in Berlin,

from a meat hook.

His wife and children

will pay for his crimes also.

I bet Paris is full of conspirators

like him.

The blue blood club.

- Any news from Hegger?

- No, sir.

It must be working now.

And get those guys off my back.

Lieutenant...

Thank you.

Gentlemen,

Paris is one huge time-bomb.

In a few minutes, it will explode.

All the bridges, Notre-Dame,

Invalides, the Eiffel Tower...

My wife wanted a postcard of it.

That's all that will be left.

May I?

Of course.

Do you like it in Paris?

It's better than Russia.

Where were you?

In the Kharkov cauldron

with General von Choltitz.

Do you know what Sippenhaft is?

What?

Sippenhaft.

Do you know what it is?

No.

It's a law, decreed

just before I arrived in Paris.

I'm overjoyed.

Shall I tell you

what the law says?

Since two weeks ago,

all German officers' families

are considered hostages.

They answer for our actions.

If Paris doesn't blow up,

my wife and children will be arrested,

incarcerated and executed.

You find it hard to believe?

Here...

The decree

signed in person by Adolf Hitler.

Germany is scared, Consul.

To fight back, it resorts

to the worst medieval practices.

Blind, unconditional obedience.

Enter!

Gentlemen...

The owner's private stock,

from the cellar.

Very good.

Would you care for a bite to eat?

Or a cigarette?

We also have a camembert.

Thank you.

Miss...

Gentlemen.

I have destroyed

a dozen towns in this war,

mostly out of strategic objectives.

I did so

with absolutely no qualms,

because it was necessary.

I am aware that the destruction of Paris

won't win us the war,

but I love my children.

My surrender sentences them to death

and I doubt God will intervene

to save them.

By obeying orders,

I save their lives.

Were I to disobey,

what child

would want a father like me?

Allow me to return the question.

What would you do in my shoes?

Pardon me?

What would you do in my shoes?

In your shoes?

- Well...

- Go ahead.

Hundreds of thousands of lives

are at stake,

including women and children.

It's a simple question.

What would you do in my shoes?

You'd sacrifice

your wife and loved ones

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