Schindler's List Page #22

Polish workers, under Hujar's supervision, throwing down the

"surplus" bags of flour and rice -- the supplies for the

phantom 10,000 prisoners.

STERN (V.O.)

-- you'd think he'd have the common

sense to see what's coming. No, he

steals with complete impunity.

CUT BACK TO:

BARRACKS - CONTINUED - NIGHT

They can see Goeth's villa up on the hill; figures moving

around behind the windows. There's another party going on up

there. Down here, as he nurses a drink from his flask,

Schindler thinks about what Stern has told him, and eventually

shrugs, Fine, f*** him.

SCHINDLER:

So you'll be rid of him.

But Stern slowly shakes his head 'no.'

STERN:

If Plaszow is closed, they'll have

to send us somewhere else. Where --

who knows? Gross-Rosen maybe. Maybe

Auschwitz.

There's the irony -- bad as it is, evil as Goeth is, it could

get worse. Schindler understands.

SCHINDLER:

I'll talk to him.

STERN:

I think it's too late.

SCHINDLER:

Well, I'll talk to somebody. I'll

take care of it.

He hands over to Stern some negotiable items and leaves.

INT. NIGHTCLUB - CRACOW - NIGHT

Schindler and Senior SS Officers Toffel and Scherner share a

table in same smoke-filled nightclub they met in.

SCHINDLER:

What's he done that's so bad -- take

money? That's a crime? Come on, what

are we here for, to fight a war?

We're here to make money, all of us.

TOFFEL:

There's taking money and there's

taking money, you know that. He's

taking money.

SCHERNER:

The place produces nothing. I

shouldn't say that -- nothing it

produces reaches the Army. That's

not all right.

SCHINDLER:

So I'll talk to him about it.

SCHERNER:

He's a friend of yours, you want to

help him out. Tell me this, though --

has he ever once shown you his

appreciation? I've yet to see it.

Never a courtesy. Never a thank you

note. He forgets my wife at Christmas

time --

SCHINDLER:

He's got no style, we all know that.

So, we should hang him for it?

TOFFEL:

He's stealing from you, Oskar.

SCHINDLER:

Of course he's stealing from me,

we're in business together. What is

this? I'm sitting here, suddenly

everybody's talking like this is

something bad. We take from each

other, we take from the Army,

everybody uses everybody, it works

out, everybody's happy.

SCHERNER:

Not like him.

Schindler glances away to the floor show, nods to himself.

Glancing back again, he considers the SS men with great

sobriety.

SCHINDLER:

Yeah, well, in some eyes it doesn't

matter the amount we steal, it's

that we do it. Each of us sitting at

this table.

His thinly veiled threat of exposure escapes neither SS man.

The air seems thicker suddenly.

SCHERNER:

He doesn't deserve your loyalty.

More important, he's not worth you

making threats against us.

SCHINDLER:

Did I threaten anybody here? I stated

a simple fact.

The threat still stands, despite Schindler's assurance

otherwise, and they all know it. So does Scherner's threat

back to him, and they all know that, too. But Schindler just

grins, and, glancing away --

SCHINDLER:

Come on, let's watch the girls.

INT. D.E.F. FACTORY - DAY

In addition to the mid-day soup and break, there are bowls

of fruit on the long work tables. At one of them, several

workers are debating which of them will go upstairs to thank

Schindler.

INT. UPSTAIRS OFFICES, D.E.F. - SAME TIME - DAY

In honor of Schindler's birthday, Goeth has brought over

Stern and the Rosners -- the musicians, at the moment,

accompanying the best baritone in the Ukrainian garrison.

Surrounded by his friends and lovers, Schindler cuts a cake.

He receives congratulations from the many SS men present and

the embraces, in turn, of Ingrid and Klonowska and Goeth.

From Stern he gets a handshake.

A Jewish girl from the shop floor is admitted and timidly

approaches the drunken group around Schindler. The SS men

consider her as a curiosity; Schindler, as he would any

beautiful girl. The music breaks and out of the silence comes

a small nervous voice:

FACTORY GIRL:

...On behalf of the workers... sir...

I wish you a happy birthday...

She hesitates. She's surrounded by SS uniforms and swastikas

and holstered guns. Schindler smiles; this is a beautiful

girl.

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