The Last Witness Page #3

---

Yes.

You took the box?

How can I trust a thief?

I didn't mean any harm.

You put it in your paper?

I'll do everything I can.

Please sit down.

My name is Ivan Krivozertsev.

My home is near Smolensk.

Small town.

Nove Biatoki.

I was there

when they first come.

People say

they were Finns.

But my friend Kisselev...

he saw their four-cornered hats.

They were all Polish.

Every day, they put them in

chornly voron.

Prison vans.

Move to forest.

In forest, Bolsheviks tie

their hands behind backs.

A rope

round the neck...

so you strangle if you move.

They put them...

K zemie.

To ground.

And they put...

guns...

to back of the neck.

One after another...

bodies fall into the pit...

face to ground.

And guns loaded

for the next group.

Over and over again...

until job finish.

When Germans come,

they have Polyaki too.

Prisoners.

Making roads good for tanks.

First,

Germans did not look.

Only Polyaki look.

Then I tell

what I saw...

and we begin to dig.

Book and letters

I took from dead man.

Young man.

Where was this?

Where did it happen?

In forest, at Katyn.

How many?

To date, over 4,000 bodies.

But there are three times that

still missing.

Mostly officers, reservists,

lawyers, teachers... priests.

Stalin knew these people would

never capitulate to Soviet rule.

And Poles know all about being

occupied by foreign powers,

and these were

the best of my country.

They would fight for their freedom

with everything they had.

Stalin murdered them so Poland

could never again

rise from the ashes.

And the British?

They knew about this?

Of course they did.

The British and Americans just

wanted the whole affair to go away.

They needed the Red Army

to keep fighting the Germans.

They feared Stalin

would make peace with Hitler.

Now, Stalin has half of Europe under

his boot, and they can do nothing.

And my country is occupied.

And no criticism

of Stalin is tolerated.

My people

are good people.

You must know what happened.

You must know murderer.

We need the evidence.

The diary, the letters.

Proof the murders were

committed in 1940 by the Soviets.

And not by the Nazis in 1941,

as everyone believes.

You did bring the box?

It was stolen from my room.

Please!

Yes?

What, now?

Why?

Fine, I'll be five minutes.

What the bloody hell are you playing at?

It's the middle of the night.

- It's important.

- It better had be.

I need to know about

a place called Katyn.

Why?

Polish soldiers were

taken there in 1940.

I need to know

what happened to them.

Has Pietrowski

put you up to this?

No.

Then look it up in the papers.

I need to see

the official papers.

And I can't help you,

you know that.

In my position, I can't be seen

fraternizing with journalists,

even second-rate

provincial ones.

John, please.

This could explain

the suicides.

Over 4,000 Polish soldiers

were murdered.

- Stand down.

- Sir.

It was the Germans,

the Nazis, end of story.

- You know about this.

- That's the official line.

Yeah, but you know

that's not true.

I believe what I'm told

to believe.

So you're going to bury your head

and let them get away with it?

It's my job. Now, go home.

You went to war to free people

from oppression,

so that they had the right

to choose their own destiny.

And you're going to stand there

and do nothing?

Go home, Stephen.

Stop trying to be something

you're not.

I did that.

You went to war and I stayed.

I did what I was told.

But for the first time,

I have something I believe in.

Don't be such a child.

The war is over.

Do you really want to start

another one

just to appease your own sense

of inadequacy?

You didn't

have to serve, be grateful.

No.

You're right.

I couldn't serve...

because of this.

Philip Edwards.

Disillusioned socialist-type

I met at Cambridge.

Now works in the archive

at the Foreign Office.

If it's in there...

he'll know where.

This is my transport docket.

And, er... this should

get you through the gate.

You can improvise. Now get out.

Oh, and, Stephen,

the accident.

It was my fault and I know you

could have lost your eyesight.

I am sorry.

Did you see him?

- Yeah.

- Where is he?

There's only one farm

in the area that grows these.

I'm going to London.

I need you to hold on

to those translations.

Don't go.

- I have to.

- Stephen...

You've let this get

out of proportion.

In spite of everything

that happened...

you must realize

I do still care about you.

Then... please

just leave him alone.

It's your Stephen that is

making life difficult for you.

He dragged you into all this,

not me.

Just... Just tell me

what he's up to.

He knows where he is,

doesn't he?

You must understand, this isn't

about you and Underwood anymore.

You're involving yourself

in something very sensitive

and potentially very damaging.

Is Stephen in danger?

If he's told you where

they're hiding the Russian,

you have to tell me, now.

Look...

you tell me what you know...

and you can continue

to see Underwood.

As long as you don't draw

attention to yourselves,

I won't say another word

about it.

It will simply blow over.

I don't think either of us want any

scandal in our lives right now.

And I think we would both do whatever we could

to ensure that doesn't happen, wouldn't we?

You're a fool.

A pig-ignorant fool.

Do you honestly think

anyone cares about you?

Do you think the Poles care?

No one cares about you

or what you have to say!

Mr. Underwood?

Yes.

I served with your brother

in Austria.

He's a good man.

An address and a map.

What you want is all very

hush-hush. It's been shelved.

"X" marks the spot,

if you like.

Things aren't the same

anymore, Mr. Underwood.

During the war, we knew

what we needed to do.

We knuckled down and we did it.

We didn't question anything.

It was all very

black and white.

But now...

Now nothing seems

to make any sense.

Makes you wonder

who's really in charge.

- Can I buy you a drink?

- No.

No, I can't stay.

If there's ever anything

I can do for you.

No, please, don't worry.

Anything to relieve the tedium.

Sometimes I wonder if I'll end up

buried in that archive, you know.

Up to my eyeballs in dust.

Not that anybody would notice.

My regards to your brother,

and good luck.

Captain Underwood. Will

you be requiring an escort, sir?

"On the evidence that

we have, it is difficult to escape

from the presumption

of Russian guilt.

How, if Russian crime

is established,

can we expect Poles

to live amicably

side by side with Russians

for generations to come?"

"This document

is explosive,

if it was to fall

into unauthorized hands,

the reaction on our relations

with Russia would be serious."

"In handling the publicity

side of the Katyn affair...

we have been constrained

by the urgent need for cordial

relations with the Soviet Government

to appear to appraise

the evidence

with more hesitation

and lenience

than we should do in forming

a common-sense judgement.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes