The Confession
Based on the account by Lise and Artur London
Are they there again?
Is it one of your cars?
Not my department
I don't deal with VIPs
But you're being followed
By his department?
But why? There must be an explanation
They're not being discreet either
What do you want with me?
It's started again
- How long? - Three days
- Are you sure? - They're there now
Coming!
Why do you think it's Security?
If it isn't, I have a right to some protection
Here are the registration numbers
Get Pavel
It's not just me, you know
They're after all of us International Brigade veterans
I'm fed up
Why not confront me with Noel Field?
I know he's in prison in Hungary
Who's behind all this?
It's aimed at Spanish Civil War veterans
and those in France or London during the occupation
You too
Even if you are with Security
Loebl, Pavlik and Feigl held major posts, too,
and they're in prison now
He's undersecretary of the Interior and he's sent back to party school
Otto has been dismissed too
Today it's my turn
And tomorrow?
Whose turn will it be?
Are they Security cars?
Then you'd better find out who's giving the orders in your department
If it's who I think, it could be dangerous
Don't they know? - Better not
Why? It concerns them too, doesn't it?
You came together? - We met by chance
Some chance,
when all Spanish Civil War veterans are being watched
It's going to look like a meeting
You and your surveillance Things are difficult,
but nobody's watching me
You lost your job ling's in prison
I've been sent to the party school
for a course on the dialectics of the class struggle in socialist construction
The undersecretary is being followed without the head of security's knowledge
Shoemakers are always the worst shod
Why not resign?
Leave your job, confess your errors
They won't let me, yet they cut me out
Type this for the departmental meeting
It was this morning
What's going on?
The minister said your presence wasn't necessary
And you all believed him?
I don't believe, these days
I just wonder where it will all end
The party decides
All misunderstandings can be resolved by the party
Unless it's higher up
I thought it was about the Field affair, but Bedrich says it isn't
The Field affair is settled
The party secretary
This meeting is pointless
It's me again
Gérard insists He thinks it's very important
He's very busy He'll call you
For the party, the matter is settled
But you know what Security is like, refusing to let go
Still, you have friends there The head of Security, for instance
And he's pretty embarrassed,
as he knew Field too
We'll have our own Rajk trial soon
No, the circumstances were different
They're just the same
Here, too, we are discovering spies, traitors, Titoists
You spoke to my successor?
His new minister - He seems to believe it all
Your dossier is growing fast We haven't heard the end of this yet
It has ramifications everywhere: Poland, Germany
It's him you ought to see
Let's go They won't believe we met to chat over old days in Spain
Starting to feel guilty already, eh?
Don't forget
"Both donkey and master are safest when furthest away "
They're still there I'll ask the minister to see you
Gérard wants to talk to you He's very concerned
I'll see him tomorrow morning
Tell him the Field affair hasn't done him any good
Dozens of comrades had contact with Noel Field during the occupation -
We haven't found the enemy in our ranks
We knew that death and betrayal were inseparable from revolution
It's our turn to experience betrayal and death
so that the revolution may continue
That's what's important - that it continue,
even if we are destroyed
Go and see him tomorrow
What else should I do?
Nothing Have faith in the party
Who is it?
You the Frenchwoman? Someday your husband will hang
Who was that?
Nothing A wrong number
Who are you? What do you want?
Let go of me!
Who are you?
Shut up!
The handcuffs
I demand to see a party representative
Shut up You're not demanding anything
Who are you?
I want to see - - Shut up!
Undress him
Put it on
Bills, various papers
Cuff links, pen
Take 'em off!
350 crowns
Two party cards
Family photographs
Here's the Frenchwoman - Inform my family
She'll think you've run off
Darex vouchers
Worth 1,200 crowns
He uses the foreign diplomats' store
Everyone makes sacrifices for socialism,
but he lives like a bourgeois
Leave those alone!
Your number is 3225
Don't forget it
Start walking!
No sitting or standing still Keep walking!
The party's always right
There must be a misunderstanding The truth will come out,
but you must submit to the rules, even if it's hard
At least to show good faith
You'll get the same whenever you stop!
Walk!
Food!
No food for him
Walk
Did you see Gérard this afternoon?
He didn't come by?
Did you see Gérard this afternoon?
He didn't come by?
Is Zavodsky there?
Excuse me
- Police search - What's the matter?
What's the matter?
My children are asleep up there What's the meaning of this?
We have orders to search the place
I have a direct line to the Central Committee I'll inform the secretary
We'll see what he has to say
Have you got a warrant? - We don't need one
I told you We have orders to search
And I tell you, not without a warrant
Go up to bed, Mother
You stay here, madam
My eldest son
He was born in prison In France
At La Roquette
A prison in Paris
Why were you there?
Because that's what the Germans did to communists in 1942
Being pregnant, I escaped execution
- Were you in prison long? - No, I was deported to Ravensbruck
My son was the youngest political prisoner in France
My husband was sent to Mauthausen
"Night and Fog " Do you know what that means?
Those are photos of my husband in the Spanish Civil War
and the French Resistance
Put that away It's only my daughter
Evening, honey
- Isn't Daddy here? - He'll be here soon
They're colleagues of his
Did you have a nice time at your party?
Go to bed quickly and see that the little ones are asleep
Some coffee?
Police search!
You're behaving like the Nazis!
I didn't see the warrant
Go to work as usual Not a word about this
- May I speak to the minister? - At 5:00 a m?
After the school, we'll go to the Ministry
They took nothing important Letters, papers, photos
Fifteen years of life together
Souvenirs of Spain, prison letters
Gérard never kept official papers at home
We'll take care of it Call me anytime on the direct line
He missed an appointment
He needs weekly treatment for his lung problem
We'll take care of it He is merely in isolation
Nothing's changed for you and your family
The Ministry car and chauffeur are at your disposal, as usual
Did you see the minister?
Yes, Gérard hasn't been arrested
He's simply in isolation
until certain problems have been cleared up
They need his help
It's a serious, confidential party matter
So long as he has a chance to explain I feared the worst
Let me know if I can help
He told me nothing had changed
I'll be looking after you from now on Here is your car
Let's hear you!
What are your requests and complaints?
I want to see a party official
Identify yourself!
Undersecretary of -
You're nobody! What's your number?
Number!
You're 3225 We'll be back when you know that
Walk!
Put these back on
Don't stand still! Keep walking!
You're here to confess your crimes You must confess
Confess what? Who are you?
Date - February 1 Confess Admit who you are
I'm the undersecretary of Foreign -
You're a number What is it?
Your number? - 3225
What am I accused of?
You know very well There's a name for men like you
What's your name? - The party knows my -
Don't invoke the party
Never invoke the party You're here to confess, and you will
I want to see an official - Confess what?
- Confess! - Be specific
- You'll confess - I want to see an official
I'll make you confess
At first we tried to aid the party, to help it see things clearly
To understand ourselves and the mistakes that had brought us there
We were prepared to admit that our mistakes
may have harmed the party
The years of discipline, our whole education, led us to believe
that the party was never wrong, that the USSR was always right
We aren't acting alone We have advisers!
In all humility, we felt it better to err with the party
than be right as individuals
You must confess!
Confess what? Ask me specific questions
Eat!
Enough eating Walk!
That's enough Start walking!
Walk!
Stand up!
You will not maintain this hostility You will obey!
Please, is it day or night?
You're here for a very serious reason
The party ordered your arrest
We are entrusted with your interrogation
concerning international espionage and treason
against the Soviet Union and our country
Your duty is to help us establish the truth
You are not the only one involved
Other important people are implicated in this affair
You alone can help yourself
You have been in the party a long time
I appeal to you to help the Soviet Union and our party
Anything to say?
I have constantly demanded a hearing by the party
Ask me anything
Very well, we shall draw up a report
Tuesday, February 4
I declare -
When did you establish contact with American intelligence?
How were you recruited by the American spy Noel Field?
Have you collaborated with American spies in addition to Noel Field?
Never! No one!
Silence!
Answer the questions!
Heads will roll We have all the proof we need
We have methods you never dreamed of
You will confess
Your choice is either to try to redeem yourself
by making a full confession
or to remain an enemy unto death of the Soviet Union and our party
So answer the questions
Enough! Hand over the bowl!
Enough!
Keep walking!
You can sleep now
On your back, regulation position
Arms straight
Stand up! Your number?
You can sleep now
Stand up!
Your number?
You can sleep now
Get up!
Your number?
You must obey orders
You and your filthy race, you're all alike
We'll finish what the gas chambers started
You say that, wearing the party insignia?
Don't moralize to me, you traitor!
You thought you controlled the party, but you've all been expelled
You're lying! That's impossible It's against the rules of the party
What's this bourgeois conception of democracy?
The Central Committee can assume emergency powers
Look at these cards You, Vales,
Zavodsky, who was head of Security
We know about your criminal activities in Spain and France
thanks to our advisers
We'll track down the others and expel them too
You're not the Central Committee
We're above the Central Committee
Our task is to unmask traitors, even within the Committee
We represent the power of the proletariat
Your friends who protected you have talked
You will talk too
You will answer these comrades' questions
Like Zavodsky, who has made a full confession
As head of Security, he knew it was the only way to save himself
Zavodsky?
Confess?
But confess what?
You recently attended a clandestine meeting
Why?
You called the meeting!
You led this Trotskyist group from the International Brigades
What decisions did you make?
You expressed your Trotskyist opinions in Spain? What did you do?
Sectarian sabotage?
You met Rajk in Spain? Was he your contact with American intelligence?
Rajk was executed as a spy in Hungary You know what to expect
The Polish traitors Rwal and Winkler?
Why did you protect the Titoist Dapchevich in Spain?
Your only chance to save yourself
is to confess even more fully than the others
You are the leader
Here we uproot weeds before they spread
You knew Rajk in Spain
So he put you in contact with the Americans
You were with Bartos in Spain What do you know of him?
We know he deserted
Jares was in your unit Do you remember?
This report describes him as a suspect Trotskyist element
Like all your friends, here and abroad
My connections were with the French and Italian communist parties
Who said all this?
We have everything fully documented in this matter
Thanks to our Soviet advisers,
we have full details of your espionage network
Zavodsky's confession
He describes in detail the criminal activities of your Trotskyist group
It's not true Zavodsky couldn't have
Isn't that his signature? Each page is signed!
It isn't possible Not at Marseille
Yes, it is "My activity for the Americans in Marseille "
I presume you recognize his writing?
Zavodsky and the rest pulled the wool over your eyes
To show good faith and help the party,
you must confess everything
Confess what? That I was a spy?
Your view of things is too subjective
Zavodsky was arrested after you He confessed immediately
He knows it's the only way out
But it's all untrue
The French Communist Party and the Resistance can bear me out
It's no use We have other confessions saying the same thing
Here everyone confesses, believe me
You were their leader It's your only chance
Think of what might happen to your family
Listen "I spied for the Americans in order to overthrow the regime
In this criminal activity, I was directed by" -
Look Your name, in black and white
What can you do against that?
Thirsty?
A man confesses to serious crimes committed on your command
In court, what will be believed?
Your denials
or his self-incrimination?
He's still talking too - Lies
It's the confession that counts
Why is he risking his life by making these confessions?
To save his life, do you understand?
I want to help the party, but I can't -
I forbid you to speak of the party
And I forbid you to give this traitor anything to drink
Abandoned by the party, comrades, no one would doubt my guilt
I myself never doubted the Moscow and Rajk trials
How could any communist believe that the infallible party
was capable of making the innocent confess?
Confess what, why?
We will use any method to uncover your treason
Zavodsky says he knew of your American activities,
but remained silent because you knew of his Gestapo connections
Your friend Vales admits to having collaborated with the British police
Though Jewish, you survived the concentration camps Why?
Because you collaborated
The Americans recruited you through captured Gestapo files
Walk!
The party is informed of cooperative attitudes in prisoners
3225 Present
Louder!
What did you do? Why are you here?
I don't know
They won't let me sleep And it stinks
Nothing to eat or drink
I'm innocent
Wait
We've had orders about you You're a special case
Don't tell anyone, or I'll be punished
I want to see a party official You're committing a crime
For 10 days I haven't slept, eaten or drunk
I want to be questioned officially, with my answers recorded
You haven't slept or eaten?
I'll see about that
The guards tend to do as they like
We've got Holdos now
All you veterans of Spain are in the bag
Here - in Hungary, Poland, Germany
All the International Brigades are implicated in this affair
Rajk was asked exactly the same questions at his trial
His case seems to interest you
But, of course, his confessions brought you closer to discovery
You approved of his trial to conceal yourselves
We shall act as the Hungarians did in liquidating Rajk and his gang
I propose a resolution
condemning the spy and traitor László Rajk,
unmasked by our Hungarian comrades
All in favor, raise their hands
Many veterans of Spain are implicated
There weren't only us good guys in Spain
Can't see the forest for the trees
To sum up then
"I have committed certain errors in my work
through my negligence
I have had dealings with Kohnová,
Vasela, Pavlik and Feigl,
already convicted for their dealings with Field "
Vasela wasn't convicted
She killed herself during the trial
Not Vasela then
"I accepted American imperialist money
for my underground party work "
Sign it
Isn't it better this way?
You can sleep now
I retract I only signed under physical coercion
- What? - Yes, physical coercion
So you think this is a confession? We haven't even begun
You'll sign much more than that
Let's start again
He'll speak, or we'll finish the matter by finishing him
Come on, start with your life
Walk
Tell me your story from the beginning
Date of birth?
February 1, 1915, at Ostrava
My father was a railroad man
Why aren't you called by your real name?
Gérard was my name in the French Resistance
French Resistance - how odd
You are a communist and a Jew, yet you survived the Gestapo
Bizarre
Carry on - My son was born in prison
His mother named him Gérard, not knowing if we'd ever meet again
Don't try to make me cry
Carry on
My father was the fifth of eight children,
son of a railroad man in Moravia under Austro-Hungarian rule
Then he went to Switzerland
and in about 1900 emigrated to America
He learned English very quickly
He could recite Whitman's poems by heart
and pages of Paine and Jefferson
In New York he met my mother, also an émigré
They came back home together
In the First World War, he was a stretcher-bearer
Through contact with Russian prisoners,
he learned about Bolshevism
From him I first heard of Rosa Luxemburg,
the Spartacists, Lenin, the Commune of Canton
It was he who made me read Heinrich Heine
He pointed my way into the Communist Youth
In 1930 we wanted to blow up the Ostrava prefecture
Well, did you blow it up or not?
Last night, you told my colleague you did
No, we were only 15
We merely dreamed of doing a daring deed
Dreamed? This morning, you told me the opposite
So you have three different versions of that story?
Start again from the beginning Let's see if you have a fourth
I'm listening
I was born in Ostrava -
You say your friend Wagner disappeared in Moscow in 1935
Yesterday you didn't know what had become of him Which is it?
Start again
I met Wagner in Moscow when -
No, from the beginning Date of birth?
Carry on
You said your father made you read "Enrich N " What next?
Heinrich Heine
He pointed my way into the Communist Youth
He was incensed by the Sacco and Vanzetti case
We demonstrated together
He respected Bakunin's physical courage
and admired Kropotkin, all of whose writing he knew
But he did not share the basic anarchist ideology
An old member of the socialist left,
he became a founding member of the communist party in his hometown
Outcast by polite society and by the Jewish community
who thought him a traitor
because he was an atheist
and supporter of anti-religious organizations,
he found it hard to get work
His family didn't help
Except my uncle Zigmund, who never tired of lecturing him
I saw my father for the last time in Moscow in the summer of 1935
He had aged considerably
In order to visit us,
he arranged to come on a trip - on an organized trip with
other people who were with him
He wanted to meet my wife
Everything interested him
Sometimes he asked questions which I had difficulty answering
He disliked some things in Moscow
There were things he didn't understand
But he had fulfilled his dream
of seeing the Red Square and Lenin in his mausoleum
When he left, he was sad
He wondered when we would meet again
I never saw him again
Nor my mother, my brother Jean
or my sister Juliette
They died in concentration camps
We are in a 200-foot-square office
with a gray-green cabinet
A typewriter
An empty beer glass, a cup of coffee
Filthy traitor!
Get out, you!
You'll account for this
Let's finish this
You filthy Trotskyist bandit
You had already begun your activities in Moscow
Go on!
They're going to hang me
Kill him if he won't talk!
I'll disappear like Wagner in Moscow
They confiscated my card They say I'm a Trotskyist!
They'll say my conscience drove me to suicide
Suicide He didn't have the courage to confess
You're in luck, but you'll hang anyway,
and our people will be avenged
If it's who I think, it's dangerous
Our advisers want you alive for the trial
They want us to grant diplomatic status to Soviet advisers
But they're policemen
We benefit from their experience of the Moscow trials
The presence of these advisers seemed to us
a natural consequence of Soviet aid to socialist countries
I have five months to make you confess
Radek held out for three
That's the record, so I have time to spare
Each night someone goes missing They're preparing a major trial
Confess, or you'll be tried secretly
You'll be hanged
Finally, they found a discrepancy in my various biographical accounts
Admit you're a Trotskyist!
Admit it!
You were in touch with Trotskyist spies in Moscow in 1936
To avoid discovery, you went to Spain
Wagner worked for the Comintern for years
He came to see me in my Moscow hotel
Because of this lapse, they took away everything -
my party card, my job, my room
Stalin can't possibly know
Look, he's starting to break
Look at this beautiful phrase
starting to break
A quotation haunted me
"The individual becomes guilty not because he is guilty,
but because he may be thought so "
Look at this beautiful phrase
"This is what I have to say about the Trotskyist group
of International Brigade volunteers "
Now we can really get to work
Your friend, Tonda
All misunderstandings can be resolved by the party
Your friend's talking about a Trotskyist group
Three weeks - no sleep, practically no food
He's confessed everything
- It's not signed - It's the carbon
That's fine, but what our friends want
is "Trotskyist espionage organization "
Get him to sign that
You'll be signing, too, since you're their leader
Our party comrades will stop you
Did you help us?
It's unthinkable that the party -
He's raving
Stalin knows what he's doing
What should I do?
- Confess! - What? That I spied?
Stalin knows what he's doing
What should I do?
He's had it
Stalin says the most precious capital is man
If he's drowning, he must be helped
Eat
I heard Smola say, "Leave him for a moment "
Lying there, I had a wonderful vision
of myself on a Monte Carlo beach where I'd never been
When I arrived in France, the first thing I did was come here
The doctor advised it for my lungs
- Tell it all - What?
The whole story
- Who to? - Write a book
I know some publishers
- Who for? - For us
Communists aren't ready for this kind of truth
They'll say that dirty linen should be washed in private
Or that there's no smoke without fire,
that I didn't have the true party spirit
It's too soon objectively
Write it anyway
They're still in power
They wouldn't let it be published
Publish in France
No, there first Such a book should spring from changing circumstances
So you'll say nothing?
I have no personal grudges It's a general problem
Precisely
Who will speak for the dead?
Who spoke up for us at the trial in 1952?
Did you?
Do you remember what you said?
That we were mad dogs, Titoist spies,
Trotskyist bandits
You all knew about my activities in France
But no one spoke
Did you?
No
- Why? - I'd have been expelled
That's too easy Did you think they were guilty?
We didn't have enough information until 1956, the 20th Congress
The bourgeois press, as you call it,
could have told you it was trumped up
But you were living in a closed world
with the party as God
Apart from details, your story tells me nothing new
The existence of this hellish mechanism was known
One politician said that hell,
as the Prague trials remind us, has its own logic
He also had a nice turn of phrase to justify the wars in Indochina
and Algeria, with their million dead
Anyway, all this explains how but not why
Stalin eliminated the best, the most brilliant
Stalin, who wasn't alone, was once a seminarian
Public confession, humiliation of the sinner
Also, he was infallible
During the cold war, there were rifts between the People's Democracies
They had been born not of true revolution,
but of Soviet military successes
There were serious economic and societal problems
Stalin did not like independent socialist powers
Tito would not blindly copy Russian-style socialism
Tito was declared an agent of imperialism
"Titoist" became a synonym for "spy "
Just as Trotskyist had previously
So?
So, after the Rajk trial, the party agreed to Soviet advisers
I consider this a proof of trust
You will work as a group under the direction of our comrade advisers
You will be answerable only to them,
the president of the Republic and the secretary of the party
The party has no power to interfere with this activity
At the end of February, I was again transferred
No, these cars are too modern
In 1951, it was the Tatra plan with the rear fln
Being in an ordinary prison again gave me hope
You can lie down
You'd take fright if you could see yourself
Today's March 6
For 35 days, you have refused to cooperate
Your negative attitude is reported to the party every day
Right We'll start at the beginning again
On condition that -
Conditions? Your life is at stake!
Your only chance is to confess everything
Take him away
Prepare yourself for interrogation
You have four hours' sleep
Remove your jacket Regulation position
You must confess your guilt
As an obedient member of the party, you must submit
If I am not a good communist, but a Trotskyist spy,
why appeal to my loyalty?
If I'm a good communist, why am I here?
Telephone, sir
Keep an eye on him
It's him in the corridor
How weary he must be
His fate's sealed
And what about mine?
A few years in a state farm till this blows over
Zavodsky was executed in 1954, after the others
We've received a letter from your wife
"It isn't easy to support a family, of course,
but with the help of the party, I'll manage "
She has the right spirit She has repudiated you
Why so surprised? It isn't the first time
One of your friends has confessed that she was his mistress
You bastard!
It's all in here!
Imbecile!
They're a fine lot, your Trotskyist friends!
I know she's French, but him!
They were caught in his office
She was leaning against his shoulder
"In that case, you had intimate relations with her?"
Answer: "Not intimate, just very friendly "
Question: "Was she leaning against your shoulder?"
Answer: "Yes "
"According to the dictionary, that means you were intimate "
Answer: "All right, intimate then " He confessed she was his mistress
Who dreamed all that up?
Guess! What concerns us
is that she has repudiated you and placed herself in the party's hands
- Is there new information? - Every day
Send me all documents about Gérard I want to see them first
What's happening to my husband?
You write too many letters
Our comrades have better things to do than read them
However, I was instructed to see you What do you want?
To know what's happened It's been two months
He seems to be deeply implicated All this is about him
But is he under arrest or not?
I have a right to know, as his wife and a party member
He has not been charged,
but there are matters to clear up
I've shared his life for 16 years It's an open book
A man may seem open, then one day secrets emerge
- Not him - Because you love him
There have always been traitors, agents provocateurs,
cops in the workers' movement
The wives never unmask them
In 1941, in your party,
you had to execute the national organizer
Gitton, you mean
He'd been a police informer for years
The national organizer
Hasn't he been acting strange lately?
Leaving you alone, coming home late?
Was he arrested - put in isolation for his private life?
I've already said he hasn't been charged
You should go back to France with your family
You mean I should be the first to condemn him?
I won't believe he's guilty until he tells me so
Life will be difficult for you
I regret to say you can't go on working for the radio now
Why?
They said I'm the best reporter in the French service
You'll have to work in a factory instead of in public service
Is the factory a punishment?
How sad for the workers in a workers' state
That is how things are managed in the Soviet Union
They're taking our things I couldn't stop them
What are you doing?
Here's your paper, Father
What's going on?
The minister's orders The villa is needed
We're moving you - Where to?
Here it is
It could have been worse
You could put the children here
Who's that lady?
A friend
Her brother's with Daddy We'll be working together
Is her brother in prison, like Daddy?
- Who told you that? - Everyone at school says so
You are Londonova?
Yes You know my husband?
I've heard of him through friends
Well, I need a job rather urgently
I've no skills
No matter We'll teach you
And you? - I've found a job at Autorenova
That's right next door You'll be neighbors
You can start at the end of the month, if you like
I'd like that Thank you
- We'd like to be together - If possible
I'll try to arrange it
Come over here!
- I frightened them off - No, you didn't
Yes, I did I'm used to it now
Did you see they've arrested the party secretary?
How far will they go?
I wrote to him about Gérard, but he refused to see me
Well, it's over now This arrest makes everything clear
How?
At my paper, they say he's responsible for all the arrests
It's a purge against those who criticized his economic policy
Even I had my share of persecution
Gérard will be freed soon You'll see
He was the party newspaper editor Soon he was arrested too
He confessed, became one of the 14 accused
and was executed
Here he is
I wish you much joy
Sit down
In six months, you've worn out around a dozen interrogators
You even made the commandant lose his patience
But never mind, it doesn't matter
We'll start from the beginning, all over again
We have plenty of interrogators and lots of time
You'll confess, even if it takes a year or more
I have five months
So I'm in no hurry
You have no idea what awaits you
Put these on
Get up, please
Walk
Later I learned that during the Nazi occupation, and before,
Kohoutek had been in charge of police anticommunist work
"I had dealings with Noel Field in Geneva in 1947 "
Sign it, please
But the party knows that
So much the better Sign
The party knows about this
"For these dealings,
Noel Field paid me the sum of" -
How much?
Not "for these dealings" but "during these dealings "
It was to pay my sanatorium expenses The party knew
Who said it didn't? So he gave you money?
- Yes - How much?
I don't remember It was five years ago
Walk
It wasn't for any dealings
I had contracted tuberculosis in the concentration camp
The party knew of Field's welfare service for deportees
Go on
How much did Field give you? 300 Swiss francs? More? Less?
- More - How much?
Double, or more
Face the wall 800 francs, say?
Now we're getting the facts That's what I want
"In 1947" -
Come closer
"Noel Field paid me the sum of 800 Swiss francs "
Sign, please
- But the party knows - Go ahead
Szony, condemned to death in the Rajk trial, got only 300 francs
But mine -
Were for the sanatorium No one denies that
"In 1947, in Switzerland,
I had dealings with the American spy, Noel Field "
Sign it
No In 1947, I didn't know Field was a spy
Is Noel Field an American spy?
Didn't the Rajk trial establish that Field was an American spy?
This resolution voted by the party condemns the traitor Rajk
Did you sign the resolution?
- As a cover - - No!
Did the Rajk trial establish that Field was a spy in 1947?
Yes But in 1947, we didn't know he was a spy
Let's say that in 1947 you had dealings
with a spy unmasked in 1949?
Say it then
"In 1947, in Switzerland,
I had dealings with the American spy, Noel Field "
Yes, but in 1947 I couldn't know what would be discovered in 1949
No one could foresee in 1947 that Field was a spy
Very good
Let us now consider each fact objectively
Later we shall consider the subjective aspect
Noel Field was an American spy You had dealings with him
I did, because -
- What dealings? - I did, because -
Espionage Espionage dealings
- Certainly not - Admit it
No I was ill and penniless,
so I got in touch with Field's welfare service
I am not a social worker
How did you establish espionage contact with Field?
It wasn't espionage
You signed these statements
"In 1947, in Switzerland,
I had dealings with the American spy, Noel Field "
"In 1947, Noel Field paid me the sum of 800 Swiss francs "
Reconcile these facts
Why should an American spy pay a communist official's expenses?
We are simply considering the facts
As I said, the subjective aspects
will be dealt with at a later stage
"In 1947, I had dealings with Noel Field
As he is an American spy" -
I've put it as favorably as I can -
"and I had dealings with him, I am objectively guilty of espionage
During this time, Field paid me 800 Swiss francs "
Sign, please
As you see, I have eliminated subjective conditions
Oh, excuse me
The carbon too
That one is for translation
For our comrade advisers
I was forgetting
Here's a letter from your wife
Then you can sleep a while
Regulation position
Sit down
There's a little additional signature required
"The International Brigade volunteers
are self-confessed Trotskyists and traitors
Objectively, therefore, as their leader, so am I "
Sign, please
After signing, you may write to your family
"In the Communist Youth, I had already worked under Smirkovsky,
whose Trotskyist past is well known "
I never said that
About working with him?
About him being a Trotskyist
He said that himself
Recognize his hand?
It's his all right You're merely confirming his confession
We and our advisers believe you were a Trotskyist before Spain
Why should you?
Type this
In 1936, you gave shelter in your Moscow hotel
to a man called Wagner, a Trotskyist expelled from the party
You expressed doubts about the Moscow trials
I must insert something about this
Come here
"In Moscow, I lived in a hotel where Trotskyists had been arrested "
The president and the secretary of the party will be pleased
They lived there too
Exactly The secretary of the -
The ex-secretary of the party
is here
Don't start raising your hopes That won't exonerate you
On the contrary, it proves that you all got important posts
to seize power on behalf of American imperialism
So you say
No, so he has started saying, and you will confirm what he says
I won't sign
You will like the rest
Do you think this arrest was made lightly?
The secretary corresponded with the Englishman Zilliacus
by diplomatic pouch through your office
How often?
- It concerned the peace movement - Zilliacus was a spy
Add this "I received and transmitted" -
How many letters? Four? Five?
No, two
"Five letters "
I'll have this translated You can sign after
Put them on
And keep walking
It's been translated Now you can sign
Then you can sleep
What the -
It isn't the same Let me read it
Read the copy
It's not the same
It is You're tired
- There was no carbon - There was
- No - Sleep now
From certain testimonies - yours and others -
you evidently betrayed the clandestine Central Committee to the Gestapo,
indirectly occasioning the execution of Fucik
Testimonies? What's all this filthy nonsense?
We must synthesize all this material
You said, "I organized Klecan's repatriation from France "
He was in your Trotskyist group in Spain
And you were the leader of these Trotskyists
- I had instructions - - Sit down
I had instructions Klecan was interned in France
We got him out and supplied him with papers to go home
And Klecan betrayed Fucik and the Central Committee
Under torture
Were you there?
- Hearsay - Unproven
Members of your group overheard you order Klecan to betray the Committee
- Klecan - - We have their testimonies
Forget the Central Committee
Reicin has signed a statement about that
Change them
"In Spain, I admired the anarchist leaders
more than the party's "
I won't sign that I admired leaders like La Pasionaria, Durruti -
Walk
You were told to walk!
We've wasted several days on this affair
I've put off my departure to clear things up
Given your anarchist activities as a youth -
- I had none - You wanted to blow up a building
I was 15
The formative age
It's only a formality Handcuffs
Not grounds for indictment
These are merely administrative reports
The party can be severe or lenient, irrespective of testimony
Trust in the party It's your only chance
I'll have earned my leave anyway
"In Spain, I knew the Titoist Dapchevich "
You admitted that
I said I knew him, but also Luigi Longo, Pajetta, André Marty -
Face the wall
We're not concerned with them yet
I never mentioned the word Titoist
It's not a word It's a political concept defining our enemies
But in Spain, in 1937, they were Yugoslav communists, not Titoists
An ex-undersecretary too You don't know the ABC's of dialectics
The past must be judged in the light of truths established today
Do you know what Titoism is?
Say it
I approved the denunciation of Titoism
Then don't go back on it!
As Tito's minister, Dapchevich is a Titoist
There'll be no sleep for you until you sign this
How was your leave? - I'm back on form
Good The way things are going -
Always splitting hairs Easy to see he's a Jew
How sensible of you to advise your wife to return to France
It's best for her
Have you seen her?
Why? Didn't you write to her?
Sit down
The party requires a report synthesizing all of this
and reflecting your activities as a whole
To save time, our comrade advisers have worked on this project
- So I'm doomed - Not at all
The report is for internal use, not for the courts
Look, your fellow accused have already signed,
and theirs are more serious
"In 1947, in Geneva, I had espionage dealings
with the known American spy, Field
In return for information given, he paid me 800 Swiss francs "
In return for information given?
But that's impossible
The party approved the formulation
Do likewise Show you're a good communist
And say I'm a Trotskyist spy?
Because you are still a communist, you have been able to confess
Confession is the highest form of self-criticism
And self-criticism is the principal virtue of a communist
They want corrections
It's your friend Hajdu Put "Zionist" instead of "Trotskyist "
He's a Jew, not a Zionist
In a People's Democracy, "Jew" is an insult We'll say Zionist
Zionist is a political concept
"Jew" is forbidden in Russia They say "Hebrew "
Say "Hebrew" then "Zionist" isn't the same
"Hebrew" doesn't sound as good
Anyhow, the order is to say "Zionist "
Right Let us continue
No, wait This is the report for the prosecution
Afterwards, you can dictate one for the defense
There never was any dossier for the defense
Through repetition, words like Trotskyist or Titoist lose all meaning
I'd have signed a statement saying "my one-year-old Trotskyist son "
The only solution was suicide
I tried twice
And yet you're still a communist I don't understand
No, I do It's faith
You are believers who dislike the church
Which one?
There are several And God is dead, so one can be a communist
What happened to Field?
He reappeared in Hungary in 1955, released and rehabilitated
He doesn't want to return to the West
What was he? An American agent or a Russian agent?
Wait for his memoirs
But why him?
After the Spanish war, he ran an American aid service
for refugees in Marseille and Geneva
It was there that he helped dozens of communists
He also had contact with Allen Dulles's American intelligence service in Switzerland
America and Russia were allies against Hitler
Then came the cold war
The Americans got rid of Field for knowing communists
The Russians passed him off as an American agent
You were saying, after 20 months in prison -
You must learn questions and answers by heart
Take him away
Put the blindfold on
"Question: Have you told all about your conspiracy against the state?"
"Yes, I have held nothing back
I confess my participation in the conspiracy "
Say your lines when he stops talking, just as we rehearsed
- There you are - He knows his lines
Take that off
You don't look well How often do you exercise outside?
Never in 21 months
Never? Luckily it's almost over now
It hasn't always been easy Put that back on
You are going to see your leader and accomplices
The party requires a report on this confrontation
Remove the blindfold
Sit down
Zilliacus made frequent trips to the People's Democracies
He was in contact with me here, with Gomulka in Poland,
with Tito and his Fascist clique in Yugoslavia,
with Rajk in Hungary, with Kostov in Bulgaria
So we eventually found ourselves in the same trap
The party secretary who had ordered the arrests
and the minister of Security
who planned the proceedings with the Soviet advisers
I created the center of conspiracy against the state
I learned later that the secretary had tried to commit suicide
Padded walls prevented him from battering his head again
Next time he was alone, he shut the door and tried to hang himself
The man who found him just in time was later decorated
For official posts, I appointed men who had lived in the West
such as Bedrich Geminder,
Josef Pavel, Karel váb and the undersecretary of Foreign Affairs
Why retract here? No one will know
The party requires a report on this confrontation
Retraction means no hearing
Survive to speak at the trial
You've signed all this
I was part of the conspiracy against the state led by the party secretary
I headed the Trotskyist group at the Foreign Office -
Stick to your lines like that
and you'll be able to appear at the public trial
Slánský claims his role was limited to ideological leadership
So did Bukharin in Moscow, but it cost him his life
Learn all that now
He'll help you out
Prosecutor: "How many espionage letters
did you forward to Zilliacus?"
Answer
Two, maybe five I deliberately kept no records
Prosecutor: "Be more precise Mention's been made of 10 letters "
Answer
There may have been 10
Your injection
It's calcium
That warms you up, doesn't it?
You're as white as chalk We'll have to fix that
Guided by my bourgeois instinct, to further my career -
Guided by my bourgeois instinct and to further -
No "Selfish " Bourgeois and selfish
Guided by my bourgeois and selfish instinct, to further my career,
I became a cosmopolitan while in the West
and defected to the bourgeois camp
That's very good
No, it's not good at all
The text is all right
But you'll never convince anybody you're guilty like that
Learn these 15 pages by Thursday
You'll have to put in some more sincerity
You're lucky to be in this trial
You aren't the main defendant now
For the injection? - Yes, only five more
That'll give him a bit of color
Take that off
Dr Novak, president of the State Tribunal
Have you any previous convictions?
Two In 1931-1933 and in Paris in 1942
For what reasons?
The first was for communist activity
The second was for anti-Nazi activity
Don't note that
Have you a lawyer?
I don't want one
It's the law The state will appoint one
Dr Ruzick, your lawyer
Despite the seriousness of your position,
I see that the state is spoiling you
Stuffing me, you mean, like a goose
- Pardon me? - My position is serious?
You risk the death penalty
That is the punishment you have earned by law
Your only hope of a lighter sentence
is to plead guilty and behave well in court
What was your role in the conspiracy?
I confess that I furthered espionage relations
between the party secretary and the British agent, Zilliacus,
by using the diplomatic pouch
I myself maintained espionage relations with the American agent, Field
I've just spoken to the prosecutor
In his opinion, your case is the least serious
A maximum of 15 years
I told you, you're lucky to be in this trial
But you must behave well, or your family will suffer
The minister of Security wants to see you
I appeal to you in the name of the party and the president
Stick to your statement in court
You will do the party a great service
The situation is serious, war threatens
The party expects you to be guided by its interests
It'll be held in your favor
Your family will not suffer the consequences of this trial
The evening before the trial, they brought me a new suit from home
Don't forget the tie
- These ones? - Yes
- Will he be freed soon? - I don't know, madam
Is he coming home?
They fetched my brother's things too Maybe they'll be home tonight
Off to school, children
SAVE SACCO AND VANZETTI
We later learned that, since conditions were icy,
the ashes of the executed men
were simply scattered on the roads
The driver had his little joke
Fourteen people in one car!
Us and the 11 in the sacks!
The court is in session
Accused, has the delay stipulated by law
to precede your appearance been respected?
I advise the accused to follow the indictment and proceedings closely
I ask them to benefit from their right to express opinions
I remind them of their right to defend themselves as they see fit
The public prosecutor
The inquiry conducted by the minister of Security
has established that, after the Second World War,
in an attempt to secure world domination,
the American imperialists organized a conspiracy against peace
They created clandestine centers in the People's Democracies
composed of corrupt elements
I accuse them as traitors,
Trotskyists, Titoists, Zionists and enemies of the people
of conspiring in the service of the American imperialists
and under the leadership of Western intelligence agencies
to break our alliance with the Soviet Union,
to overthrow the regime
and to restore capitalism by impeding socialist construction
But although the conspirators and their leader
succeeded in occupying important posts in both party and state,
they did not manage, unlike Tito in Yugoslavia,
to usurp power and attain their criminal ends
Thanks to our people's loyalty to the Soviet Union,
the conspiracy was broken
On the basis of these facts, the accused:
Former secretary of the party, of Jewish origin
Former head of Department of International Relations,
of Jewish origin
Former head of Economic Department, of Jewish origin
Former assistant secretary, Czech
Former minister of Foreign Affairs, Slovak
Former undersecretary of National Defense, of Jewish origin
Former undersecretary of Security, Czech
Of Jewish origin -
Of Jewish origin, both former undersecretaries of Foreign Affairs
Of Jewish origin -
Of Jewish origin, both former undersecretaries of Foreign Trade
Of Jewish origin, former secretary of Finance
Of Jewish origin, former secretary of the Regional Committee
Of Jewish origin, former editor of the party newspaper
All these I accuse of having -
For three hours, absolute silence reigned as the indictment was read
We were being filmed,
soon to be displayed in cinemas
The court will adjourn
Sit down
Cigarette?
Coffee?
Are you okay?
- Vitamins - Sit down
Is it going well?
Drink that
It's a political expedient
Open your mouth, these are vitamins
Do you need anything?
The president hopes you will acquit yourselves well
Did you give him some coffee?
All right?
I've been making inquiries
There will be no death sentences
What the party needs is not heads but a top-level political trial
Any death sentences will be purely for the sake of form
If anyone retracts in court,
the microphone will be cut off
and the 20 prosecution witnesses will testify
It's mine
The court is in session
We are resuming live transmission of the conspiracy trial
You are about to hear the testimony
of the former undersecretary of Security
The American spy, Noel Field, unmasked during the Rajk trial,
testified that he had formed an espionage network in our country
How did you conceal what you knew of this?
When we realized we could not suppress his evidence,
I ordered a formal inquiry to be made
I warned those involved to prepare their defense
There's a slight change in the text to be learned
You're next Let's hear the beginning of your statement
- I know it perfectly - Question:
What led you to become an active enemy of the state?
I was raised in a bourgeois milieu, estranged from -
Do you want an interpreter?
Do you understand the questions and can you reply?
What school were you at?
The German school in Ostrava
- What is your first language? - German
Do you know German really well?
I haven't spoken it for a long time
So you know no language well
You are a typical cosmopolitan
What was your attitude to the workers?
I was indifferent
Did you understand the question?
What was your attitude to the workers?
I was indifferent to the interests of the workers
I never felt affinity with them
Their national interests were alien to me
Your turn soon
Remember, everything depends on your attitude
I was raised in a bourgeois milieu,
estranged from the workers
Guided by my bourgeois instinct -
bourgeois and selfish,
to further my career, I was changed by 11 years in the West
I became a cosmopolitan and defected to the bourgeois camp
I confess I have been guilty of actively participating,
from 1948 to the day of my arrest,
in the conspiracy against the state
I acknowledge my guilt in having furthered -
That man on the radio isn't my father, is he?
I told them at school he wasn't
You go to bed too
espionage relations with the British agent, Zilliacus,
by using the diplomatic pouch at the Foreign Office
I myself also maintained espionage relations
with the American agent, Noel Field,
supplying him with espionage information
My wife decided to write of her despair and confusion
to the president, whom she knew
We shall read you the letter sent to the president by Londonova,
wife of one of the traitors on trial
"President Gottwald After my husband's arrest,
knowing what I did of his life and his activities,
I thought him the victim of traitors
using him to shield their own criminal activities
Unfortunately, after hearing the indictment and his confession,
my hopes crumbled
My husband was no victim, but a traitor to our party
and a traitor to his country
My grief is great, naturally
But as a communist,
I must be thankful for this unmasking
and join all sincere comrades
in demanding just punishment for these traitors "
As ex-factory director, I can leave early
Because of me
You should never have hired me
No, I'm not of working-class origin
and I was in the West during the war
I don't blame you at all I know you are sincere
But you were wrong to write that letter
I wrote it to the president and not for public broadcasting
But you heard him plead guilty
I heard a great deal too much, and all of it rings false
They're reciting lessons
I don't believe in this trial
Why would the party hold it if it weren't true?
- There have been precedents - Precisely
The whole thing smacks of anti-Semitism
It's intolerable
Yesterday's heroes becoming spies and traitors -
I can't accept it
I'm handing in my party card
You realize what that means?
But why should he confess, a man like him?
Well, he -
I hope he'll tell us one day
When I heard the indictment,
I analyzed once more Reicin's activities during the occupation
and concluded that he must have betrayed to the Gestapo
Julius Fucik and the clandestine Central Committee
Forget the Central Committee
That's all in Reicin's statement, already signed
I would like to recall Fucik's last words
"Whoever has lived for the future
and fallen for its beauty is a figure hewn in stone
But he who, with the dust of the past,
tries to build a dam against revolution, is but a puppet,
even though wearing epaulettes of gold
Men, whom I loved so, be vigilant "
The testimony of Fucikova, widow of the Resistance hero,
made an indelible impression on the judges
The leader of the conspiracy said,
"Our conspiracy against the state comprised hundreds of members "
A big task lies ahead for the judges
- Coming? - Yes
I'll continue
These three benches tremble under the weight of crimes committed
This leader should be seen by all
His red hair, his Judas eyebrows, his furtive eyes
crushed under the huge weight of his crimes
A dead man A dog should die a dog's death
The court is in session
In 1939, I established espionage contacts in London
With whom?
With the American agent Emanuel Voska
to whom I gave information
concerning communist cells in England
Carry on
I also had dealings with the intelligence agent Hamson,
who summoned me in December, 1944,
to a meeting at the Ministry of Information
at the British Ministry of Information,
concerning my subversive activities
in our country-
in our country after it was liberated
Return to your place
Court adjourned
In ridiculing justice, you confirm your activity as an imperialist lackey
It will cost you your life
Traitor
Don't leave him
He gambled his life away
He did it on purpose
He'll pay for making a mockery of the trial
The court is in session
Rise to receive sentence
From November 20 to 27, 1952, the State Tribunal has heard
the proceedings concerning the leaders of the conspiracy against the state
In the name of the Republic,
sentence of death -
In the name of the Republic,
sentence of life imprisonment -
life imprisonment -
life imprisonment
The accused are granted time
to consult their lawyers
as to whether to accept these sentences
Likewise, the court reserves its rights
Court adjourned
Where's my interrogator?
Where are our interrogators?
Where's my interrogator?
I want to see my interrogator Go get him
Where have our interrogators gone?
Where are the interrogators?
I'll appeal
I want to appeal too
Me too
- So do I - We must
Here are your lawyers
There are truckloads of resolutions demanding death for all of you
The international situation is deteriorating World war is looming
With Eisenhower elected, the party needs you
If you appeal, then so will the court
And that means hanging
Comrade countries are demanding your death
If you accept the court's decision, you will be pardoned
The party needs a trial, not your heads
The court is in session
Accused, do you accept your sentences?
I accept and renounce my right to appeal
I accept
and renounce my right to appeal
Criminally, we had all been rehabilitated by 1963
Politically, some of us remain unrehabilitated
Why did no one retract at the trial in front of the journalists?
Because only triumphant adversaries of communism would have believed us
You were freed and rehabilitated in 1963?
No, I was freed in 1956, but it's more complicated
A year after Stalin's death, the minister of Security, Beria,
and certain advisers were executed in Russia
In 1955, a commission began to investigate the trials
Kohoutek's gang were imprisoned
We survivors remained in prison
Two years later, Kohoutek was pardoned,
whereas many of his victims
lingered on in prison for two or three years
Don't you remember me?
What happened to us?
Do you understand it at all?
You know, when you were freed in 1956, I was in prison!
Those who gave the orders then are still in power
I followed orders
I expect I was under surveillance too
May I offer you a drink?
How's your wife? All right?
I know she did a lot for you, here and in France,
after realizing you were innocent
How's your health?
You must take care of yourself
I've found a nice, quiet job
They won't catch me again
I'm happy for you
April 1968
Do you want to keep this Kohoutek story?
"What happened to us? Do you understand it at all?"
August 20, 1968
I read it all night
Is he really going to publish?
Not me, the Union of Czechoslovak Writers
They're awaiting the manuscript
The situation is still troubled, you know
The imperialist forces are mounting
You may bring grist - - To the enemy's mill I know!
You'll at least take me to the airport?
I'm not alone now
The party wants the truth told, despite certain difficulties
- I hope we won't regret it - Good-bye, my dear
Of course, they'll say, "I wouldn't have confessed "
They'll wonder why I'm still alive
But at least I'm not alone now The party and I speak together
In January, 1968,
the reactionary forces were removed from the party
A new era began in Czechoslovakia
The people found their voices again
after years of silence, passivity, indifference or scorn
This was the proof that socialism lies in the liberty of the masses
But the day I arrived in Prague,
I had to witness my country invaded by 600, 000 men
and 6, 000 tanks of the Warsaw Pact powers
USSR - YOURS CSR - OURS
WAKE UP, LENIN! BREZHNEV'S GONE MAD!
ARISE, LENIN! THEY'VE GONE MAD!