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Act one - 40 minutes
Act two - 30 minutes
Act three - 40 minutes
In three acts this screenplay
portrays the experiences of a Protestant German girl in Hitler's
Germany and culminates into a love story. It depicts Helga's
development from a carefree child into an anxious teenager
who musters up the strength to shed her addiction to obedience
and thus insures her survival. Her new attitude opens many
doors: she becomes a professional woman and later an American
citizen. As the outgoing daughter of a forest ranger Helga
enjoys a carefree childhood while growing up in the woods
of Eastern Pommerania and attending boarding school in nearby
Stolp. But the summer of 1944 brings disruptive changes: Helga
is drafted into a Labor Camp where she has to dig trenches
that are to become tanktraps for the Red Armies. Due to poor
sanitary conditions she develops an infection and is treated
by an old country doctor who also tries to rape her.
Strengthened by the hard labor, Helga manages to kick him
into the groin and to escape from his hold. A few weeks later
she is drafted into the Reichs Labor Service, a paramilitary
organization. After basic training Helga is asssigned to shore
duty at the harbor of Stralsund where she assists refugees
coming across the Baltic from the East. In the process she
catches diphtheria and is left to die in a hospital filled
with terminal patients.
After regaining consciouness Helga fights for her life: she
tears away at the thick membrane that's constricting her throat
and manages to scream for help. A young doctor, who was wounded
himself comes to her rescue and stops the bleeding. As soon
as Helga is 'germ-free' her best friend helps her to escape
from the hospital and the camp. Still weak and barely able
to walk Helga begins the lonely trek through the war zone
to West Germany, where she finds her mother and sister.
After the cease-fire in May '45 that was brought on by the
arrival of the Americans Helga meets a young corporal who
is especially helpful to her family and who returns to Germany
three years later to find her working as translator for the
local Dept of Public Safety. Helga and Ed renew their brief
friendship, enjoy a glorious courtship, and finally become
man and wife.
This is a true story. The treatment and script are available
upon request.
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