Germany Year Zero (1948)

Franz-Otto Krüger: Karl-Heinz

Photos 

Quotes 

• Karl-Heinz : Who gave you money to buy cigarettes?

  Edmund : It was a gift.

  Karl-Heinz : From who? Those bad boys you go stealing with?

  Edmund : It wasn't boys. It was a girl.

  Karl-Heinz : You should be ashamed of yourself.

  Edmund : Why? Everybody does it.

  Karl-Heinz : That's not a reason.

  Edmund : Her name is Christl. She's all alone, and she sleeps in a basement. She's a nice girl. I like her. She gives cigarettes to all her friends. You should have a woman to take care of you.

  Karl-Heinz : A woman? That's all I need. Like this bitch of a life wasn't enough.

  Edmund : Don't talk like that! Have courage!

  Karl-Heinz : I had courage. A soldier can lose everything but his courage. But now I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm less than useless, another mouth to feed.

• Eva : You're so selfish. You don't care about getting food. You only care about eating it.

  Karl-Heinz : Didn't I tell you to send Edmund to work?

  Eva : You don't do anything. You just hide, and yet you want to eat and drink. You don't ask where I go every night. All that matters is that I come back with a couple of cigarettes for you.

  Karl-Heinz : Did I smoke them?

  Eva : No, but you know that cigarettes are like money.

  Karl-Heinz : Should I thank you for that? Nowadays everybody does it.

  Eva : They do worse things, too.

  Karl-Heinz : You see?

  Eva : Then tell me to sell myself!

• Edmund : It wasn't my fault. I was with other boys.

  Il padre : Enough! I don't want to hear any lies!

  Eva : He didn't mean any harm, Papa. He wanted to get something to eat.

  Il padre : I'll do without.

  Karl-Heinz : Me, too. I'd rather die of hunger.

  Eva : Easy for you to say.

  Il padre : I can't stand it anymore, here in this bed.

• Il medico : His heart is very weak. His whole condition is bad.

  Eva : What can we do?

  Il medico : He needs nutritrious foods, vitamins.

  Eva : How can we do that, Doctor?

  Edmund : With the cards we have, we can't get more

  Il medico : Yes, I know. It's the same all over. The best thing would be to get him into a hospital. But they are all more than full.

  Karl-Heinz : Couldn't we at least try, Doctor?

  Il medico : Cases worse than his have not been admitted.

• Edmund : Eva, they're cutting the power.

  Eva : The power? Why?

  Edmund : They discovered someone was stealing it.

  Eva : Who?

  Karl-Heinz : Someone.

  Edmund : Rademaker says it was us.

  Karl-Heinz : As usual.

  Eva : So that's what he was screaming about.

  Karl-Heinz : That black marketer. One day I'll smash his head.

  Eva : You're such a big talker, but when it comes to helping us, you do nothing.