The Plot Against America (2020) s01e04 Episode Script
Part 4
1
Aw-main.
As we remember the life of Dora Finkel,
it is meaningful, I think,
to admire the great journey
that she represents
in beginning her life
in a Russian shtetl,
coming to this new country
as a young girl,
and making a life for herself
and her family in a new land.
Our parents are the generation
that risked all
to make us Americans.
And we are, indeed, now Americans.
And now, the Mourner's Kaddish.
Dodgers beat Braves, four-two.
Indian takes White Sox, two-one.
Reds clobber Cubs, two-nothing.
How ya doin', Little Robert?
- How're you, Herman?
- Yanks keep pace?
You bet, beat the Athletics, seven-two.
Come on.
Dodgers beat Braves, four-two
Does he have a last name?
Do you?
So does he.
What is it?
To tell you the truth, I don't
know Robert's last name.
- Good morning, Mister I.
- Uh, two of the cinnamon babka,
four dozen of the rugelach, assorted,
- and a jelly for my valet here.
- Of course.
Herman
I saw the obituary
for your mother-in-law.
Her memory should be a blessing
for you and Bess.
Thank you, Norman.
Are you picking up for the shiva?
All but a couple dozen rugelach.
Those, I'm taking up
to my nephew in Montreal.
He's, uh
He's recovering from wounds
in a hospital there.
Well, in that case, it's all gratis.
Norman, you don't have to do that.
Yes, I do.
Give Bess my condolences.
five-four!
Can I go with you to Canada?
You have school tomorrow, Philip.
Can't miss two days in a row.
seven-two!
Dodger beat Braves
- Dad?
- Hmm?
What is Alvin going to do?
What will he do?
Reds clobber Cubs, two-nothing.
He'll find his way, kiddo.
I'm glad Herman agreed
to have you and Lionel
over for dinner on Friday.
I'm glad for that, Ev.
Wait till you see what came today.
So grown up, isn't he?
Uh
It was nice of you
to think of Sandy,
- but I don't want
- You hate it.
I'll use another boy.
It's just, he's such a good-looking kid.
We would feature him on the brochure,
and we could even have him
talk to small groups of people
- about the program
- It's all too much, Ev.
I I don't want him
getting full of himself.
Thank you.
It's a good thing she let me
keep her accounts in order
these past few months.
You know she didn't want the help.
For the insurance policy,
I I'll I'll take it
to Herman's office.
They'll notarize and process it
faster than if we
Well, I certainly got enough
for more than you two ladies.
The Tirschwells were here,
and the rabbi and his wife.
- And Mrs. Steiner.
- They may be back tonight.
You're gonna have to
make a minyan without me.
I'm sorry for that,
but I have to get on the road
if I'm gonna get there and see Alvin
and get back in time
for my Friday collections.
Have you heard anything from Alvin?
Not a word.
I don't understand.
I've been writing him for weeks.
Well, maybe he's unable to write.
It's a leg, Ev.
Whatever he has to say,
I'll hear it soon enough.
Travel safe.
Nurse?
Please
I need a doctor.
Skipping dinner again?
Do you need me to empty the pan?
Kill me first.
It's my job.
Don't let it bother you, Corporal Levin.
Or can I call you Alvin?
You know, you can call me Jenny.
It's Jane Reedlaw,
- but I go by Jenny
- I know your name.
Seeing as you haven't used it yet,
- I just thought I'd remind you
- Yeah, what should we do now?
You wanna go dancing, Jenny Reedlaw?
I used to manage
a pretty good jitterbug.
Or maybe we could Lindy Hop.
- Do you want
- No.
I don't want.
New York.
FDR is said to have sent
the following telegram
to President Lindbergh :
"Mr. President,
- Rescind the White House
state dinner invitation
of German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop
for the sake of all freedom-loving Americans,
and particularly the tens
of millions of Americans
of European stock,
whose ancestral countries
must live beneath the
crushing yoke of the Nazis."
FDR is the latest to join
the chorus: Rescind. Rescind.
Flash: Washington.
A resolution drafted by House Democrats
against Lindy's dinner date
has stalled in committee.
Word is Republican
in honor of you having taken
all your meals with us
during your stay here in the islands,
we'd like to present you with this.
Oh, well, that's
Well, of course, I
I noticed that the other passengers
received leis of, uh, of ginger and orchids.
What is this one made of?
Chicken livers.
Chicken livers?
You better not wear it on board, boss!
The seagulls will drive us crazy.
Never mind. Thank you.
Thank you very, very much.
Were you afraid?
Of what?
Of being away from home.
No.
Did you like the family?
The Mawhinneys? Yeah.
- Did they like you?
- Yeah, I think so.
Did you eat one of those?
No, these are piglets.
They've gotta fatten them up first.
Is that Mr. Ma Mawhinney?
Yeah.
That's the pig we ate
the Sunday before I left.
Keep your mouth shut about it, though.
- Why?
- Pigs aren't kosher, remember?
But we don't keep kosher.
Only Grandma did that.
Even so, Dad would make
a big deal about it if he knew.
So zip it.
You have a visitor.
Alvin, I've known you
since you were born.
You're a fighter.
You got your father's strength.
Your father could take the hardest blow,
and still keep going.
Our home is your home.
Always.
They're all angry in some way.
But no one like him.
Lock it down.
Oh! I forgot my keys.
I have an extra set. Use our door,
go down the stairs if I'm not here.
I'll come home from work early.
I'll take Seldon if you're still at the hospital.
Thank you, Bess. Go with Martin.
Okay.
Landsman?
Landsman.
Need a hand?
I got it, thanks.
If you're headed back to New Jersey,
zay gesundt. Safe travels.
Zay gesundt.
This, too, was new to me.
The way time slows down in the country,
so there's time to think or just be.
We worked hard, yes,
but when the work was done,
there were moments of quiet calm.
My favorite moments came in the evening,
when we would walk the long dirt road
to bring the horses in for the night.
I hope Just Folks gives you, too,
the change to walk a similar road
and meet the kind people
of our great country,
the people of real America.
Thank you very much.
Now, I would like to introduce
our associate program director,
Miss Evelyn Finkel.
Thank you, Recruiting Officer Levin.
I cannot emphasize
what a valuable experience
Just Folks has been for Sandy.
- No.
- So consider it a mitzvah
to send the best young men of Anshe Emeth
to America's heartland.
And at least twenty bushels
of the Rutgers, not Romas.
Won't get the Romas from Chester again
Monty, you don't have a clean
shirt around here somewhere?
You know, it's late, Herman.
Why don't you go home, call it day?
If I can just get presentable,
I can still make my day's collections,
leave them for Karl in the morning.
Drive took a hell of a lot
longer than I thought.
But was it worth it?
He's family, Monty.
We have to bring him home.
Even when Canada's gonna pay him
to sit on his ass,
which is the best job
for a schmuck like him.
You know, if Jack was alive,
he would've never gotten
out the front door.
In fact, you shouldn't have let him go.
I didn't let him go.
Right, he ran away to become a war hero,
and where did it land him?
A goddamn invalid for the rest of his life.
- Over what?
- "Over what?"
Alvin can't bear your Nazi-loving president,
that's why he left.
You know, not so long ago,
you couldn't bear the man either.
But now what?
Stock market is up, profits are up,
business is booming.
Everything else about Lindbergh,
what he stands for,
is forgotten?
What else matters to you, a businessman,
if the money is right?
Boy, you know, you sound
just like the stupid kid.
"What else matters?"
Do your boys matter?
Hmm? Sandy?
You want him to come home
one day like that?
How 'bout Philip? You want him
to wind up in a grave
in France or wherever the hell else?
What are out of the war!
We're staying out of the war!
Lindbergh, he's done no harm
to any of us as far I can see.
You know, that's the thing, Monty.
You don't see much outside of
your own little world.
Okay.
- There were Germans who voted their pocketbooks, too.
- Oh, please!
You give these people an inch,
you see what they take next.
Okay. All right.
I'm waiting, Herman.
picked up Sam and drove over
to the Coroner's Office
in Long Beach.
It was the usual routine.
Questions, answers. I testified.
So did Sam and everyone else.
But there was only one opening:
Miller Gray at the Harbor Hotel in San Pedro,
and that's where I went.
Who?
- I'll say it again.
- Gray. Miller Gray.
I don't think we have anyone registered
here under that name
Are you hungry?
No.
- Yes, of course.
- Well?
I'm terribly sorry
And Alvin?
Eh He's not the same.
But when we get him home
And Canada?
Bess, I was there for six hours.
- And how did it feel to you?
- Bess
I'm asking about Canada.
It's another place. Another country.
It's not my country.
the body of what had been
an attractive man in his early twenties
sprawled out on the floor
on the other side
Oh.
Keep massaging the scar tissue.
Let's take a look at this.
- It's healing nicely.
- I'll be back.
Before long, you'll be back home.
Where's home for you, son?
- New Jersey.
- How are we feeling over here?
Be wise to call Canada home.
We take care of our own.
You have served king and country here.
Just make sure he gets in to see
the benefits administrator.
Uh, yeah, okay.
You may find that your countrymen in New Jersey
do not have the same high regard
for your sacrifice as we do.
Well, it's always a delight
to be in a well-tended
Jewish home on a Friday evening.
Bess, your Sabbath home brings to mind
a phrase from the Yiddish tongue.
Balabusta.
You speak Yiddish, Herman?
A phrase here and there, not really.
Well, balabusta is the correct phrase.
Roughly translated, it means
a woman who keeps a good Jewish home.
I thank you both.
Sandy, why don't you tell the rabbi
about your time in Kentucky.
Yes, where was the farm exactly?
Uh, Perryville. It's near Lexington.
And tell him what you learned there.
I learned a lot about my country, sir,
and a lot about growing tobacco.
Did you know, Sandy,
that tobacco was the economic foundation
of the first English settlement
at Jamestown in Virginia?
No, I didn't.
But I saw how much money
Mr. Mawhinney made
after only a couple hours
of selling it at the market.
Well, tobacco and cotton built the South.
That's a region for which
I have some special affection,
having been born there.
Indeed, my father,
after emigrating from Germany,
went south with a horse and a wagon.
He was a peddler, mind you.
He fought for the Confederacy.
He was wounded at Chancellorsville,
and he also fought at Sharpsburg,
which you in the North call Antietam,
bloodiest day of the war.
He was with the sharpshooters
in Toombs' Brigade
when they held off a whole
wing of the Union army
for six hours.
Once, we were slaves in Egypt,
says the Haggadah.
But your father, he fought with Pharaoh.
Hardly the only one.
Did you ever hear of Judah Benjamin?
Was that your father's name?
No, no. Mr. Benjamin was not my father.
He was a very prominent
and respected Jewish lawyer.
Before secession, he served as
a senator from South Carolina,
and during the war, he was
second only to Jefferson Davis
in the government of the Confederacy.
A Jew supporting an immoral cause,
on the wrong side of American history.
Well, I certainly agree, Herman.
The cause for which the South went to war
was neither legal nor moral in my judgment.
And yet, I've always held Judah Benjamin
in the highest regard.
And a Jew was a rarity
in America in those days,
and Mr. Benjamin came very close
to the pinnacle of political success.
Well, this is all very interesting,
but if you'll excuse me.
Sandy, come over here.
Why don't you show the rabbi your sketches.
Hmm.
This is a barn and a hog shed
that Mr. Mawhinney built with his own hands.
You do have a talent, Sandy.
But Rabbi, you make it sound as if
Europe's young men are less valuable,
that that European Jews
are less important
- A life is a life.
- I abhor all war.
And Europe is a charnel house
and will be so forever, I fear.
But America has freed itself
of that vile history,
and in doing so,
becomes our best possible future as Jews.
You abhor war, but not Hitler.
This madman is making a war
such as no one has ever seen before.
I have only contempt for Adolf Hitler,
- and
- All right, boys, time for bed.
No chores tonight.
I have Ev to help me. Go on.
Delighted to see you again, Sandy.
And you, too, Philip.
There are men and women
who don't feel as you do, Rabbi.
They see evil, wherever it is, and they act.
War is an evil.
I am acting on that.
A necessary evil, in some cases.
I have a nephew fighting
with the Canadians,
volunteering against Hitler and his kind.
He's been wounded.
Your brother's son.
Evelyn told me.
The loss of a leg.
It will require all the love
and patience you have
to deliver him to a place
that he can again resume a useful life.
His life never ceased to be useful, Rabbi.
- To me Alvin is a hero.
- And to me, a tragedy.
This country is not at war.
We do not require our young men
to sacrifice life or limb.
And some of us have gone
to great effort to make this so.
I guess Alvin counted himself
a citizen of the world
and a Jew.
And since everywhere he goes,
Hitler beats down and shoots the Jews
there may be a time where
he comes here to America
to beat down and shoot us.
And what will our president
do then? Defend us?
Or have he and Herr Hitler
reached another understanding?
Sandy, do you wanna see my stamps?
Sandy, did you hear me?
I was at the White House
talking to the president
just yesterday morning.
And I informed the president
that any number of my own congregants
who had voted for Roosevelt
were now his strong supporters,
grateful that he had spared our country
the agonies of yet another Great War.
Admittedly, before becoming president,
Mr. Lindbergh made some statements
grounded in anti-Semitic cliché,
but he did so out of ignorance.
And I can assure you, today,
that he privately acknowledges this
- in so many words.
- Privately.
This is not an evil man,
Herman, not in any way.
And I was proud to tell him
that Just Folks and programs like it
were beginning to convince
the Jews of America
that he is anything but their enemy.
Evelyn. A hand, please.
It is ignorant to think of our president
as some sort of American Hitler
when we know full well that
Mr. Lindbergh attained power
in a free and fair election
Why did you send the boys to bed?
Because it's bedtime.
And because I don't want Sandy
turning into a know-it-all.
of the Nuremburg laws
that deprive German Jews
of their civil rights
and membership in their nation.
But I have encouraged President Lindbergh
to invite Jews to make
this country our own
as much as any other citizens.
a hand with the drying, please?
Tell me, Herman
is that beginning to address your fears?
Not for a moment.
And to hear someone
like yourself talk like that
frankly, it alarms me even more.
This has been cleaned.
Just put the silverware away.
More tea, rebbe?
I'm just fine, thanks.
Huh? What was that?
Oh, dear.
I'll be right back.
Change for northbound train 332,
the Ambassador,
- with station stops in St. John's and Montreal.
This train will now depart from track one.
The Ambassador to Montreal, train 332,
now arriving, track one.
Levin.
Levin!
How did you lose your leg, Levin?
Climbing accident.
In the Laurentians a few months ago.
Mountain climbing in Quebec?
Under the Neutrality Law, Mr. Levin,
citizens of the United States
are prohibited from engaging as combatants
in any conflict overseas.
Where exactly were you climbing?
Norway.
Norway. What happened there?
An accident.
I tripped
over a dead Nazi.
War's done for me.
I'm going home to Jersey.
You wanna grab up a cripple,
and wheel him away,
you have at it, Mr. G-man.
So, now we find ourselves at the brink
of initiating the second phase
of this great undertaking.
First, we gave our Jewish youth
a taste of the American heartland.
Now, we open the country
to a permanent migration of Jewish families.
Last week, Congressman Vogel
and Secretary Ford
had the privilege of hosting,
here in Washington,
distinguished leaders
from JP Morgan, Chase Bank,
Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical,
Metropolitan Life, Woolworth,
International Business Machines,
of course, Ford Motors,
and, as much as it pained
Secretary Ford, General Motors.
These American businesses
will lend direct support
as the new Homestead Act
moves through Congress.
What does direct support mean?
Well, these are national companies
and financial institutions,
each with a presence coast to coast.
To the extent that
Jewish employees need to be relocated,
these employers will service that need.
To be clear, the Homestead Act
involves voluntary participation
in the program, correct?
How could it be otherwise?
This is a free country.
Alvin!
Last call on track three
for southbound train 170
making stops in North Philadelphia,
Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington.
All aboard train 170 on track three.
You're here, you're home.
- Thank you, sir.
- Compliments and gratitude
of the Canadian government and people.
Good luck to you, corporal.
Bess
Philip.
All aboard train 170 on track three.
Okay!
Come on, come on, let's go, let's go.
All right, let's go.
I thought you'd be up by now.
I thought they couldn't
discharge you otherwise.
- What's happened?
- Stump broke down.
- What does that mean?
- What it sounds like.
You got any luggage?
Sure. In the baggage car.
Where'd you think my leg is?
It's all right to be upset.
I'm not upset.
Philip, you've lost your grandma,
and Mr. Wishnow downstairs is also very sick.
And now
our Alvin has come back to us in a bad way.
It's a hard time, I know.
Alvin is ashamed.
He is ashamed for us to see him hop around.
Ashamed for us to see him in a wheelchair.
When he left, he was strong and independent.
And now, he probably wants to hide and scream.
But it won't be long until he realizes
there's nothing about the way he looks or
about what happened to him to be ashamed of.
I'm not thinking about that.
Philip, what if Sandy moved back
from the sewing room
to to his own bed?
Then Alvin could sleep in your bed,
and you could have the sewing
room all to yourself.
It's my bed. My room. I'll be fine.
files. I'll have them
on your desk within the hour.
But, so, you've reached out to
various Jewish organizations
- Yes, I've
- Oh! My
Mrs. Lindbergh.
- I I didn't realize
- No, no, no, no, no.
We've summoned you for a reason.
Please, join us.
It is such a pleasure to finally meet
Rabbi Bengelsdorf's fiancée.
And the director of the
New Jersey office as well.
I have heard such good things.
Oh
Thank you.
So, Miss Finkel.
Duty again calls.
I'll let the First Lady explain.
Well. As you know,
we are planning for the upcoming visit
of Herr von Ribbentrop, the German minister.
And while I can assure you
Charles and I in no way agree
with all the policies
of von Ribbentrop's government,
particularly in regard
to Jewish matters,
we nonetheless realize
the great importance
of normalizing our relations
and maintaining the understanding
my husband came to with
the Germans in Iceland.
For peace.
- Yes. F For peace.
- Just so.
But we are also aware
that to host a state dinner
and not highlight some representation
among America's Jewish leaders
would send the wrong message,
not only to Americans,
but to the Germans as well.
It would be valuable
to show von Ribbentrop
that Jews are as much a part
of this country's political
and social landscape as anyone else.
Yes.
Well, the problem thus far
is the Jewish leaders
we've asked to attend
this state dinner have declined.
It's been suggested that
in addition to Secretary Ford,
we would represent
the US Department of Interior at the dinner.
And of course, you would both
be featured prominently
as representatives of your community.
But, in doing so, mind you,
we would, in no way,
be endorsing all of the Nazi policies,
- particularly those that affect our community
- Can we bring Sandy?
Evelyn, this is a state dinner.
Who is Sandy?
Sanford Levin. My My nephew.
He's wonderful. He's
He's become the New Jersey poster boy
for the administration's
Just Folks program,
and he just spent the summer in Kentucky.
- And how old is this young man?
- Fifteen.
Oh, no.
He got caught.
Doing what?
Playing spy.
You're Philip?
Is your ma home, Philip?
She's upstairs in the kitchen.
Earl, what happened?
- Who is that man?
- My father.
Teacher's been asking about you.
I have to go live with my bubbe
in New York City.
Because of our spying on people?
No, dummy. Because of Louise.
What did she do?
She went crazy.
They took her to Marlboro.
To the looney bin.
Is that your dad who saw the Hawaii stamp?
Yeah. That reminds me
I would love your chocolate cake recipe!
My David loves chocolate cake.
Philip.
I gave your mother the address
of where Earl will be living
in New York City.
You can write to him every now
and then, if you'd like.
Okay.
Bye, Philip.
Bye, Earl.
Am I your best friend now?
And with his first public
appearance in several months,
Roosevelt addressed the rowdy crowd
protesting the upcoming state dinner.
This shameless courting
by President Lindbergh
of a cruel and barbaric tyrant
is unparalleled in the
chronicle of man's misdeeds.
We Americans do not wish to see Nazis
Get off the stage, Jew lover!
We Americans
Shut up, I'm trying to watch somethin'.
will not accept a Hitler-dominated America.
We Americans will not accept
a Hitler-dominated world.
At the conclusion of his speech,
the demonstrators continued
their march down Broadway,
where New York City Mayor La Guardia
made additional remarks in opposition
Spit it out, kid.
We were on the beach
waiting to get out.
Just waiting for the boat.
Someone shot a German.
He was out there in the dunes,
screaming for a while.
I listened for about as long as I could,
then I crawled over to where he was.
Maybe 50 yards.
By then, he was dead.
But I got out my rifle
and I shot him twice in the head.
And I spit on the Nazi son of a bitch.
In that second, just
Grenade.
Christ.
So now what? You gonna lay
around here like a
like a sharpie out of luck?
Or would you consider supporting yourself
like the rest of us dumb mortals do?
There's a job for you at the market.
I mean, it ain't driving
Abe Steinheim around
in a pretty suit and tie, but
it's honest work.
Six days a week.
Monty.
Think you could give me
an advance on that first week?
Just a fin or two till I'm able.
Any other questions?
Okay, if you'd like to apply,
you can sign up over here.
Thank you.
Stacy, wait up!
Aunt Ev, I thought you were in Washington.
I was. I took the Streamliner all the way back
because I wanted to see your face
when I gave you this.
Billy, come on, we're gonna be late.
Yeah I kinda, um
didn't do it, so
can I just copy what you have?
I mean, at least that way
What's your hurry, kiddo?
Hey, soldier boy.
Oh, fuck you, Shush.
So. Where's the game?
- What are you thinking?
- The man is a Nazi.
- I'm going.
- Absolutely not. No. Never.
I'm going, and I'm never coming back.
- Sandy! Sandy!
- Sandy!
Sandy!
Come on. Come on! Hard eight!
- Hard eight!
- Nah, I can't bet with this guy.
How do you expect any fucker
with one leg to ever be lucky?
- Come on.
- I'll cover that.
No, he's crapping out here.
Bang! Yes! Yes!
- Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.
- How the fuck did that hit?
All right, fuck it, new shooter.
- Let's get outta here.
- Come on!
- You ain't gonna give us more of a chance to win it back?
- No, I'm thirsty. Catch.
All right, where's the drink?
Let's go downtown to The Empire.
I want you to meet Abie.
It's the guy I run numbers for.
I told you, Abie's my guy.
He introduced me to Longy.
You met Longy Zwillman?
While you went away to get your leg knocked off,
I was busy gettin' ahead.
Huh, no kidding.
I'm here for my son.
No one is trying to take your
son away from you, Herman.
He came here, and we opened the door.
- And then we called you.
- Sandy, let's go.
Bess.
- This is such an honor.
- You should have asked us first.
This is our son. We are his parents.
- We are his family.
- I I couldn't imagine
That what? That his mother and father
might not want him to shame himself
in front of the entire country
by welcoming a vicious criminal?
No one is a criminal. This is
just a great opportunity.
- For an opportunist.
- Herman!
Bess, this invitation came
directly from the First Lady.
Anne Lindbergh wants to meet our Sandy.
To refuse the honor
after your sister went out of her way
You must know why this is impossible.
But this is the White House!
I am not impressed by the White House.
But it's the president.
And I'm even less impressed
with the man who lives there.
- He's a Nazi.
- Charles Lindbergh is a hero!
He has saved thousands of lives.
He has brought peace and prosperity
He's let Adolf Hitler walk across Europe,
murdering thousands.
But never mind the fly boy.
Are you gonna stand there and tell me
that Herr von Ribbentrop isn't a Nazi?
- Oh, you are a coward!
- Evelyn!
- And you're dragging everyone down with you!
- But not you, Evelyn.
You're headed straight to the top.
It may have taken you years
to bang your way into this new role
- as a great man's soon-to-be wife.
- Mr. Levin.
But now that you've made it,
all the Nazis they want to parade
through the White House
are not gonna ruin it for you, are they?
Enough, Evelyn. We're not important.
We're ordinary people.
- Come on.
- Ordinary?
Let go.
- No, Sandy is extraordinary.
- Let go!
Let's go. Come on, we're going home.
- Bess.
- You had no right.
Read about von Ribbentrop.
Every dirty scheme Hitler
has foisted on Europe,
every filthy lie he has told other countries
has come through the mouth of that man.
Read.
- Or listen to Winchell.
- I don't care.
Sandy, you know nothing about von Ribbentrop,
about Goering, about Goebbels,
about Himmler and Hess.
I don't care.
Do you know what the Treaty of Versailles is?
Did you ever hear of Mein Kampf?
Ask Mr. von Ribbentrop. He'll tell you.
I'll never forgive you for this.
But you will.
One day, you will understand
that what your father wants for you
is actually what's for the best.
I let my aunt down.
She's the one who's let us down, Sandy!
She's part of something dangerous and ugly.
That's not true. That's bullshit!
Stop it. Stop that talk right now.
You're ghetto Jews.
Narrow-minded ghetto Jews.
Don't mimic your stupid aunt.
Don't ever talk back like that ever again!
You're a dictator.
You're worse than Hitler.
Do you know what your father
has done for you?
Do you understand what you
are going to do to your life?
To your reputation?
Oh. Does the jewelry bother you?
I understand if seeing your wife's jewelry
Absolutely not.
This, too.
Oh
Although a vast ocean separates us,
our countries have come together
for the wellbeing of all mankind.
We will soon be together
on the other side of this terrible war
in a moment of peace for Europe.
May this understanding between our countries
bring our people ever closer.
Mr. President,
you do us and the people of Germany
a great honor.
We are overwhelmed by your gracious hospitality.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Master Philip!
You ever listen to Gang Busters
on the radio, Master Philip?
Well, I work for Mr. Hoover.
He's my boss. I'm an FBI agent.
See?
If you wouldn't mind,
I'd like to ask you a few little questions.
I'm on my way home.
That's okay. Come here.
How's your cousin Alvin doing?
How's his leg coming along?
He's fine.
Have you ever heard Alvin
talk about President Lindbergh
or Canada or the war?
No, sir.
Has Alvin or maybe your father
said anything about Hitler?
You know who he is.
Everybody does.
He's against the Jews, isn't he?
Anyone else against the Jews?
Mr. Hoover needs to know who else.
Ah, you're a smart kid, Phil.
I think you know more. A lot more.
Homestead seems to be working
in the right direction now, yes?
A better direction, at least.
The discussions with your department
were of great value.
We can dress them up
and take them to a party,
but we can't make them enjoy themselves.
Well, I can't thank you enough
for sharing this evening
and showing your support.
At some point soon, when time permits,
Charles and I should have you
both over to lunch.
- Is your nephew here?
- Regrettably, he took sick.
Oh shame.
Well, Rabbi Bengelsdorf, Secretary Smithson,
all due respect, you must take
the ladies to the dance floor.
You cannot spend the entire
evening talking politics.
Point taken, Mrs. Lindbergh.
Car 14, did you take that call?
The stoplight's out at
Springfield and Irvington.
Yeah, ten-four, Central.
On the scene now.
Mom!
Philip! Oh.
Is that his kid?
Don't, darling. He was sick.
- He was very, very sick.
- He can't breathe in there.
He He died. Philip, he died.
He was so, so sick.
Dad isn't sick.
Dad? No. No, no, no.
It's Mr. Wishnow. He was sick,
and he was suffering.
And then, he died in his bed.
Now, he's not suffering anymore.
Remember, he came home from the hospital?
Now, he has passed away.
Your father's inside helping Mrs. Wishnow.
Your father is fine. He's fine.
Car 14, did you take that call?
Ten-four, Central.
Mr. President.
Good evening.
Ambassador, so good to see you.
Later, perhaps. He's fairly well
monopolized at the moment.
Well, there's the vice president.
Vice President Wheeler.
Secretary Ford.
Rabbi, very good to see you here.
I'm pleased to be a part of it.
May I introduce my fiancée
and the head of the OAA New Jersey office,
Miss Evelyn Finkel.
- Mr. Vice President.
- Enjoying yourself, Miss Finkel?
I was just telling Lionel,
I feel like I'm at
a Southern debutante's ball
- Hey, Burton!
- or Gone with the Wind.
If this were the South,
you Jews would be out back,
rilin' up the niggers.
Gay kacken offen yam.
Do you know what that means?
It's just something
my grandmother used to say
to people she didn't like.
May I have this dance?
Herr von Ribbentrop.
It would be our distinct honor.
Do you want to play a game, Seldon?
Here, Herman. Be well.
You too, Norman.
Herman Levin.
Don McCorkle, FBI. Can we talk?
About your nephew, Alvin.
You the son of a bitch who
buttonholes ten-year-old boys?
I got nothin' to say to you.
And it's on to the State Dining Room,
where guests enjoy the very best
in American cuisine and hospitality,
presented by President Lindbergh
and our beautiful First Lady.
There's Interior Secretary
Henry Ford seated with
Vice President Wheeler's
youngest daughter, Frances.
They're among many familiar faces
from government officials to Hollywood stars.
The goodwill continues with a toast
to German-American friendship
and Herr von Ribbentrop
in the first diplomatic meeting
between the countries
since the Iceland Accord last year.
Here are some patriotic Americans
dancing the historic night away.
You!
The State Department is pleased
Quit it!
- with the successful evening of peaceful
Can you pick up my shift tomorrow?
Don't worry, I got it.
Hey, this crate's half empty, come on!
Harry, I thought you punched out already
Alvin.
I don't know, there's smoke
coming outta the hood.
Alvin! C'mere.
Bad news.
I gotta cut you loose.
What?
Kid, I gotta fire you.
What, from pushing a fucking broom all day?
Well, that's the good news.
I mean, that's you know,
you hated this job to begin with, right?
What the fuck, Monty?
So, that shithead was an FBI agent.
Tells me you're a red, you're a communist.
Otherwise, you wouldn't have
gone there to fight.
- Fuck him.
- No, kid, we do not fuck him.
Because before he visited me,
he also visited Longy Zwillman,
who runs the carting for this warehouse
and every other one like it in Newark.
And Longy called me and told me
if a federal agent shows up,
you gotta cut the kid loose.
Well, one just showed.
I What the fuck can I do, kid?
You're marked.
Ralph, wait up, I got one more!
If I go now, I could still catch my bus
- and be home for dinner.
- Sit!
Your father's coming for you.
But what did I do wrong?
I just wanted to see my aunt.
She was at the White House.
Your aunt If she had a brain
Ah. How he knows how to get the buses
downtown, I don't know,
but he gave that to my girl in the
booth when he bought his ticket.
- Let's go.
- Ow!
Dad! Dad, you're dragging me.
Hey!
Quit it!
He wants to go bowling.
This is not a game.
I told them I couldn't keep up.
Well And you can't.
Aw-main.
As we remember the life of Dora Finkel,
it is meaningful, I think,
to admire the great journey
that she represents
in beginning her life
in a Russian shtetl,
coming to this new country
as a young girl,
and making a life for herself
and her family in a new land.
Our parents are the generation
that risked all
to make us Americans.
And we are, indeed, now Americans.
And now, the Mourner's Kaddish.
Dodgers beat Braves, four-two.
Indian takes White Sox, two-one.
Reds clobber Cubs, two-nothing.
How ya doin', Little Robert?
- How're you, Herman?
- Yanks keep pace?
You bet, beat the Athletics, seven-two.
Come on.
Dodgers beat Braves, four-two
Does he have a last name?
Do you?
So does he.
What is it?
To tell you the truth, I don't
know Robert's last name.
- Good morning, Mister I.
- Uh, two of the cinnamon babka,
four dozen of the rugelach, assorted,
- and a jelly for my valet here.
- Of course.
Herman
I saw the obituary
for your mother-in-law.
Her memory should be a blessing
for you and Bess.
Thank you, Norman.
Are you picking up for the shiva?
All but a couple dozen rugelach.
Those, I'm taking up
to my nephew in Montreal.
He's, uh
He's recovering from wounds
in a hospital there.
Well, in that case, it's all gratis.
Norman, you don't have to do that.
Yes, I do.
Give Bess my condolences.
five-four!
Can I go with you to Canada?
You have school tomorrow, Philip.
Can't miss two days in a row.
seven-two!
Dodger beat Braves
- Dad?
- Hmm?
What is Alvin going to do?
What will he do?
Reds clobber Cubs, two-nothing.
He'll find his way, kiddo.
I'm glad Herman agreed
to have you and Lionel
over for dinner on Friday.
I'm glad for that, Ev.
Wait till you see what came today.
So grown up, isn't he?
Uh
It was nice of you
to think of Sandy,
- but I don't want
- You hate it.
I'll use another boy.
It's just, he's such a good-looking kid.
We would feature him on the brochure,
and we could even have him
talk to small groups of people
- about the program
- It's all too much, Ev.
I I don't want him
getting full of himself.
Thank you.
It's a good thing she let me
keep her accounts in order
these past few months.
You know she didn't want the help.
For the insurance policy,
I I'll I'll take it
to Herman's office.
They'll notarize and process it
faster than if we
Well, I certainly got enough
for more than you two ladies.
The Tirschwells were here,
and the rabbi and his wife.
- And Mrs. Steiner.
- They may be back tonight.
You're gonna have to
make a minyan without me.
I'm sorry for that,
but I have to get on the road
if I'm gonna get there and see Alvin
and get back in time
for my Friday collections.
Have you heard anything from Alvin?
Not a word.
I don't understand.
I've been writing him for weeks.
Well, maybe he's unable to write.
It's a leg, Ev.
Whatever he has to say,
I'll hear it soon enough.
Travel safe.
Nurse?
Please
I need a doctor.
Skipping dinner again?
Do you need me to empty the pan?
Kill me first.
It's my job.
Don't let it bother you, Corporal Levin.
Or can I call you Alvin?
You know, you can call me Jenny.
It's Jane Reedlaw,
- but I go by Jenny
- I know your name.
Seeing as you haven't used it yet,
- I just thought I'd remind you
- Yeah, what should we do now?
You wanna go dancing, Jenny Reedlaw?
I used to manage
a pretty good jitterbug.
Or maybe we could Lindy Hop.
- Do you want
- No.
I don't want.
New York.
FDR is said to have sent
the following telegram
to President Lindbergh :
"Mr. President,
- Rescind the White House
state dinner invitation
of German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop
for the sake of all freedom-loving Americans,
and particularly the tens
of millions of Americans
of European stock,
whose ancestral countries
must live beneath the
crushing yoke of the Nazis."
FDR is the latest to join
the chorus: Rescind. Rescind.
Flash: Washington.
A resolution drafted by House Democrats
against Lindy's dinner date
has stalled in committee.
Word is Republican
in honor of you having taken
all your meals with us
during your stay here in the islands,
we'd like to present you with this.
Oh, well, that's
Well, of course, I
I noticed that the other passengers
received leis of, uh, of ginger and orchids.
What is this one made of?
Chicken livers.
Chicken livers?
You better not wear it on board, boss!
The seagulls will drive us crazy.
Never mind. Thank you.
Thank you very, very much.
Were you afraid?
Of what?
Of being away from home.
No.
Did you like the family?
The Mawhinneys? Yeah.
- Did they like you?
- Yeah, I think so.
Did you eat one of those?
No, these are piglets.
They've gotta fatten them up first.
Is that Mr. Ma Mawhinney?
Yeah.
That's the pig we ate
the Sunday before I left.
Keep your mouth shut about it, though.
- Why?
- Pigs aren't kosher, remember?
But we don't keep kosher.
Only Grandma did that.
Even so, Dad would make
a big deal about it if he knew.
So zip it.
You have a visitor.
Alvin, I've known you
since you were born.
You're a fighter.
You got your father's strength.
Your father could take the hardest blow,
and still keep going.
Our home is your home.
Always.
They're all angry in some way.
But no one like him.
Lock it down.
Oh! I forgot my keys.
I have an extra set. Use our door,
go down the stairs if I'm not here.
I'll come home from work early.
I'll take Seldon if you're still at the hospital.
Thank you, Bess. Go with Martin.
Okay.
Landsman?
Landsman.
Need a hand?
I got it, thanks.
If you're headed back to New Jersey,
zay gesundt. Safe travels.
Zay gesundt.
This, too, was new to me.
The way time slows down in the country,
so there's time to think or just be.
We worked hard, yes,
but when the work was done,
there were moments of quiet calm.
My favorite moments came in the evening,
when we would walk the long dirt road
to bring the horses in for the night.
I hope Just Folks gives you, too,
the change to walk a similar road
and meet the kind people
of our great country,
the people of real America.
Thank you very much.
Now, I would like to introduce
our associate program director,
Miss Evelyn Finkel.
Thank you, Recruiting Officer Levin.
I cannot emphasize
what a valuable experience
Just Folks has been for Sandy.
- No.
- So consider it a mitzvah
to send the best young men of Anshe Emeth
to America's heartland.
And at least twenty bushels
of the Rutgers, not Romas.
Won't get the Romas from Chester again
Monty, you don't have a clean
shirt around here somewhere?
You know, it's late, Herman.
Why don't you go home, call it day?
If I can just get presentable,
I can still make my day's collections,
leave them for Karl in the morning.
Drive took a hell of a lot
longer than I thought.
But was it worth it?
He's family, Monty.
We have to bring him home.
Even when Canada's gonna pay him
to sit on his ass,
which is the best job
for a schmuck like him.
You know, if Jack was alive,
he would've never gotten
out the front door.
In fact, you shouldn't have let him go.
I didn't let him go.
Right, he ran away to become a war hero,
and where did it land him?
A goddamn invalid for the rest of his life.
- Over what?
- "Over what?"
Alvin can't bear your Nazi-loving president,
that's why he left.
You know, not so long ago,
you couldn't bear the man either.
But now what?
Stock market is up, profits are up,
business is booming.
Everything else about Lindbergh,
what he stands for,
is forgotten?
What else matters to you, a businessman,
if the money is right?
Boy, you know, you sound
just like the stupid kid.
"What else matters?"
Do your boys matter?
Hmm? Sandy?
You want him to come home
one day like that?
How 'bout Philip? You want him
to wind up in a grave
in France or wherever the hell else?
What are out of the war!
We're staying out of the war!
Lindbergh, he's done no harm
to any of us as far I can see.
You know, that's the thing, Monty.
You don't see much outside of
your own little world.
Okay.
- There were Germans who voted their pocketbooks, too.
- Oh, please!
You give these people an inch,
you see what they take next.
Okay. All right.
I'm waiting, Herman.
picked up Sam and drove over
to the Coroner's Office
in Long Beach.
It was the usual routine.
Questions, answers. I testified.
So did Sam and everyone else.
But there was only one opening:
Miller Gray at the Harbor Hotel in San Pedro,
and that's where I went.
Who?
- I'll say it again.
- Gray. Miller Gray.
I don't think we have anyone registered
here under that name
Are you hungry?
No.
- Yes, of course.
- Well?
I'm terribly sorry
And Alvin?
Eh He's not the same.
But when we get him home
And Canada?
Bess, I was there for six hours.
- And how did it feel to you?
- Bess
I'm asking about Canada.
It's another place. Another country.
It's not my country.
the body of what had been
an attractive man in his early twenties
sprawled out on the floor
on the other side
Oh.
Keep massaging the scar tissue.
Let's take a look at this.
- It's healing nicely.
- I'll be back.
Before long, you'll be back home.
Where's home for you, son?
- New Jersey.
- How are we feeling over here?
Be wise to call Canada home.
We take care of our own.
You have served king and country here.
Just make sure he gets in to see
the benefits administrator.
Uh, yeah, okay.
You may find that your countrymen in New Jersey
do not have the same high regard
for your sacrifice as we do.
Well, it's always a delight
to be in a well-tended
Jewish home on a Friday evening.
Bess, your Sabbath home brings to mind
a phrase from the Yiddish tongue.
Balabusta.
You speak Yiddish, Herman?
A phrase here and there, not really.
Well, balabusta is the correct phrase.
Roughly translated, it means
a woman who keeps a good Jewish home.
I thank you both.
Sandy, why don't you tell the rabbi
about your time in Kentucky.
Yes, where was the farm exactly?
Uh, Perryville. It's near Lexington.
And tell him what you learned there.
I learned a lot about my country, sir,
and a lot about growing tobacco.
Did you know, Sandy,
that tobacco was the economic foundation
of the first English settlement
at Jamestown in Virginia?
No, I didn't.
But I saw how much money
Mr. Mawhinney made
after only a couple hours
of selling it at the market.
Well, tobacco and cotton built the South.
That's a region for which
I have some special affection,
having been born there.
Indeed, my father,
after emigrating from Germany,
went south with a horse and a wagon.
He was a peddler, mind you.
He fought for the Confederacy.
He was wounded at Chancellorsville,
and he also fought at Sharpsburg,
which you in the North call Antietam,
bloodiest day of the war.
He was with the sharpshooters
in Toombs' Brigade
when they held off a whole
wing of the Union army
for six hours.
Once, we were slaves in Egypt,
says the Haggadah.
But your father, he fought with Pharaoh.
Hardly the only one.
Did you ever hear of Judah Benjamin?
Was that your father's name?
No, no. Mr. Benjamin was not my father.
He was a very prominent
and respected Jewish lawyer.
Before secession, he served as
a senator from South Carolina,
and during the war, he was
second only to Jefferson Davis
in the government of the Confederacy.
A Jew supporting an immoral cause,
on the wrong side of American history.
Well, I certainly agree, Herman.
The cause for which the South went to war
was neither legal nor moral in my judgment.
And yet, I've always held Judah Benjamin
in the highest regard.
And a Jew was a rarity
in America in those days,
and Mr. Benjamin came very close
to the pinnacle of political success.
Well, this is all very interesting,
but if you'll excuse me.
Sandy, come over here.
Why don't you show the rabbi your sketches.
Hmm.
This is a barn and a hog shed
that Mr. Mawhinney built with his own hands.
You do have a talent, Sandy.
But Rabbi, you make it sound as if
Europe's young men are less valuable,
that that European Jews
are less important
- A life is a life.
- I abhor all war.
And Europe is a charnel house
and will be so forever, I fear.
But America has freed itself
of that vile history,
and in doing so,
becomes our best possible future as Jews.
You abhor war, but not Hitler.
This madman is making a war
such as no one has ever seen before.
I have only contempt for Adolf Hitler,
- and
- All right, boys, time for bed.
No chores tonight.
I have Ev to help me. Go on.
Delighted to see you again, Sandy.
And you, too, Philip.
There are men and women
who don't feel as you do, Rabbi.
They see evil, wherever it is, and they act.
War is an evil.
I am acting on that.
A necessary evil, in some cases.
I have a nephew fighting
with the Canadians,
volunteering against Hitler and his kind.
He's been wounded.
Your brother's son.
Evelyn told me.
The loss of a leg.
It will require all the love
and patience you have
to deliver him to a place
that he can again resume a useful life.
His life never ceased to be useful, Rabbi.
- To me Alvin is a hero.
- And to me, a tragedy.
This country is not at war.
We do not require our young men
to sacrifice life or limb.
And some of us have gone
to great effort to make this so.
I guess Alvin counted himself
a citizen of the world
and a Jew.
And since everywhere he goes,
Hitler beats down and shoots the Jews
there may be a time where
he comes here to America
to beat down and shoot us.
And what will our president
do then? Defend us?
Or have he and Herr Hitler
reached another understanding?
Sandy, do you wanna see my stamps?
Sandy, did you hear me?
I was at the White House
talking to the president
just yesterday morning.
And I informed the president
that any number of my own congregants
who had voted for Roosevelt
were now his strong supporters,
grateful that he had spared our country
the agonies of yet another Great War.
Admittedly, before becoming president,
Mr. Lindbergh made some statements
grounded in anti-Semitic cliché,
but he did so out of ignorance.
And I can assure you, today,
that he privately acknowledges this
- in so many words.
- Privately.
This is not an evil man,
Herman, not in any way.
And I was proud to tell him
that Just Folks and programs like it
were beginning to convince
the Jews of America
that he is anything but their enemy.
Evelyn. A hand, please.
It is ignorant to think of our president
as some sort of American Hitler
when we know full well that
Mr. Lindbergh attained power
in a free and fair election
Why did you send the boys to bed?
Because it's bedtime.
And because I don't want Sandy
turning into a know-it-all.
of the Nuremburg laws
that deprive German Jews
of their civil rights
and membership in their nation.
But I have encouraged President Lindbergh
to invite Jews to make
this country our own
as much as any other citizens.
a hand with the drying, please?
Tell me, Herman
is that beginning to address your fears?
Not for a moment.
And to hear someone
like yourself talk like that
frankly, it alarms me even more.
This has been cleaned.
Just put the silverware away.
More tea, rebbe?
I'm just fine, thanks.
Huh? What was that?
Oh, dear.
I'll be right back.
Change for northbound train 332,
the Ambassador,
- with station stops in St. John's and Montreal.
This train will now depart from track one.
The Ambassador to Montreal, train 332,
now arriving, track one.
Levin.
Levin!
How did you lose your leg, Levin?
Climbing accident.
In the Laurentians a few months ago.
Mountain climbing in Quebec?
Under the Neutrality Law, Mr. Levin,
citizens of the United States
are prohibited from engaging as combatants
in any conflict overseas.
Where exactly were you climbing?
Norway.
Norway. What happened there?
An accident.
I tripped
over a dead Nazi.
War's done for me.
I'm going home to Jersey.
You wanna grab up a cripple,
and wheel him away,
you have at it, Mr. G-man.
So, now we find ourselves at the brink
of initiating the second phase
of this great undertaking.
First, we gave our Jewish youth
a taste of the American heartland.
Now, we open the country
to a permanent migration of Jewish families.
Last week, Congressman Vogel
and Secretary Ford
had the privilege of hosting,
here in Washington,
distinguished leaders
from JP Morgan, Chase Bank,
Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical,
Metropolitan Life, Woolworth,
International Business Machines,
of course, Ford Motors,
and, as much as it pained
Secretary Ford, General Motors.
These American businesses
will lend direct support
as the new Homestead Act
moves through Congress.
What does direct support mean?
Well, these are national companies
and financial institutions,
each with a presence coast to coast.
To the extent that
Jewish employees need to be relocated,
these employers will service that need.
To be clear, the Homestead Act
involves voluntary participation
in the program, correct?
How could it be otherwise?
This is a free country.
Alvin!
Last call on track three
for southbound train 170
making stops in North Philadelphia,
Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington.
All aboard train 170 on track three.
You're here, you're home.
- Thank you, sir.
- Compliments and gratitude
of the Canadian government and people.
Good luck to you, corporal.
Bess
Philip.
All aboard train 170 on track three.
Okay!
Come on, come on, let's go, let's go.
All right, let's go.
I thought you'd be up by now.
I thought they couldn't
discharge you otherwise.
- What's happened?
- Stump broke down.
- What does that mean?
- What it sounds like.
You got any luggage?
Sure. In the baggage car.
Where'd you think my leg is?
It's all right to be upset.
I'm not upset.
Philip, you've lost your grandma,
and Mr. Wishnow downstairs is also very sick.
And now
our Alvin has come back to us in a bad way.
It's a hard time, I know.
Alvin is ashamed.
He is ashamed for us to see him hop around.
Ashamed for us to see him in a wheelchair.
When he left, he was strong and independent.
And now, he probably wants to hide and scream.
But it won't be long until he realizes
there's nothing about the way he looks or
about what happened to him to be ashamed of.
I'm not thinking about that.
Philip, what if Sandy moved back
from the sewing room
to to his own bed?
Then Alvin could sleep in your bed,
and you could have the sewing
room all to yourself.
It's my bed. My room. I'll be fine.
files. I'll have them
on your desk within the hour.
But, so, you've reached out to
various Jewish organizations
- Yes, I've
- Oh! My
Mrs. Lindbergh.
- I I didn't realize
- No, no, no, no, no.
We've summoned you for a reason.
Please, join us.
It is such a pleasure to finally meet
Rabbi Bengelsdorf's fiancée.
And the director of the
New Jersey office as well.
I have heard such good things.
Oh
Thank you.
So, Miss Finkel.
Duty again calls.
I'll let the First Lady explain.
Well. As you know,
we are planning for the upcoming visit
of Herr von Ribbentrop, the German minister.
And while I can assure you
Charles and I in no way agree
with all the policies
of von Ribbentrop's government,
particularly in regard
to Jewish matters,
we nonetheless realize
the great importance
of normalizing our relations
and maintaining the understanding
my husband came to with
the Germans in Iceland.
For peace.
- Yes. F For peace.
- Just so.
But we are also aware
that to host a state dinner
and not highlight some representation
among America's Jewish leaders
would send the wrong message,
not only to Americans,
but to the Germans as well.
It would be valuable
to show von Ribbentrop
that Jews are as much a part
of this country's political
and social landscape as anyone else.
Yes.
Well, the problem thus far
is the Jewish leaders
we've asked to attend
this state dinner have declined.
It's been suggested that
in addition to Secretary Ford,
we would represent
the US Department of Interior at the dinner.
And of course, you would both
be featured prominently
as representatives of your community.
But, in doing so, mind you,
we would, in no way,
be endorsing all of the Nazi policies,
- particularly those that affect our community
- Can we bring Sandy?
Evelyn, this is a state dinner.
Who is Sandy?
Sanford Levin. My My nephew.
He's wonderful. He's
He's become the New Jersey poster boy
for the administration's
Just Folks program,
and he just spent the summer in Kentucky.
- And how old is this young man?
- Fifteen.
Oh, no.
He got caught.
Doing what?
Playing spy.
You're Philip?
Is your ma home, Philip?
She's upstairs in the kitchen.
Earl, what happened?
- Who is that man?
- My father.
Teacher's been asking about you.
I have to go live with my bubbe
in New York City.
Because of our spying on people?
No, dummy. Because of Louise.
What did she do?
She went crazy.
They took her to Marlboro.
To the looney bin.
Is that your dad who saw the Hawaii stamp?
Yeah. That reminds me
I would love your chocolate cake recipe!
My David loves chocolate cake.
Philip.
I gave your mother the address
of where Earl will be living
in New York City.
You can write to him every now
and then, if you'd like.
Okay.
Bye, Philip.
Bye, Earl.
Am I your best friend now?
And with his first public
appearance in several months,
Roosevelt addressed the rowdy crowd
protesting the upcoming state dinner.
This shameless courting
by President Lindbergh
of a cruel and barbaric tyrant
is unparalleled in the
chronicle of man's misdeeds.
We Americans do not wish to see Nazis
Get off the stage, Jew lover!
We Americans
Shut up, I'm trying to watch somethin'.
will not accept a Hitler-dominated America.
We Americans will not accept
a Hitler-dominated world.
At the conclusion of his speech,
the demonstrators continued
their march down Broadway,
where New York City Mayor La Guardia
made additional remarks in opposition
Spit it out, kid.
We were on the beach
waiting to get out.
Just waiting for the boat.
Someone shot a German.
He was out there in the dunes,
screaming for a while.
I listened for about as long as I could,
then I crawled over to where he was.
Maybe 50 yards.
By then, he was dead.
But I got out my rifle
and I shot him twice in the head.
And I spit on the Nazi son of a bitch.
In that second, just
Grenade.
Christ.
So now what? You gonna lay
around here like a
like a sharpie out of luck?
Or would you consider supporting yourself
like the rest of us dumb mortals do?
There's a job for you at the market.
I mean, it ain't driving
Abe Steinheim around
in a pretty suit and tie, but
it's honest work.
Six days a week.
Monty.
Think you could give me
an advance on that first week?
Just a fin or two till I'm able.
Any other questions?
Okay, if you'd like to apply,
you can sign up over here.
Thank you.
Stacy, wait up!
Aunt Ev, I thought you were in Washington.
I was. I took the Streamliner all the way back
because I wanted to see your face
when I gave you this.
Billy, come on, we're gonna be late.
Yeah I kinda, um
didn't do it, so
can I just copy what you have?
I mean, at least that way
What's your hurry, kiddo?
Hey, soldier boy.
Oh, fuck you, Shush.
So. Where's the game?
- What are you thinking?
- The man is a Nazi.
- I'm going.
- Absolutely not. No. Never.
I'm going, and I'm never coming back.
- Sandy! Sandy!
- Sandy!
Sandy!
Come on. Come on! Hard eight!
- Hard eight!
- Nah, I can't bet with this guy.
How do you expect any fucker
with one leg to ever be lucky?
- Come on.
- I'll cover that.
No, he's crapping out here.
Bang! Yes! Yes!
- Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.
- How the fuck did that hit?
All right, fuck it, new shooter.
- Let's get outta here.
- Come on!
- You ain't gonna give us more of a chance to win it back?
- No, I'm thirsty. Catch.
All right, where's the drink?
Let's go downtown to The Empire.
I want you to meet Abie.
It's the guy I run numbers for.
I told you, Abie's my guy.
He introduced me to Longy.
You met Longy Zwillman?
While you went away to get your leg knocked off,
I was busy gettin' ahead.
Huh, no kidding.
I'm here for my son.
No one is trying to take your
son away from you, Herman.
He came here, and we opened the door.
- And then we called you.
- Sandy, let's go.
Bess.
- This is such an honor.
- You should have asked us first.
This is our son. We are his parents.
- We are his family.
- I I couldn't imagine
That what? That his mother and father
might not want him to shame himself
in front of the entire country
by welcoming a vicious criminal?
No one is a criminal. This is
just a great opportunity.
- For an opportunist.
- Herman!
Bess, this invitation came
directly from the First Lady.
Anne Lindbergh wants to meet our Sandy.
To refuse the honor
after your sister went out of her way
You must know why this is impossible.
But this is the White House!
I am not impressed by the White House.
But it's the president.
And I'm even less impressed
with the man who lives there.
- He's a Nazi.
- Charles Lindbergh is a hero!
He has saved thousands of lives.
He has brought peace and prosperity
He's let Adolf Hitler walk across Europe,
murdering thousands.
But never mind the fly boy.
Are you gonna stand there and tell me
that Herr von Ribbentrop isn't a Nazi?
- Oh, you are a coward!
- Evelyn!
- And you're dragging everyone down with you!
- But not you, Evelyn.
You're headed straight to the top.
It may have taken you years
to bang your way into this new role
- as a great man's soon-to-be wife.
- Mr. Levin.
But now that you've made it,
all the Nazis they want to parade
through the White House
are not gonna ruin it for you, are they?
Enough, Evelyn. We're not important.
We're ordinary people.
- Come on.
- Ordinary?
Let go.
- No, Sandy is extraordinary.
- Let go!
Let's go. Come on, we're going home.
- Bess.
- You had no right.
Read about von Ribbentrop.
Every dirty scheme Hitler
has foisted on Europe,
every filthy lie he has told other countries
has come through the mouth of that man.
Read.
- Or listen to Winchell.
- I don't care.
Sandy, you know nothing about von Ribbentrop,
about Goering, about Goebbels,
about Himmler and Hess.
I don't care.
Do you know what the Treaty of Versailles is?
Did you ever hear of Mein Kampf?
Ask Mr. von Ribbentrop. He'll tell you.
I'll never forgive you for this.
But you will.
One day, you will understand
that what your father wants for you
is actually what's for the best.
I let my aunt down.
She's the one who's let us down, Sandy!
She's part of something dangerous and ugly.
That's not true. That's bullshit!
Stop it. Stop that talk right now.
You're ghetto Jews.
Narrow-minded ghetto Jews.
Don't mimic your stupid aunt.
Don't ever talk back like that ever again!
You're a dictator.
You're worse than Hitler.
Do you know what your father
has done for you?
Do you understand what you
are going to do to your life?
To your reputation?
Oh. Does the jewelry bother you?
I understand if seeing your wife's jewelry
Absolutely not.
This, too.
Oh
Although a vast ocean separates us,
our countries have come together
for the wellbeing of all mankind.
We will soon be together
on the other side of this terrible war
in a moment of peace for Europe.
May this understanding between our countries
bring our people ever closer.
Mr. President,
you do us and the people of Germany
a great honor.
We are overwhelmed by your gracious hospitality.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Master Philip!
You ever listen to Gang Busters
on the radio, Master Philip?
Well, I work for Mr. Hoover.
He's my boss. I'm an FBI agent.
See?
If you wouldn't mind,
I'd like to ask you a few little questions.
I'm on my way home.
That's okay. Come here.
How's your cousin Alvin doing?
How's his leg coming along?
He's fine.
Have you ever heard Alvin
talk about President Lindbergh
or Canada or the war?
No, sir.
Has Alvin or maybe your father
said anything about Hitler?
You know who he is.
Everybody does.
He's against the Jews, isn't he?
Anyone else against the Jews?
Mr. Hoover needs to know who else.
Ah, you're a smart kid, Phil.
I think you know more. A lot more.
Homestead seems to be working
in the right direction now, yes?
A better direction, at least.
The discussions with your department
were of great value.
We can dress them up
and take them to a party,
but we can't make them enjoy themselves.
Well, I can't thank you enough
for sharing this evening
and showing your support.
At some point soon, when time permits,
Charles and I should have you
both over to lunch.
- Is your nephew here?
- Regrettably, he took sick.
Oh shame.
Well, Rabbi Bengelsdorf, Secretary Smithson,
all due respect, you must take
the ladies to the dance floor.
You cannot spend the entire
evening talking politics.
Point taken, Mrs. Lindbergh.
Car 14, did you take that call?
The stoplight's out at
Springfield and Irvington.
Yeah, ten-four, Central.
On the scene now.
Mom!
Philip! Oh.
Is that his kid?
Don't, darling. He was sick.
- He was very, very sick.
- He can't breathe in there.
He He died. Philip, he died.
He was so, so sick.
Dad isn't sick.
Dad? No. No, no, no.
It's Mr. Wishnow. He was sick,
and he was suffering.
And then, he died in his bed.
Now, he's not suffering anymore.
Remember, he came home from the hospital?
Now, he has passed away.
Your father's inside helping Mrs. Wishnow.
Your father is fine. He's fine.
Car 14, did you take that call?
Ten-four, Central.
Mr. President.
Good evening.
Ambassador, so good to see you.
Later, perhaps. He's fairly well
monopolized at the moment.
Well, there's the vice president.
Vice President Wheeler.
Secretary Ford.
Rabbi, very good to see you here.
I'm pleased to be a part of it.
May I introduce my fiancée
and the head of the OAA New Jersey office,
Miss Evelyn Finkel.
- Mr. Vice President.
- Enjoying yourself, Miss Finkel?
I was just telling Lionel,
I feel like I'm at
a Southern debutante's ball
- Hey, Burton!
- or Gone with the Wind.
If this were the South,
you Jews would be out back,
rilin' up the niggers.
Gay kacken offen yam.
Do you know what that means?
It's just something
my grandmother used to say
to people she didn't like.
May I have this dance?
Herr von Ribbentrop.
It would be our distinct honor.
Do you want to play a game, Seldon?
Here, Herman. Be well.
You too, Norman.
Herman Levin.
Don McCorkle, FBI. Can we talk?
About your nephew, Alvin.
You the son of a bitch who
buttonholes ten-year-old boys?
I got nothin' to say to you.
And it's on to the State Dining Room,
where guests enjoy the very best
in American cuisine and hospitality,
presented by President Lindbergh
and our beautiful First Lady.
There's Interior Secretary
Henry Ford seated with
Vice President Wheeler's
youngest daughter, Frances.
They're among many familiar faces
from government officials to Hollywood stars.
The goodwill continues with a toast
to German-American friendship
and Herr von Ribbentrop
in the first diplomatic meeting
between the countries
since the Iceland Accord last year.
Here are some patriotic Americans
dancing the historic night away.
You!
The State Department is pleased
Quit it!
- with the successful evening of peaceful
Can you pick up my shift tomorrow?
Don't worry, I got it.
Hey, this crate's half empty, come on!
Harry, I thought you punched out already
Alvin.
I don't know, there's smoke
coming outta the hood.
Alvin! C'mere.
Bad news.
I gotta cut you loose.
What?
Kid, I gotta fire you.
What, from pushing a fucking broom all day?
Well, that's the good news.
I mean, that's you know,
you hated this job to begin with, right?
What the fuck, Monty?
So, that shithead was an FBI agent.
Tells me you're a red, you're a communist.
Otherwise, you wouldn't have
gone there to fight.
- Fuck him.
- No, kid, we do not fuck him.
Because before he visited me,
he also visited Longy Zwillman,
who runs the carting for this warehouse
and every other one like it in Newark.
And Longy called me and told me
if a federal agent shows up,
you gotta cut the kid loose.
Well, one just showed.
I What the fuck can I do, kid?
You're marked.
Ralph, wait up, I got one more!
If I go now, I could still catch my bus
- and be home for dinner.
- Sit!
Your father's coming for you.
But what did I do wrong?
I just wanted to see my aunt.
She was at the White House.
Your aunt If she had a brain
Ah. How he knows how to get the buses
downtown, I don't know,
but he gave that to my girl in the
booth when he bought his ticket.
- Let's go.
- Ow!
Dad! Dad, you're dragging me.
Hey!
Quit it!
He wants to go bowling.
This is not a game.
I told them I couldn't keep up.
Well And you can't.