:58:00
A lad who sat before me
on these very benches...
:58:04
who gave up all to serve
in the first year of the war;
:58:08
one of the iron youth who have
made Germany invincible in the field.
:58:13
Look at him--
sturdy and bronze and clear -eyed.
:58:17
The kind of soldier
every one of you should envy.
:58:21
Oh, lad, you must
speak to them.
:58:25
You must tell them what it means
to serve your fatherland.
:58:30
- No, I can't tell them anything.
- You must, Paul.
:58:33
Just a word. Just tell them
how much they're needed out there.
:58:38
Tell them why you went
and what it meant to you.
:58:41
I can't say
anything.
:58:43
You can remember some deed of heroism,
some touch of nobility.
:58:48
Tell about it.
:58:56
I can't tell you
anything you don't know.
:59:00
We live in the trenches
out there. We fight.
:59:04
We try not to be killed;
sometimes we are.
:59:10
That's all.
:59:15
No. No, Paul.
:59:17
I've been there!
I know what it's like.
:59:21
That's not what one
dwells on, Paul.
:59:23
I heard you in here reciting
that same old stuff,
:59:27
making more iron men,
more young heroes.
:59:31
You still think it's beautiful and sweet
to die for your country, don't you?
:59:36
We used to think
you knew.
:59:38
The first bombardment
taught us better.
:59:41
It's dirty and painful
to die for your country.
:59:45
When it comes to dying for your country,
it's better not to die at all!
:59:49
There are millions out there dying for
their countries, and what good is it?
:59:57
You asked me to tell them
how much they're needed out there.