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It is the year 1942, a small town in eastern Poland under Nazi occupation. Emanuel Blatt, a Jew, escapes the extermination of a nearby ghetto. He rushes to a monastery on the outskirts of town and asks for shelter. The monks, paralyzed with fear, do not want to take him in.Born, the commander of the SS unit in town, arrives at the monastery. The Prior orders to hide the runaway. It is not Born’s first visit there. He and the Prior are old friends; they studied philosophy together at Collegium Urbanianum in Rome, Italy. However, Born changed his mind at some point and never became a priest. He chose a military career instead and, as the son of a World War I hero, was quickly promoted to higher ranks. Upon leaving, Born tells the Prior about a Jewish runaway in the area and warns him: if monks decide to hide the Jew, they will all be executed.The next day, Julia, a young Pole, pays a visit to the monastery. She knows that a Jew is hiding there and she blackmails the Prior. He, in turn, contacts the Polish underground army and asks for help. The officer tells him that an assassination of Born is being planned and demands the Prior to declare his cooperation. If he refuses, he will prove himself to be a collaborator with the Nazi. In the evening, Born, accompanied by a SS unit, revisits the monastery: Someone tipped him off about the Jew. Born demands that Blatt be surrendered. The Prior refuses. Born gives the monks ten minutes to make a decision; if they resist, all the brothers will be executed. „What do you choose?” the Prior asks. The monks are reluctant at first, but after a heated dispute, they eventually decide to not give the fugitive away. When the command of execution is about to be given, Blatt suddenly appears in the middle of the refectory, revealing himself in order to save the monastery.Born is infuriated by Blatt’s heroic gesture and orders to crucify him. „Pray to him!” he yells at the monks. „Here is your Jewish Savior, who was given up to death, a death he freely accepted!”The soldiers tie Blatt to the cross. He is bleeding heavily. Suddenly, the Prior goes down on his knees in front of the cross and starts to chant the Passion psalm. One by one, the monks join him. Born is struck by the religious mystery he has provoked and orders to set Blatt free; he withdraws his unit from the monastery. On his way back to town, the Polish underground army assassinates Born.
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