# Seventeen Moments of Spring

Seventeen Moments of Spring (Russian: Семнадцать мгновений весны) is a 1973 Soviet twelve-part television series, directed by Tatyana Lioznova and based on the novel of the same title by Yulian Semyonov. The series portrays the exploits of Maxim Isaev, a Soviet spy operating in Nazi Germany under the name SS-Standartenführer Max Otto von Stierlitz.

## Stierlitz

* Happy girl, "about seven o'clock" she said. The happiest people are those who can handle their time freely.
* They think if I have not failed in these twenty years, then I am omnipotent. It would be nice if I became Himmler's deputy. Or even break into the Führers. Heil Stirlitz. Am I getting a grumbler?
* More than anybody, I love old people and children.
* What happened during those two days I was outside? Did God come down to Earth? Did Kaltenbrunner marry a Jewess?
* I don't like to be taken for a dummy in the old Polish Preference. I'm a player, not a dummy.

## Müller

* They are all dreamers, our bosses. They can fantasize, they do not have a specific job. And even a trained chimpanzee in a circus can give guidance.
* I like people of few words. If a friend is silent, then this is a friend, and if an enemy, then this is an enemy. I respect them.
* What pulled you to epithets, Eissmann? It's from fatigue? Leave the epithets to our party bosses. We detectives must communicate in nouns and verbs. "He met", "she said", "he transfer".
* It is very easy to advise others: be honest. But for himself, everyone tries to turn his dishonesty with honesty.
* Remember: in this world you can't trust anyone, sometimes not even yourself. You can trust only me.
* Everyone is afraid of getting a thrashing from old Müller! Have I given a thrashing to anyone at least once in my life, huh? I'm a good old man about whom rumors spread. Your handsome boss (Schellenberg) is a thousand times angrier than me. He just learned in his universities to smile and speak French. And I still don’t know how to eat an apple — cut it, or eat it the way it is customary at my home: the whole, with bones.
* It's impossible to understand the logic of a layman.

### Müller's monologue about future

    Stierlitz. Heil Hitler!
    Müller. Drop it. I have ringing in my ears already.
    Stierlitz. I don't understand...
    Müller. Come on. You understand everything very well. The Führer is incapable of making decisions, and the interests of Germany should not be confused with those of Adolf Hitler.
    Stierlitz. Do you aware...
    Müller. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Yes! I am aware. There are no listening equipment here, and no one will believe you, if you pass on my words. Well, you wouldn't dare pass on them to anyone. But you — unless you are playing a more delicate game than the one you want to impose on me — be aware that Hitler led Germany to disaster. And I see no way out of this situation. Do you understand? I don't see. Sit down, sit down... sit down. You have still twenty minutes, and you need ten to drive, twelve at the most. What do you think, does Bormann have his own salvation plan, different from the plans of the Reichsführer? Himmler's people abroad are under a hood. He demanded results from his agents, but he didn't take care of them. But not a single person from the German-American, German-British, German-Brazilian institutions was arrested. Himmler couldn't have disappeared into this world. Bormann can. Here's what you must think about. And you explain to him — just try to do it more tactfully — when everything, and very soon, will end in failure, he will not do without professionals. Most of Himmler's deposits in foreign banks are under the Allies' hood. Bormann has a hundred time more deposits, and no one knows about it, no one. Helping Bormann to knock down his opponents now, you give yourself guarantees for the future. Himmler's gold is for a trifle game, it's a cover for Bormann's gold. Hitler was well aware that Himmler's gold ... is out of control. He understood it served close, tactical purposes. But Bormann's gold, the Party's gold, it's not for lousy agents and re-recruited ministerial drivers who take mistresses to their bosses under the lenses of Schellenberg, but for those hundreds of thousands of intellectuals who will understand over time: there is no way except National Socialism in this world. The Party's gold is a bridge to the future, it's an appeal to our children, to those who are now a month old, a year or three. Those who are now ten don't need us nor our ideas; they'll not forgive us hunger and bombing. But those who now still don't understand anything will talk about us as a legend! And the legend must be fed! It is necessary to create storytellers who will put our words in a different way, the one that humanity will live in twenty years. As soon as somewhere instead of the word "hello" they say "Heil" to someone's personal address — know: they are waiting for us there, from there we'll begin our great revival. How old will you be in 1965? Under seventy. You lucky, you will live to play your part. Seventy is the politician's heyday. And I'll be close to eighty... That's why I'm worried about the next ten years. And if you want to make your bet without being afraid of me, but, on the contrary, counting on me, remember: Müller the Gestapo is an old, tired man. He wants to live out his years in peace somewhere on a small farm with a blue pool. And for this I am ready to play some games now. And one more thing ... of course, this should not be said to Bormann, but remember yourself: in order to move from Berlin to a small tropical farm, you should not rush. Many of the Führer's mutts will run away from here very soon and get caught. But when the Russian cannonade will rumble in Berlin, and the soldiers will fight for every house — then it will be possible to leave here without slamming the door behind. To leave and carry away the secret of the Party's gold known only to Bormann and the Führer. And when the Führer goes into oblivion, you must be very useful to Bormann. He will then be the Monte Cristo of the twentieth century. So now there is a struggle of endurances, Stirlitz, and there is only one essence in the background. The same simple and understandable human essence. Now you can go. (Müller offers Stierlitz a cigarette, Stirlitz refuses) Well, what are you? Bittner will give you recorder near the car. Just don't tell me, please, that you are convinced of Hitler's victory. Don't answer, no need. Just when you go, think about my words. And be aware of how I re-recruited you up: in five minutes and without any tricks.
** - Хайль Гитлер!
       - Да ладно вам. У меня и так в ушах звенит.
       - Я не понимаю...
       - Бросьте. Всё вы прекрасно понимаете. Фюрер не способен принимать решений, и не следует смешивать интересы Германии с интересами Адольфа Гитлера.
       - Вы отдаете себе...
       - Да, да, да, да, да! Да! Я отдаю себе отчёт. Тут нет аппаратуры прослушивания. А вам никто не поверит, передай вы мои слова. Да вы и не решитесь их никому передавать. Но себе - если только вы не играете более тонкой игры, чем та, которую хотите навязать мне, - себе отдайте отчёт: Гитлер привел Германию к катастрофе. И я не вижу выхода из создавшегося положения. Понимаете? Не вижу. Сядьте, сядьте... сядьте. Еще есть двадцать минут, а ехать вам десять, от силы двенадцать. Вы что думаете, у Бормана есть свой план спасения, отличный от планов рейхсфюрера? Люди Гиммлера за границей под колпаком. Он требовал от агентов дела, он их не берёг. А ни один человек из германо-американских, германо-английских, германо-бразильских институтов не был арестован. Гиммлер не смог бы исчезнуть в этом мире. Борман может. Вот вы о чем подумайте. И объясните вы ему - только постарайтесь это сделать тактичнее, - что без профессионалов, когда все, и очень скоро, кончится крахом, он не обойдется. Большинство вкладов Гиммлера в иностранных банках - под колпаком союзников. А у Бормана вкладов во сто крат больше, и о них никто не знает, никто. Помогая сейчас Борману повалить его противников, выговариваете себе гарантии на будущее. Золото Гиммлера - это пустяки игры, это прикрытие золота Бормана. Гитлер прекрасно понимал, что золото Гиммлера... оно бесконтрольно. Он понимал, что оно служит близким, тактическим целям. А вот золото Бормана, золото партии - оно не для вшивых агентов и перевербованных министерских шоферов, которые возят к ним любовниц под объективы Шелленберга, а для тех сотен тысяч интеллектуалов, кто по прошествии времени поймет, что нет в мире иного пути, кроме национал-социализма. Золото партии - это мост в будущее, это обращение к нашим детям, к тем, кому сегодня месяц, год, три. Тем, кому сейчас десять, мы не нужны, ни мы, ни наши идеи; они не простят нам голода и бомбежек. А вот те, кто сейчас еще ничего не смыслят, будут говорить о нас, как о легенде! А легенду надо подкармливать! Надо создавать сказочников, которые переложат наши слова на иной лад, тот, которым будет жить человечество через двадцать лет. Как только где-нибудь вместо слова "здравствуйте" произнесут "хайль" в чей-то персональный адрес - знайте: там нас ждут, оттуда мы начнём свое великое возрождение. Вам сколько будет в 1965-м? Под семьдесят. Счастливчик, вы доживете и будете играть свою партию. Семьдесят лет - возраст расцвета политика. А мне будет под восемьдесят... Поэтому меня волнуют ближайшие... предстоящие десять лет. И если вы хотите делать вашу ставку, не опасаясь меня, а, наоборот, на меня рассчитывая, помните: Мюллер, гестапо - старый, уставший человек. Он хочет спокойно дожить свои годы где-нибудь на маленькой ферме с голубым бассейном. И ради этого я готов поиграть в активность. И еще... этого, конечно, этого не надо говорить Борману, но сами-то запомните: чтобы из Берлина перебраться на маленькую ферму в тропики, не следует торопиться. Многие шавки фюрера побегут отсюда очень скоро и попадутся. А когда в Берлине будет грохотать русская канонада и солдаты будут сражаться за каждый дом - тогда отсюда можно будет уйти, не хлопая за собой дверью. Уйти и унести тайну золота партии, которая известна только Борману и фюреру. И когда фюрер уйдёт в небытие, надо быть очень полезным Борману. Он тогда будет Монте-Кристо двадцатого века. Так что сейчас идёт борьба выдержек, Штирлиц, а в подоплёке-то - одна суть. Одна, простая и понятная, человеческая суть. Теперь идите. Ну, что вы? Диктофон вам передаст Биттнер около машины. Только не говорите мне, пожалуйста, что вы убеждены в победе Гитлера. Не надо, не отвечайте. Просто, когда будете ехать, подумайте над моими словами. И отдайте себе отчет, как я вас перевербовал: за пять минут и без всяких фокусов.

## Schellenberg

* The spy eighter surrenders immediately, or doesn't surrender at all, except in rare cases, after the use of special methods by Müller's thugs.
* Truly: if you smoke American cigarettes, they will say that you have sold your homeland.
* You know too much. You will be buried with honors after a car accident.
* A little lie breeds great mistrust.

## Kaltenbrunner

* People whom I unconditionally trust speak openly to each other about the tragedy of the situation, about the stupidity of our military, the cretinism of Ribbentrop, about the blockheaded Göring, and about the terrible thing that awaits us all if the Russians break into Berlin. But Stierlitz replies: 'Nonsense, everything is fine. Things are progressing well.' Love for the motherland and the Führer is not about blindly lying to friends at work. I asked myself, maybe, he's a blockhead? After all, we've a lot of duds who mindlessly repeat Göbbels' abracadabra. No, he isn't a blockhead. Then why is he not sincere? He either doesn't trust anyone, or he's afraid of something, or he's up to something and wants to be crystal pure.
* We've few people, but a lot to do, Krueger. Damn lot to do.

## Wehrmacht General in the train

* You can expect anything from the Reds. You can expect the same from the Americans, too. I've been fighting them for a year. These idiots will be destroyed by their own technology. They think that a war can be won by bombing alone. They will build up their technical power and drown in it. It will rot them like rust. They will decide that they can do anything. The Reds think so because they are wild and poor people. The Americans think so because they are too rich. That is why wars are necessary.
* States are like people. They hate a static. Borders choke them. They need movement, this is an axiom. A movement is a war.
* War is necessary one way or another. Not that stupid, of course. This is an amateur's war. He [Hitler] decided that he could fight on a whim. He alone knows what we all need. He alone loves great Germany, and we are all just thinking about how to betray it to the Bolsheviks and Americans
* I bequeathed to my children: damn any democracy in our Reich. Every democracy in our country is fraught with only one thing: the dictatorship of petty shopkeepers. The more freedoms we have, the sooner we want the SS, the secret police, concentration camps, total fear. Only then do we feel at peace. There is no need to defend your point of view on the fate of the motherland. No responsibility. Just raise your hand in honor of the one who does this for you, just shout: 'Heil Hitler!' - and everything will immediately become clear. No worries.
* Dying is scary when you're alone. En masse — it's nothing. You can even joke.

## Agent Klaus

* You can't be free among slaves. So isn't it better to be the freest among slaves?

## Rolf

* Everyone wants to keep his hands clean, but want me do abominations.

## Ex-minister Krause

* Who is absent is always wrong. No one is so quickly losing professionalism as a politician devoid of power.
* Dear pastor, politics presupposes forgetting your terms: Christ, Antichrist, good, evil. Politics presupposes the precise observance of the balance of power.

## Frau Saurich

* Ah, how nice the birds sing. It's good that spring has come. You know, spring is a victory. A victory over hunger, a victory over winter. And even, if you like, a victory over death.
* Do you know what kind of herb this is? It is a wonderful medicinal herb. If you dry it, it is very good idea to make a decoction from it. You need to drink this decoction if you have kidney problems. Do your kidneys hurt? No? Too bad, because this decoction is very good for kidney problems.
* (plays chess with Stirlitz) What is this? Checkmate to me?! No, that won't do. You didn't play like that, and I didn't play like that, put it back. I'll play the Caro-Kann Defense. Just don't bother me, please.
* (Frau Saurich and Gabi visiting Stirlitz) I'd better play for you, and you dance. I haven't seen people dance for a long time.

## Karl Wolf

* Stop the Bolsheviks, don’t let them into Europe, personally I see my duty only in this.

## Adolf Hitler

* The material of victory has fallen into our hands. It depends on us to what extent we use it for the sake of our victory. the coalition will fall apart after the first crushing blows of our armies. (February, 1945)

## Allen Dulles

* The main thing in politics is the first step. Determination, firmness and clarity of target.

## Dialogue

    (Himmler and Schellenberg watch Soviet newsreels about the Yalta Conference.)
    Himmler. He has aged.
    Schellenberg. Who?
    Himmler. Stalin.
    Himmler. You said that we can't fight.
    Schellenberg. You're right, we can still fight. It's high time for us to start a dialogue with the West. Delay is like death. It's spring '45 now, not autumn '41.
    Himmler. Thank you for the reminder, but imagine, I look at the calendar every day, Walther. In the morning.
    Stierlitz. Then tell me my fortune.
    Frau Saurich. What do you want to know?
    Stierlitz. For example, when the war will end.
    Frau Saurich. It's already over.
    Stierlitz. Yes?
    Frau Saurich. In a certain sense, yes. If we understood this earlier, it would be better for all of us.
    Stierlitz. How do you think to give birth, baby?
    Kath. It seems that a new method has not yet been invented.
    Stierlitz. ... You see, women scream during childbirth.
    Kath. I thought they were singing songs.
    Stierlitz. ... They shout in their native language. So you will shout "Mommy!" in Ryazan style.
    Kath. ... I will shout in German.
    Stierlitz. Well, you can add a bit Russian swearing, but always with a Berlin accent.
(The doctor and midwife just delivered Kath)
    Midwife. She's Polish, but what a giant she gave birth to.
    Doctor. She isn't Polish.
    Midwife. Who is she? Czech, Russian?
    Doctor. According to her passport, she's German, Katherine Kinn. They found a passport in her coat.
    Midwife. Maybe someone else's coat?
    Doctor. Maybe.
    Midwife. Will you call the Gestapo, or will I?
    Doctor. You call. But later. We have a lot of work to do now.
    Bormann. I've definitely seen you somewhere.
    Stierlitz. When you decorated me with the Iron Cross, you said that I had the face of a mathematics professor, not a spy.
    Bormann. Hmmm... Well, now you have the face of a spy, not a professor.
    Pastor Schlag. My mission, what will it consist of more specifically? I don't know how to steal documents and shoot around corner.
    Stierlitz. Firstly, it doesn't take long time to learn. Secondly, I don't require you to be able to shoot around corner.
    Pastor Schlag. (listening to Edith Piaf on the radio) No. This is a complete decline in morals. I do not blame her, no, I just listen to her and remember Haendel and Bach. Apparently, art used to be more demanding of itself. They walked alongside faith, set super-tasks for themselves and were beacons. And this? That's what they speak in the markets.
    Stierlitz. This singer will outlive herself. She will be remembered even after death.
    Pastor Schlag. This is the indulgence in you speaking.
    Stierlitz. My love for Paris is speaking in me.
    Old Kripo detective. Well, you have a memory.
    Müller. Are you complaining about your one?
    Detective. I drink iodine.
    Müller. I drink vodka.
    Detective. You are a General, you can drink vodka. Where can we get money?
    Müller. Take bribes.
    Detective. And then your bone-breakers will catch me. I'd rather drink iodine.
    Müller. And I would gladly exchange my vodka for your iodine.
    Detective. What, a lot of work?
    Müller. For now, yes. And soon it won't be there at all.
(They are looking for Kath, who escaped from a SD radio flat)
    Old Kripo detective: What is this? A trace or not?
    Gestapo detective: There is too little dust. If this were summer...
    Old Kripo detective: If this were summer, if we had a Doberman Pinscher, if the Doberman Pinscher had the glove of that woman who escaped from the SS, if he had immediately picked up the scent... And what is this? A cigarette butt? What kind?
    Gestapo detective: It's old, like stone.
    Old Kripo detective: Well, touch it, touch it. The matter in our job is to touch it all.
    Scholz. Stirlitz is walking down the corridor.
    Müller. (listens to English radio) What?
    Scholz. Stirlitz is walking down the corridor.
    Müller. Which corridor?
    Scholz. Along our corridor.
    Müller. Where is he going?
    Scholz. I don't know. ("Stirlitz is walking down the corridor" is a catchphrase meaning "some serious events are coming")
    Wehrmacht General. Are you German?
    Stierlitz. Alas.
    Wehrmacht General. Why "alas"?
    Stierlitz. Because they don't bring me a second cup of coffee. And real coffee here is only served to those with foreign passport.

## Jokes inspired

* During a secret meeting, an unknown SD officer silently enters Hitler's bunker, photographs the maps on the table, rummages through Keitel's briefcase, hides operational plans in his pocket, etc. "Who is this?" — Hitler asks. "This is Stirlitz, the Russian spy" — Müller answers tiredly. — "So arrest him! Are you Gestapo chief or kindergarten principal?!" — "It's pointless, mein Führer. He can always justify himself with his impeccable logic."
* February 23, 1945. Drunk Stirlitz walks along Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse in budenovka, plays the balalaika, and sings Russian obscene chastushkas about Hitler. Voice-over: "Never before has he been so close to failure." (last phrase is exact quote from movie)
* "Stirlitz, are you a Jew?" — Müller asked unexpectedly. "No, no, Gruppenführer, I'm Russian!" — Stirlitz did not lose his head.
* A strong black man in the SS Standartenführer uniform looked at Stirlitz from the mirror. "Netflix remake!" — Stirlitz guessed.

## Cast

* Vyacheslav Tikhonov — Max Otto von Stierlitz
* Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev — Professor Pleischner
* Lev Durov — Klaus
* Svetlana Svetlichnaya — Gabi Nabel
* Nikolai Volkov — Erwin Kinn
* Yekaterina Gradova — Katherin Kinn
* Oleg Tabakov — Walter Schellenberg
* Leonid Bronevoy — Heinrich Müller
* Mikhail Zharkovsky — Ernst Kaltenbrunner
* Emilia Milton — Mrs Saurich
* Otto Mellies — Helmut Kolder
* Olga Soshnikova — Barbara Krein
* Nikolai Prokopovich — Heinrich Himmler
* Yevgeniy Kuznetsov — Krüger
* Rostislav Plyatt — Pastor Fritz Schlag
* Yuri Vizbor — Martin Bormann
* Nikolai Gritsenko — General in the train
* Leonid Kuravlyov — Kurt Eismann
* Fritz Diez — Adolf Hitler
* Vasily Lanovoy — Karl Wolff
* Valentin Gaft — Gaevernitz
* Vladimir Kenigson — Krause
* Eleonora Shashkova — Isaev's wife
* Alexei Safonov — Jürgen Rolf
* Konstantin Zheldin — Wilhelm Holthoff
* Lavrentiy Masokha — Scholz
* Andro Kobaladze — Joseph Stalin
* Wilhelm Burmeier — Hermann Göring
* Vyacheslav Shalevich — Allen Dulles

## References

* ↑ 17 мгновений весны. Финальный монолог Мюллера on YouTube