Chapter Eleven - The SS Comes To The Distillery District

The call was unusual because we did not have to be on the set until about 6 PM and that meant a night shoot. I checked in with the assistant director at what is now called The Distillery District at the old Gooderham and Warts complex in downtown Toronto near the waterfront. I was asked to go to wardrobe along with about half a dozen others who to my utter shock, were being fitted in SS uniforms with tight tunics, breaches, high boots and helmets with swastikas and SS skull symbols. It was exciting and creepy at the same time.
Because of the tailoring, tight belts and straps, dagger and gun holster we were forced to stand or sit in a bolt upright authoritative manner and of course we had been selected for these parts because of our Teutonic features. We were then sent to armorer, Frenchie and were issued vintage machine guns and then asked to wait in a room that had been set up as commissary and waiting room with tables and chairs.
Soon another group of extras started to arrive from a separate wardrobe trailer. They were also picked for their appearance but were wardrobed in the striped rags of concentration camp inmates. To make their costumes look even more real, makeup had dabbed blobs of earth tones of a compound called fullers earth. It showed up perfectly on film but had the consistency of copy toner powder.
As they made their way into the room, I recognized one of my old pals from another set and greeted him warmly by shaking hands and asking him to join us. At some point I looked down and noticed that my pristine tunic had somehow picked up some of the fullers earth. To my utter horror, my Nazi colleagues who I had introduced to the inmate also had patches of the compound on their tunics.
I called the assistant director and showed him our dilemma. He quickly called in makeup and wardrobe, segregated the room, Nazis in one special area and inmates on the other side, while we were dabbed and brushed and cleaned up. We were admonished and told that any contact with the inmates was ‘verboten’.
To further add to the psychological chasm that was developing, most of the inmates were on what is called a cash call where they have no protection of the ACTRA agreement and do not get the same food or breaks or general treatment of those of us, all of the Nazis, who were on ACTRA vouchers. We got the run of the craft services with fresh fruit, bagels, smoked salmon and all kinds of goodies while they got packaged sandwiches.
So this was the dynamic that had developed as we were called to the set. It was nighttime at this point and the walls of the old building had been hosed and were glistening in the incredible lighting that was augmented by a large light cube suspended about 30 feet above the set. That along with the smoke pots and gloomy and prison-like brick work created a dreamlike surrealism that had a spooky nightmarish quality.
That was exactly what the director was looking for.
The scene went like this: A group of new prisoners have disembarked from the train. A prisoner string quartet is playing classical music and the Nazi SS guards push and prod the newcomers into a lineup for the camp commandant so that he can address them.
The assistant director asked me to push a couple into the line and when I approached the woman, obviously a girlfriend or spouse, I thought the fellow was going to punch me. I said. “Hey! You heard the AD. This is what I am supposed to do. I am not going to hurt anyone.”
The fellow just glared at me but he allowed me to push him and her into the lineup.
Then the camp commander accompanied by his aides marched up and addressed the group. He spoke German to the group and was barking orders when an eighty year old tiny woman prisoner throws herself at the foot of the commandant and wails in Yiddish. “My son. My son. You are my son and I have the papers. I can show you and prove it!” She pulls out a document and holds it in front of her.
The commandant sneers, kicks the woman away from his feet, draws his gun and shoots her.
I had seen some emotional acting before but never in such a realistic and anxiety provoking setting. Some of us had worked with this charming lady before and we knew that she was a holocaust survivor who had actually been in a concentration camp.
I looked around and almost all of the extras, the director and crew were dabbing at their eyes and the makeup person walked from person to person with a box of tissues. And I admit to taking one and it took me several minutes to get myself back into control and into character for the scenes still on the agenda.
It was the most realistic gut wrenching scene that I have ever been in and it bothered me for months and months. It felt like we had participated in some kind of psychological experiment where everyone comes out scarred in some way. Although I was very satisfied with my performance I knew that it was going to be hard to watch. I avoided that show for sixteen years until I decided to order the series and have a look. I had been edited quite severely but still figured in several scenes including this one and the memories came flooding back.
Before I left the set late that evening, I spoke to the old lady who had been so badly treated and I more or less apologized to her for my role and said I was so sympathetic that she had to live through such a horrible scene.
She was absolutely buoyant about it and said something that made me laugh. There were two of us who were front and centre as the SS guards, myself and another long term extra. We were both, how shall I put it ‘robust’ in stature and I thought perfect for the role. Gratefully it was at the end of the night as she pricked a whole in my swollen pride by saying, “You know the costumes were very real but you were unbelievable as an SS guard.” “Oh.” I asked feeling crushed. “Why is that?”
“You are too big!” she advised. “The SS were totally fit. Not one of them had an ounce of fat on their bodies.” She smiled and I shook her hand and said good-bye.