Swedish Rhapsody

OUTLINE

During the 1950s, Klaus works as a radio engineer for the Stasi in the DDR. He is sent to Poland to to set up a numbers station to communicate with Polish agents stationed in the West. There, he devises a recognizable introduction theme by recording a music box. This introduction is repeated for several minutes for the user to tune. Along with him, he brings a numbers reading machine which he tweaks to increase the German female's voice pitch. The device ends up being used as is for the following decades by the Polish secret services.

During the early eighties, Ulla raises little Jouni at Naval Station Rota. Florence seeks refuge but disappears.

<< PREVIOUS EPISODE - NEXT EPISODE >>

Loading map...

{"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"auto","height":"350px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":4,"defzoom":14,"layers":["osm-mapnik","osm-cyclemap"],"image layers":[],"overlays":[],"resizable":false,"fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":true,"cluster":false,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clustermaxradius":80,"clusterspiderfy":true,"geojson":"","clicktarget":"","imageLayers":[],"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":36.620763,"lon":-6.331558,"icon":""},{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":51.34152,"lon":12.37,"icon":""}],"imageoverlays":null}

Playa del Rompidillo, Rota, Spain

The sun still shines brilliantly on this late October afternoon in Rota, Spain. Ulla, the tall blond German woman better known by locals as Ursula for her resemblance to the Swiss actress, watches her 3 years old baby, Jouni, as she digs a hole in the sand. On the portable radio which she brought along to the beach, the radio announcer introduces the next hit in Spanish: -Y ahora, Start Me Up de los Rolling Stones. After a few loud bars, Ulla, turns off the radio but mistakenly hits the band button and recognizes a familiar melody instead. She fine tunes the short waves band to get a better signal. Captivated by the sound of a music box on the radio, Jouni stares at the USS John F. Kennedy anchored in the Bay of Cadiz. When the music box tune switches to an automated little girls voice reciting numbers in German, Jouni turns to her mother.

-Mommy, why is the little girl repeating numbers. Is she learning to count?

Ulla is mesmerized by the broadcast and stares at her daughter, not answering.

Wilson's family housing unit, NAVSTA Rota

United States Navy Commander Steve Wilson gets home after dinner.

-Sorry honey... Got delayed . Guess you've seen it when you were at the beach. We're harboring the USS JFK for a few weeks. That's like 5000 new home boys in town.

-Well the senoritas are going to be thrilled, answers Ulla as she wipes off tomato sauce from Jouni's face, sitting in a baby chair.

-Hello my little princess, says Steve as he grabs his daughter to get a kiss from his daughter before kissing his wife.

Still in her father's arms, Jouni tells her father that she now can count to seven in German.

-Eins, zwei, drei, fünf, sieben!

...

Ulla asks Steve if he know anything about stations that recites numbers and what for. He answer yes, on short waves, numbers stations...

Ulla tries to catch the station again and again, never catching it.

She tries to contact of her brother so that he retrieves her childhood music box from her adoptive parents home in Lübeck.

Florence hooks up with her at the supermarket parking lot while Ulla buckles Jouni on the back seat, but the encounter doesn't bode up well.

Supermarket parking lot, Rota

On a sunny Friday November morning, Ulla pushes her shopping cart across the parking lot of a supermarket. While little Jouni dangles her legs from her cart seat, busy unwrapping a Kinder Sorpresa egg, Ulla looks at a photo of Princess Diana, Embarazada!, declares the national ABC newspaper. As she approaches her new red Panda, a familiar voice utters in German from behind.

-Wavy hair... Princess Diana... A baby... You could have chosen a different color to complete your cover!

Tailing Ulla, a wiry woman wearing sunglasses and most likely a wig lights up a cigarette.

-Florence! says Ulla surprised, as she looks around to make sure no one is looking at them. What are you doing here?

-You don't seems that happy to see me... Let's get in the car... I'll put the bags in.

Ulla nervously opens the trunk as Florence grabs the bags from the shopping cart not really paying attention to Jouni still busy with her newly unwrapped toy. After securing her daughter on the back seat, Ulla sits at the wheel next to Florence.

-Please... Not in the car... says Ulla as Florence exhales a puff.

-You really lost it sister!

Diving around Rota

Florence has removed her sunglasses.

-Are you crazy, I'm married to an American sailor. There are 5000 more Americans in town from the carrier. I can't have you home. You shouldn't even be in this town.

-Just for a few days Ulla. I have no choice. The place we were hiding in Biscay has been raided. There is no way I can cross back to France now. Plus there are loose death squads all over northern Spain.

-Death squads! What are you talking about? Anyways I can't help you... I'm done. It's over...

Florence's expression switches from friendly to upset as she wears back her sunglasses and looks at Ulla with disdain.

-Ok Ulla. Drop me here.

Ulla continues driving not knowing how to react when Florence raises her voice.

-Now.

The car stops at a downtown intersection as a group of USS JFK sailors cross the street and whistle at Florence.

-Ola, Segnorita!

Klaus devises the Swedish Rhapsody recording

<< PREVIOUS EPISODE - NEXT EPISODE >>