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Scene Map 60
# PG SLUGLINE
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Scene Map
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# PG SLUGLINE
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A TREE IN THE PIT Written by Gary J Rose [email protected] (530) 613-9232
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EXT. TREBLINKA EXTERMINATION CAMP – RECEPTION AREA – MOMENTS LATER Jakob is herded forward with the others. SS GUARDS bark orders in German. The mass of new arrivals shuffles past a phony station building—painted signs, fake schedules, a
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EXT. TREBLINKA – BARRACKS EXIT / “TUBE” ENTRANCE – MINUTES LATER Jakob, now stripped to his underclothes, emerges into the morning light with a group of other men—old, young, confused. They shiver in the cold.
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INT. GUARD TOWER – SAME TIME A young SS GUARD watches the procession below. Smoking a cigarette. He chuckles as he sees a CHILD trying to hold his grandfather’s hand. A SENIOR OFFICER beside him doesn’t react.
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INT. TREBLINKA II – ADMINISTRATION BUILDING – SAME TIME A tidy office. Maps. Schedules. Charts with names of cities and deportation numbers. SS CAPTAIN FRANZ STANGL sits at a desk, smoking, reviewing a manifest. Calm. Detached.
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EXT. THE “TUBE” – ENTRANCE – CONTINUOUS Jakob stands frozen. Five paces from the door. The engine rumbles louder behind it—relentless. Smoke curls upward beyond the trees. The line inches forward.
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EXT. OPEN PIT – LATER THAT DAY Jakob stands over a mass grave. His hands are filthy. His face sunburnt. Blank. He lifts a body. Drops it. Lifts another. Drops it. We stay on his face.
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EXT. THE “TUBE” – WOMEN’S SIDE – MOMENTS LATER The women file into the narrow corridor, same as the men. Miriam is near the middle of the group, moving with dazed, robotic steps. The “shower” sign looms ahead.
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EXT. CREMATION PIT – MORNING Smoke rises steadily. Rusted rail tracks have been fashioned into makeshift grills above piles of bodies. Flames lick upward. Ash drifts through the air like black snow. Jakob stands with a shovel. His hands blistered. His skin
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EXT. TREBLINKA II – CAMP ROAD – MIDDAY The sun is out. Birds chirp faintly beyond the barbed wire. PRISONERS march past, dragging carts of clothing, teeth, ash. A GUARD DOG barks in the distance. Then:
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EXT. CAMP PERIMETER – SAME TIME Jakob stands at a water pump, filling buckets. He sees Franz in the distance—playful, laughing with a dog—as a corpse is hauled past behind him. Jakob just stares.
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INT. SONDERKOMMANDO BARRACKS – NIGHT The barracks are silent again. The glow from the cremation pit flickers through cracks in the wall. Jakob lies awake. Eyes open. Exhausted. Alert. Avram sits across from him on the floor, sewing a torn
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EXT. CAMP YARD – MORNING A bitter wind cuts across the dirt yard. The Sonderkommando stand shirtless in rows. Their ribs show. Their breath fogs in the air. JAKOB, AVRAM, and NOAH stand shoulder to shoulder, eyes
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INT. SONDERKOMMANDO BARRACKS – NIGHT Jakob lies on his bunk, staring at the ceiling. Ash drifts down through the cracks above like snow. His eyes flutter. Exhaustion overtakes him. FADE TO:
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INT. CREMATION PIT – NEXT DAY – MORNING Jakob lifts a shovel full of ash. Tosses it without expression. Avram works beside him. Noah is gone.
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INT. “RED CROSS” HUT – CONTINUOUS Bright white walls. Clean tile floor. No beds. No medicine. Just a pile of bodies in the corner, each with a bullet wound to the back of the head or neck. The floor is sticky with blood.
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EXT. ASH SORTING YARD – DAY Jakob and several Sonderkommando shovel fine grey ash into burlap sacks. The yard is surrounded by fencing and low sheds. The ash blows in the wind—coating their faces, arms, lungs.
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EXT. TOOL SHED – BEHIND ADMINISTRATION BLOCK – LATE AFTERNOON Jakob sweeps the dirt floor of a crumbling storage shed, half- filled with broken tools and bent nails. Two prisoners—older, grim-faced—are repairing a wagon axle nearby. They whisper, eyes darting to the open door.
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INT. SONDERKOMMANDO BARRACKS – NIGHT The barracks sleep. Jakob crouches beside Avram, who sews by candlelight. JAKOB There’s something happening. I
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EXT. RECEPTION PLATFORM – DAY Another transport train. Same choreography. Cattle cars creak open. Smoke drifts past the trees. SS GUARDS bark orders in German. Jakob and several Sonderkommando stand in formation,
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INT. SHEDDING BARRACK – MOMENTS LATER Inside: chaos. Women undress. Children cry. Hair is being shaved. Guards scream. Elsa kneels beside the little girl—her daughter—tying their
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EXT. CAMP SQUARE – MORNING A freezing wind cuts across the gravel yard. The prisoners stand in lines. Silent. Tense. A LADDER leans against the central guard tower, its rungs splintered from use.
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EXT. RECEPTION PLATFORM – LATE AFTERNOON Another transport. Same whistle. Same screeching halt. Jakob stands beside other Sonderkommando, numb. His face streaked with ash and sweat. The boxcar doors slide open.
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INT. SONDERKOMMANDO BARRACKS – NIGHT The candlelight flickers. Most prisoners sleep in silence. Jakob sits with an older prisoner, MIREK, 50s, with weathered hands and hollow eyes. Jakob glances around, then lowers his voice.
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EXT. CAMP SQUARE – MORNING ROLL CALL Prisoners stand in rows. Cold. Silent. Breath misting in the air. A whistle blows. The gates open.
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INT. STORAGE SHED – LATER THAT DAY Jakob stacks crates with Avram. Behind them, low voices. Four men huddle in the corner. One of them turns. It’s MARCELI GALEWSKI—50s, bald, with eyes that see everything.
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EXT. WOMEN’S YARD – MIDDAY The sun beats down. Dust swirls. A LOUD WHISTLE shrieks. Female prisoners are herded into formation—many half-starved, limping. Armed female guards scream in German.
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EXT. LATRINE SHACK – AFTERNOON A crude wooden structure. Flies buzz thick in the air. A prisoner kneels, scrubbing the latrine floor with a rag. He is old, 60s. Face lined. Beard patchy. Shoulders stooped. But there’s something about him—dignity, even in filth.
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EXT. SORTING BARRACK – EVENING Jakob works in the Red Kommando, separating clothing from a freshly gassed transport. He picks through a pile of jackets. Jewelry. Gloves. Shoes tied together.
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INT. SORTING BARRACK – NIGHT A dim, dust-choked shed. Jakob moves down the long table, sorting items stripped from the dead. Coats. Shoes. A folded scarf. He opens a bag—women’s effects.
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EXT. CAMP SQUARE – THE NEXT MORNING A whistle pierces the air. All prisoners are herded into the square. Lined up in silence. Jakob stands among them, tension rising.
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EXT. TREBLINKA – BARRACKS YARD – EARLY MORNING The morning bell hasn't rung yet. The camp still sleeps. Jakob crouches by a low wall, scrubbing blood off a shovel under moonlight.
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EXT. TREBLINKA – CENTRAL YARD – LATER THAT DAY KURT FRANZ arrives. New boots. Fresh uniform. A riding crop in his hand. His first morning as official commandant. Prisoners are lined up for roll call. Jakob among them.
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EXT. BURNING PIT-NIGHT The camp hums in the distance—boots, barking, engines. Jakob kneels in a patch of dirt behind the cremation shed. near the only tree by the burning pit. Out of sight. His hands tremble as he digs a small hole with a shard of
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INT. SUPPLY SHED – NIGHT Crates stacked high. Lanterns flicker. Jakob works alone. Counting tools. Moving burlap sacks. He opens a small wooden crate—full of nails and iron scraps. He hesitates. Then reaches under his shirt, pulls out a thin
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EXT. TREBLINKA – BARRACKS YARD – EARLY MORNING The morning bell hasn't rung yet. The camp still sleeps. Jakob crouches by a low wall, scrubbing blood off a shovel under moonlight.
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EXT. TREBLINKA – CENTRAL YARD – LATER THAT DAY KURT FRANZ arrives. New boots. Fresh uniform. A riding crop in his hand. His first morning as official commandant. Prisoners are lined up for roll call. Jakob among them.
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INT. SONDERKOMMANDO BARRACKS – NIGHT Dark. Still. Most prisoners lie motionless in their bunks, conserving what’s left of themselves. But in the far corner, a small group is gathered under a
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EXT. TREBLINKA – TOOL SHED – NEXT NIGHT The night is moonless. Clouded. A prisoner creeps toward a locked storage shed—slow, careful, stepping in mud to muffle sound. It’s MARCELI GALÉWSKI’s courier—a wiry man in his 30s.
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EXT. TREBLINKA – CENTRAL YARD – MORNING ROLL CALL The prisoners stand assembled in rigid rows. Grey dawn. Cold air. Silence. A wooden ladder has been propped against a tall post. At the top: a noose.
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INT. SONDERKOMMANDO BARRACKS – LATER THAT NIGHT Jakob sits by the window, staring at the tree. Galewski joins him, holding a torn scrap of paper. GALÉWSKI We try again.
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INT. TREBLINKA – SS MESS HALL – NIGHT Warm. Loud. Lit by gas lanterns. German SS officers drink beer, smoke cigars, and shout over one another. FRANZ STANGL, crisp and unreadable, sits at the head of the
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EXT. TREBLINKA – SORTING BARRACKS – NEXT DAY A new transport is being processed. Naked women and girls are herded into the shearing barrack. Inside: piles of women’s hair already collected. A prisoner with trembling hands cuts off thick, red curls
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INT. SONDERKOMMANDO BARRACKS – NIGHT Jakob sits alone, back against the wall. Face gaunt. Rage in his eyes. Outside, a faint SCREAM is cut off by the engine rumble. Galewski steps in. He looks exhausted.
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EXT. CAMP YARD – MINUTES LATER The smoke curls up through the rafters of the supply shed. Guards shout. Buckets fly. Prisoners scatter, ordered to form fire chains. Jakob slips back into the sorting line—face neutral,
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INT. ABANDONED LAUNDRY SHED – NIGHT A hidden corner of the camp—dim, forgotten, surrounded by broken crates and moth-eaten rags. Jakob slips inside. Waiting for him: Galewski and, for the first time, ZELOMIR BLOCH—calm, intense, his face lined by
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INT. WOMEN’S BARRACKS – LOW LIGHT The air is close. Damp. A candle stub flickers on a tin dish. Three women sit huddled on one bunk, whispering. SUKNO BRONKA, strong-willed and sharp-eyed. GRABINSKI SONIA, younger, haunted. MINIA BERMAN, silent but watchful.
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EXT. CAMP YARD – DAYBREAK A whistle blows. Rows of prisoners line up. Pale. Trembling. A DOCTOR IN SS UNIFORM stands in front of each row. He points casually—left or right. Stay or go.
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INT. GUARD BARRACKS – NIGHT Pitch black. Jakob crouches outside a wooden supply hut nestled between two barracks. Boraks keeps watch, tense, eyes darting.
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EXT. BARRACKS PATH – SAME SUPER: 12:17 PM Jakob spots the scene from across the yard. He backs away—fast. Cuts behind a cart. He finds Galewski and Bloch near the rear fence.
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EXT. FUEL DEPOT – BEHIND THE GARAGE STANDA, grim and determined, kneels beside a diesel barrel rigged with stolen grenades and a fuel-soaked rope. He lights a match. Breathes once. STANDA
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INT. ADMINISTRATION OFFICE – SAME Kurt Franz turns at the sound of gunfire. Grabs his pistol—rushes to the door. INT. GUARDROOM – SIMULTANEOUS A prisoner stabs a Ukrainian guard in the throat with a
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EXT. TREBLINKA MAIN GATE – MOMENTS AFTER THE BREACH The gate collapses. A surge of prisoners pours through—barefoot, some bleeding, others carrying the wounded. Jakob runs beside Boraks and a teenage boy missing a shoe.
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EXT. DENSE FOREST – CONTINUOUS Jakob stumbles through tangled brush, chest heaving. Sonia is just behind him, limping badly. Boraks leads the way, whispering harshly. BORAKS
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EXT. PRISONERS’ SQUARE – DAY A hush hangs over the camp. Burned buildings still smolder. Ash floats through the air like snow. The survivors of the failed uprising—maybe 200—stand in rows. Some bloodied. Some barefoot. Most just hollow-eyed.
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EXT. TREBLINKA GROUNDS – DAY A surreal horror. The last 50–60 prisoners remain—Goldjuden, corpse-burners, trench diggers. All under constant SS guard. They work with excavators, leather straps, and steel hooks—
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EXT. TREBLINKA II – FINAL DAYS SUPER: OCTOBER 1943 A wide shot. The camp is a skeleton of rubble and ashes. Watchtowers gone. Barracks razed. Gas chambers—demolished. The last 20 prisoners finish planting lupine flowers over the
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INT. MAKESHIFT TOOL SHED – NIGHT A group of prisoners huddle, trembling. Jakob sits with Boraks and Sonia, their clothes stained with ash. BORAKS
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EXT. FOREST OUTSKIRTS – NIGHT Jakob staggers through dense brush. His coat is torn. Mud on his face. Gunfire echoes far off. He collapses beside a frozen creek. For a moment—he doesn’t move.
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EXT. TREBLINKA – EARLY 1950S – DAY Quiet. The field where hell once stood is now silent—grass, wildflowers, open sky. No buildings remain. Just open space. And a chill in the air.

Tree in the Pit

A Sonderkommando prisoner at Treblinka confronts the horrors of the extermination camp and finds unexpected resilience during a desperate revolt.

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Overview

Poster
Unique Selling Point

This screenplay stands out for its unflinching yet sensitive portrayal of the Treblinka uprising, using the personal stories of its characters to illuminate the horrors of the Holocaust in a way that is both historically accurate and emotionally resonant. The unique setting of the extermination camp, combined with the high-stakes conflict and the ultimate act of resistance, creates a compelling narrative that would be of great interest to audiences seeking thought-provoking and impactful historical dramas.

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Gemini
 Consider
GPT4
 Recommend
Claude
 Recommend
Story Facts

Genres: Drama, Historical, War, Historical Drama, Thriller, Survival

Setting: August 1943 to early 1950s, Treblinka Extermination Camp, Poland

Themes: The Holocaust's Bureaucratic Evil, Dehumanization and the Loss of Innocence, Resilience of the Human Spirit and Resistance, The Power of Memory and the Act of Remembrance, Survival vs. Morality, The Fragility of Life and the Brutality of Death

Conflict & Stakes: The struggle for survival against the brutal conditions of the Treblinka extermination camp, with the stakes being life and death for Jakob and his fellow prisoners.

Mood: Bleak and haunting, filled with despair yet punctuated by moments of hope and resistance.

Standout Features:

  • Unique Hook: The perspective of a Sonderkommando prisoner offers a rare and harrowing insight into the Holocaust experience.
  • Plot Twist: The revelation of the true fate of Jakob's sister and the emotional impact it has on him.
  • Innovative Ideas: The use of personal items as symbols of memory and resistance throughout the narrative.
  • Distinctive Settings: The stark contrast between the grim reality of the extermination camp and the fleeting moments of hope and humanity.

Comparable Scripts: Schindler's List, The Pianist, Life is Beautiful, The Book Thief, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Holocaust (miniseries), The Zookeeper's Wife, The Tattooist of Auschwitz

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Overall Score: 7.91
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