Walking with the Enemy (2014) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

József, the radio repair shop owner, recognized that Jewish men were being forced into the brutal Hungarian labor service where any sign of weakness or injury resulted in summary execution. He sent his two young employees back to their families so they could use the forged baptismal certificates as protection and escape the immediate danger of conscription.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, József had procured the baptismal certificates specifically to give these young men a chance to survive.

• józsef
• elek
• ferenc
• labor service
• escape
• baptismal certificates

The forged baptismal certificates, obtained through a Catholic priest, allowed Jewish families to claim they had converted to Christianity. This provided them with legal protection against deportation, as the Arrow Cross Party and Nazis targeted Jews based on religious identity records.

Foreshadowing: Elek later finds the baptismal certificate tucked in a family photo after his home was ransacked, showing their continued importance.

• baptismal certificates
• forgery
• escape
• deportation
• catholic priest

Carl Lutz was empowered to issue 8,000 Swiss passports to individual Jews, but he deliberately expanded this to include entire families. This strategic decision maximized protection, rather than saving 8,000 separate individuals, he could safeguard whole family units together, making it much harder for the Nazis to separate and deport them.

Foreshadowing: This decision directly enabled the partnership with Elek and Ferenc to redirect thousands of Jews to safety.

• carl lutz
• swiss passports
• glass house
• family protection
• diplomatic immunity

Hungarian leader Miklós Horthy secretly negotiated an armistice with Stalin to pull Hungary out of the war on the Allied side. The Nazis discovered this plot and responded by abducting Horthy's son, storming Buda Castle, and overthrowing Horthy. He was imprisoned in Germany, and the Nazis installed the fascist Arrow Cross Party under Ferenc Szálasi to ensure Hungary remained aligned with Germany.

Foreshadowing: This political coup directly led to the Arrow Cross Party seizing power and intensifying the hunt for Jewish refugees.

• horthy
• arrow cross
• szálasi
• nazi occupation
• armistice
• budapest

After killing Nazi officers who discovered their hiding place, Elek and Ferenc exhumed the bodies and took their uniforms. Posing as SS officers, they could openly move through Nazi checkpoints and military installations. They used this access to mislead other Nazis, redirect thousands of Jews to safe houses, the Swiss Legation, and convents. Their success depended on the chaos of wartime Budapest and the Nazis' assumption that anyone in uniform was trustworthy.

Foreshadowing: This audacious plan was only possible after Elek killed the Nazis threatening Hannah, giving them access to the uniforms.

• impersonation
• ss uniforms
• elek
• ferenc
• disguise
• rescue operation

During the Russian army's arrival in Budapest, an SS lieutenant targets Elek. The catalyst is Elek's son, who makes an innocent gesture toward a group of captured Jews. This act draws attention to the situation and triggers the confrontation that nearly costs Elek his life, though a weary German commander ultimately intervenes and kills the lieutenant.

Foreshadowing: This tense moment represents the ultimate test of Elek's survival after years of dangerous work.

• ss lieutenant
• elek son
• russian army
• budapest
• confrontation
• near death

Elek met Hannah during his and Ferenc's mission to help Jewish families in hiding. Nazi officers tracked her to a shared hiding place where Elek and others were sheltering. To protect her, Elek killed the intruding Nazis. After this, Hannah's fate becomes intertwined with the rescue operations, as she benefits from the network of safe houses they established.

Foreshadowing: This violent encounter directly led to Elek obtaining the SS uniforms that enabled the impersonation scheme.

• hannah
• jewish woman
• elek
• nazi officers
• hiding place
• rescue

After Elek and Ferenc escaped the labor service and returned home, they discovered their families had already been deported. Elek found his home ransacked, with only the baptismal certificates remaining tucked in a family photo. The film establishes that his family, along with 500,000 Hungarian Jews, were victims of Auschwitz.

Foreshadowing: This devastating discovery drives Elek and Ferenc to take matters into their own hands to save other Jewish families.

• elek family
• deportation
• auschwitz
• hungarian jews
• photo certificate

After Horthy's failed armistice negotiation and subsequent overthrow by the Nazis, the fascist Arrow Cross Party, led by Ferenc Szálasi, was installed in power. The Nazis needed a loyal proxy to maintain control over Hungary and ensure continued cooperation with their war effort and Holocaust operations. The Arrow Cross immediately joined forces with the Nazis to hunt down Jewish refugees.

Foreshadowing: This takeover dramatically increased the danger for Jews in Budapest and forced Elek and Ferenc to escalate their rescue efforts.

• arrow cross
• ferenc szálasi
• fascism
• horthy
• power takeover
• nazi collaboration

Carl Lutz operated from the Swiss diplomatic office known as the Glass House, where he issued protective passports and organized rescue operations. He formed what became known as the Swiss Legion, which worked with resistance members like Elek and Ferenc. The Glass House served as a safe haven and coordination point where thousands of Jews were redirected and protected from deportation throughout the Nazi occupation.

Foreshadowing: The partnership between Lutz and the underground resistance was essential to the mass rescues achieved through impersonation.

• glass house
• swiss legation
• carl lutz
• diplomatic protection
• budapest
• safe haven

Thirteen years after the war ends, Elek's son celebrates his adopted son's wedding in New York City in 1958. This joyful scene serves as the film's bittersweet conclusion, showing that life continued and flourished despite the devastating losses. It symbolizes the resilience of those who survived and honors the memory of those who perished, including Elek's biological family.

Foreshadowing: The adoption reflects the family bonds formed during the war when children needed new parents after losing their biological families to the Holocaust.

• 1958
• wedding
• new york
• adopted son
• elek
• resilience
• remembrance