Consummate Thespian
Who knew a former car mechanic would be capable of such a convincing display of elderly physical and mental decay? John Demjanjuk is indeed elderly at 89 years of age. He has lived long after the last of those who survived the miseries of Sobibor died. Given opportunity to live a long and normal and obviously much-enjoyed life; denied the 27,900 Jews whom he ably assisted to their untimely deaths in 1943.
Those testifying in court against the acknowledged former Nazi are relatives of those who died. Mr. Demjanjuk himself appeared in a truly pitiable condition of seemingly complete physical collapse, trundled into court first in a wheelchair, then on a stretcher. It must surely have torn the heartstrings of observers. Most particularly, members of his family who plead for his surviving the unfairness of this elderly man being brought before a court of justice, when he is innocent, they claim.
Not his fault, after all, that he was a guard along with fellow Ukrainians, trained by the Nazi SS commanders to herd Jews into gas chambers. Not his fault that the vast preponderance of Jews unloaded from trains into Sobibor lived for roughly one hour before being dispatched to their maker. He was an unwilling inductee into the cult of efficiency in death delivery in that concerted effort to eradicate Jewish vermin from European soil.
His is considered to be the last of the major Nazi war crimes trials to take place on German soil. Fully one quarter of a million Jews were eliminated efficiently at Sobibor. Mr. Demjanjuk, who had previously been tried in Israel where he spent seven years in prison, had been released for lack of evidence that he was, as charged, "Ivan the Terrible". This poor man charged with crimes he resolutely, steadfastly denies having any part in.
His lawyer evoking sympathy by portraying him as a prisoner unable to resist, submitting to doing what he was forced to do, in a desperate effort to keep his own life intact. A medical expert called to witness rendered his opinion that the man does not suffer from leukemia, eliciting the comment from a representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center: "It's a pathetic attempt to appear more crippled than he is. He belongs in Hollywood."
Oddly enough, he was seen to be laughing and in a jocular mood once journalists had left the courtroom. Just pretending to be relieved, of course, courageously putting on an act of bravado, when he was really, truly agonized over his plight, and suffering hugely over the tragedy that memory brought back; his inability to help the captive Jews from their miserable fate as he would truly have liked to do.
Mr. Demjanjuk's claim that he is an unfortunate victim of mistaken identify is being put to the test. An expert on the Sobibor experience has given his opinion: "There is no doubt that John Demjanjuk also was involved in Treblinka as well as Sobibor. There were incidents where guards were transferred from place to place. It has been proven that he was at Treblinka. Claims that he joined the war afterwards have been proven to be incorrect."
Those members of the Sobibor families awaiting the outcome of the trial are anxious for information. They would appreciate knowing, for example, how matters proceeded in the brief time from the emptying of the trains to the gas chambers, would like to know how those who managed to survive lived in the camp. They're not anticipating revenge, they simply would like to absorb some details.
Prepared to accept that sympathy will be extended to the man because of his age and his medical condition. That there exists a good likelihood that after the trial has been completed - and it will be a long trial - some of the gaps in their knowledge will have been filled in. So their mourning period will be completed, what people call 'closure' will have been achieved.
They are prepared to see the man released to the care of his family.
There is no room for vengeance in the search for closure; it is too long in coming, too late to wreak justice on one man whom fate allowed to live out his days without accounting for his evil past.
Those testifying in court against the acknowledged former Nazi are relatives of those who died. Mr. Demjanjuk himself appeared in a truly pitiable condition of seemingly complete physical collapse, trundled into court first in a wheelchair, then on a stretcher. It must surely have torn the heartstrings of observers. Most particularly, members of his family who plead for his surviving the unfairness of this elderly man being brought before a court of justice, when he is innocent, they claim.
Not his fault, after all, that he was a guard along with fellow Ukrainians, trained by the Nazi SS commanders to herd Jews into gas chambers. Not his fault that the vast preponderance of Jews unloaded from trains into Sobibor lived for roughly one hour before being dispatched to their maker. He was an unwilling inductee into the cult of efficiency in death delivery in that concerted effort to eradicate Jewish vermin from European soil.
His is considered to be the last of the major Nazi war crimes trials to take place on German soil. Fully one quarter of a million Jews were eliminated efficiently at Sobibor. Mr. Demjanjuk, who had previously been tried in Israel where he spent seven years in prison, had been released for lack of evidence that he was, as charged, "Ivan the Terrible". This poor man charged with crimes he resolutely, steadfastly denies having any part in.
His lawyer evoking sympathy by portraying him as a prisoner unable to resist, submitting to doing what he was forced to do, in a desperate effort to keep his own life intact. A medical expert called to witness rendered his opinion that the man does not suffer from leukemia, eliciting the comment from a representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center: "It's a pathetic attempt to appear more crippled than he is. He belongs in Hollywood."
Oddly enough, he was seen to be laughing and in a jocular mood once journalists had left the courtroom. Just pretending to be relieved, of course, courageously putting on an act of bravado, when he was really, truly agonized over his plight, and suffering hugely over the tragedy that memory brought back; his inability to help the captive Jews from their miserable fate as he would truly have liked to do.
Mr. Demjanjuk's claim that he is an unfortunate victim of mistaken identify is being put to the test. An expert on the Sobibor experience has given his opinion: "There is no doubt that John Demjanjuk also was involved in Treblinka as well as Sobibor. There were incidents where guards were transferred from place to place. It has been proven that he was at Treblinka. Claims that he joined the war afterwards have been proven to be incorrect."
Those members of the Sobibor families awaiting the outcome of the trial are anxious for information. They would appreciate knowing, for example, how matters proceeded in the brief time from the emptying of the trains to the gas chambers, would like to know how those who managed to survive lived in the camp. They're not anticipating revenge, they simply would like to absorb some details.
Prepared to accept that sympathy will be extended to the man because of his age and his medical condition. That there exists a good likelihood that after the trial has been completed - and it will be a long trial - some of the gaps in their knowledge will have been filled in. So their mourning period will be completed, what people call 'closure' will have been achieved.
They are prepared to see the man released to the care of his family.
There is no room for vengeance in the search for closure; it is too long in coming, too late to wreak justice on one man whom fate allowed to live out his days without accounting for his evil past.
Labels: Human Relations, Justice, Racism, Realities
posted by Pieface | 6:42 PM
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