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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation
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who seemed ten years younger. Nearly six feet tall,
with silver hair and an intelligent, understanding expression – the very
image of a respectable family man – and even a trifle attractive, except
that I thought his eyes too small for the size of his face. As for his private
life, I couldn't have cared less. I knew that his home life was irreproachable
and that he was so fond of animals that he had once put his rowboat back into
the water to rescue a spaniel that was drowning in Lake Constance. He did not
appear to be much interested in money. All these dimensions of the man are
indeed to be respected, and a consideration of them might have been an obstacle
to my campaign if I had paid them any heed, but I didn't. For that matter,
Hitler and Himmler had led exemplary private lives.
A man, especially
one who plays an important role, is only a sort of rack from which his deeds
hang. And in my eyes, his deeds – their significance – are what
really count. As much as I would want to describe the physical aspects of Petia
our cocker spaniel or our cat, I try, on the contrary, not to be swayed by the
physical aspects of persons I meet in my extrafamilial life. I never let myself
be impressed by attractions, repulsions, or other personal magnetisms, and I
keep a certain balance so as not to lose the thread of my direction.
I
had decided to heckle the German Chancellor while he was addressing the full
session of Parliament, but I had not realized how hard it is to shout in an
orderly assembly. I was afraid I would not have the courage to open my mouth.
So I kept looking at the clock, telling myself that I would wait until the
minute hand was on the dot of twelve. It was agonizing to keep staring at that
hand moving over, closer and closer to the appointed moment. Then, at last,
dramatically brandishing my clenched fist I shouted as loud as I could:
"Kiesinger, you Nazi, resign!"
Once I had got the words out, it was
easy to repeat them.
The Chancellor stopped his speech. I could sense
that he was upset. He looked toward me, as did all the members of Parliament.
There, in the presence of the representatives of the people of the Federal
Republic, his past had risen before him.
The sergeants-at-arms
descended upon me. One put his hand over my mouth and dragged me out of the
hall into a tiny office. I refused to give my name, and was hauled off to the
nearest police station. Only then did I answer any questions. The police super
[…intendent]
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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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