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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation
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even hears her. Socialist Karl Schiller himself never
succeeded in upsetting Kiesinger's aplomb, but the young people of the APO, who
can be counted on the fingers of one hand, are doing so."
August
19. With Arno beside me I held a press conference in Berlin. My book,
Kiesinger, a Documentation, had just been published – six days before my
second trial before the Court of Appeals. I emphasized this coincidence. I had
on several occasions met Karl Gerold, the publisher of the Frankfurter
Rundschau, who was a good friend of Brandt and a former anti-Nazi
emigré. Now he was convinced, and he gave me a whole page in his
courageous and popular newspaper. I used it for an exhaustive article on
"Kiesinger and the 'Final Solution.'" Gerold himself, who was very influential,
added a resounding editorial on the same topic, entitled "Kiesinger Never
Again." It was the strongest in the entire campaign.
Many reporters
came to that Berlin press conference and also to the one I held in Frankfurt on
August 23, and many reviews of my book appeared. There was considerable
emphasis on the fact that it was a weapon for the elections, not a commercial
book. And as a weapon it was effective. Heinrich Böll had written a strong
preface.
August 25. My second trial began. The first point to be
settled was whether Kiesinger would testify, since he was the plaintiff and it
would be his last chance to reply publicly to my charges.
President
Taegener ordered read to the court a letter in which Kiesinger replied to the
court's summons by protesting that his electoral campaign gave him no free
time. The judge concluded: "As a result, Chancellor Kiesinger, so far as we are
concerned, is not present . . . ."
I noticed that the trial was taking
a favorable turn, for the court did not appear aggressive – quite the
countrary [sic]. My judges could not send the Chancellor's opponent in the
election to prison, for that would create a scandal, and so they were going to
appear generous in order to take the wind out of my sails. To guard against
this, I decided not to prolong a trial that could bring me no advantage other
than Kiesinger's significant absence. I therefore declared that in the absence
of the Chancellor, who was discrediting himself by his cowardice, I would not
answer any questions: "I am not going on with this farce. So far as I am
concerned, the trial is over."
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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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Back |
Page 86 |
Forward |
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