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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation
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vacation – provided I am still at liberty this
summer and not back in a sinister cell, which this time, if I am given an
unequivocal prison sentence, would be in the decrepit prison of Essen.
Achenbach is that town's deputy.
Arie Marinsky (who is about to leave
for Paris to check all details with Serge) and I work out our tactic. He now
has all the dossiers in his hands and has put great effort into assimilating in
so short a time all the historical facts about the war criminals. On June 20
Marinsky leaves Paris for Cologne, where he informs Presiding Judge de
Somoskoey that he firmly intends to plead my case in English. De Somoskoey
refuses. Marinsky says that in that case I (Beate) will withdraw counsel and
remain silent if my chief lawyer is not permitted to speak. De Somoskoey does
not wish to yield. The case is scheduled to come up Tuesday, June 25. Saturday,
June 22, de Somoskoey reverses himself: he agrees to allow Marinsky to defend
me as my principal lawyer, and in English. But in fear that I may dismiss my
lawyers and refuse to speak if I am displeased with their conduct of the trial,
he appoints on his own an additional lawyer to defend me, Herr Jochum of
Cologne, with whom, of course, I shall have to deal at some future date.
In spite of all the research and documentation he has undertaken to win
our case, Serge, who had decided in the course of our experiences that he
should enter an independent profession, had begun his law studies in February
1973. With his degree in history from the Sorbonne and as a graduate of the
Institute of Political Studies in Paris, he was admitted as a third-year
student to the Law School of the University of Paris, and after a few months
passed the examinations to enter the fourth year. Now, in June 1974, he faces
his finals. But at the same time he is bearing the full weight of the
preparation for the trial. He says: "You were released from jail because of the
pressure from Israel, but to win the trial we need strong public reaction in
France." So he is putting all his energy into building up this reaction, while
taking – and passing – his law examinations. Our tactic is to play up
the true nature of the conflict and refute the heavy legalistic collar with
which the court intends to constrict the trial. It will be a clash of wills at
the end of which one of the two antagonists will necessarily lose and the other
will win.
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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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Page 310 |
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