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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation
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agreeable truths he irritates de Somoskoey to the
point that the latter imagines he sees René Clavel at the conclusion of
his deposition parody the Nazi salute. To everyone's astonishment de Somoskoey
furiously accuses Clavel of mocking the court; decides to admit no more French
witnesses and declares a recess. The other witnesses want to come in; there is
shoving and pushing. Henri Pudeleau is beaten by a guard so badly that he
suffers broken ribs. Julien Aubart cries out in a voice so anguished it brings
tears to the women's eyes; "You are trying to finish the job you began at
Auschwitz!" Pierre-Bloch is mobbed. These incidents have great repercussions,
especially so as Achenbach, the deputy to whom I had alluded at several points
during the trial, that day lost his patience. In a radio interview in Cologne
he revealed himself: "We demand a general amnesty for humanitarian and
Christian reasons. As reporter to the Bundestag for my committee I shall
scrutinize the ratification proposal with care, and that will take a long time,
a very long time." Now public attention is turned on Achenbach. From all sides
we receive requests for his dossier. The Achenbach affair is about to hatch.
Meanwhile Serge, who cannot cross into German territory under pain of
arrest, meets me in Liège on Thursday, July 4. We work together on the
draft of my final statement.
Sixth session, Friday, July 5. De
Somoskoey announces this will be a closed session because of Wednesday's
disorders. I rise and say: "Your Honor, those incidents took place because of
the inhuman way you are conducting this trial; you completely fail to take into
account the feelings of the victims of Nazism." After these words, which are
the only part of the trial to be reported that day because of the closed
session, I try to leave the courtroom. They force me back. A scandal. De
Somoskoey wishes to clap a prison sentence on me immediately on the grounds
that I have insulted the court. The journalists, shut out of the trial, are on
my side. Things calm down. But the journalists refuse to accept their news at
second hand, through a few approved reporters, and file a complaint against the
judge. The court is emptied. The French consul-general at Bonn is authorized to
remain, while the Israeli diplomat is asked to leave. But the French consul
expresses his solidarity with his Israeli colleague and departs with him.
The courtroom is thus empty when Prosecutor Gehrling (who will have the
special duty of prosecuting the Nazi criminals if the
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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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