|
|
 |
WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation
| |
|
| |
 |
Back |
 |
Contents |
Page 319 |
|
Home
Page |
Forward |
 |
| |
| |
want to believe, I sincerely want to
believe that you will not shirk this responsibility and that from this Court,
the "Erste Grosse Strafkammer of Cologne," will come the "Erste Grosser
Juristischer Protest" against this state of affairs.
... For this, Mr.
Chairman, Honorable Judges, is not a purely Jewish or a French problem, it is
primarily a German problem, and my appeal is an appeal to the conscience of the
new Germany and its judges to solve it in an honorable way. We all know, Mr.
Chairman, Honorable Judges, that the legislature is but an instrument of public
opinion. The man in the street elects the Bundestag. Public opinion, the
legislature, the judiciary and the Government are, in a way, interdependent in
coping with the issue. But you, the judges of the new Germany, more than any
other individual group or factor, represent the face and image of Justice and
Law. Your word and opinion, your moral philosophy, your protest, carry or
should carry tremendous weight and influence.
Mr. Chairman, Honorable
Judges, I have already noted that two Arab terrorists armed with a bomb have
shattered your entire legal framework into thousands of pieces. I, Mr.
Chairman, Honorable Judges, come to you from Israel unarmed and alone. My only
weapon is a deeply rooted moral conviction and the support of a country and a
people whose claim to justice in this case cannot be refuted or denied.
I pray and plead not only for the sake of Israel or France, not only
for the sake of Beate Klarsfeld, but also in the hope that a new Germany has
indeed taken root, and that this plea for justice will be heeded.
When my turn comes, I say in conclusion:
If you limit this trial to acts of civil
disobedience I have committed, without going into the grave problem that
triggered them, you will surely find me guilty and sentence me with or without
time off. But you will not be doing your duty. You have an opportunity to show
the Bundestag it is its duty to ratify the accord and strengthen the sense of
justice in this country.
For my friends and myself it has not been easy
to break laws in order to obtain justice. For you also it would not be easy to
acquit me when you know I have done an illegal act. But if you do, you will
bring something valuable into German justice, by not adhering to the letter of
the law as so many other German judges have unfortunately done before you. What
I am asking of you is a courageous decision.
As for me, I have been
struggling for a long time in the name of the brave men and women who faced
torture, the ax, or the firing squad. You may be sure I do not fear your
verdict. No, it is not fear that moves me at this moment, but hope – less
for myself than for you and the FRG, the hope that you will decide to acquit
me. If you do so, you
|
|
| |
| |
| |
WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
|
Back |
Page 319 |
Forward |
|
|
