A Fascist Trial

A 93 year old man is now on trial for a youth crime. 75 years ago, he was a guard in Auschwitz and for that the righteous guardians of history must punish him. It doesn’t matter that he did what most of us would have done, the principle of justice must strike without reason.

As a 17 year old German he was forced to be a guard. Maybe he could have refused, risked his life and become a forgotten hero, but he chose to do that simple task. He didn’t have to kill or injure anyone, and he saved himself. Which one of us would have acted otherwise? I wouldn’t.

It’s pathetic when the full force of the justice system of a free country is used to enforce a historical victory against a weak old man. It’s a coward act for judges and prosecutors to elevate themselves to a moral pedestal and condemn a man from their safe position.

It’s a misunderstanding of what justice is and what purpose it serves. The judiciary is there to prevent crime, but what is there to prevent after so many years? Some say it’s supposed to have a healing effect on society, but how would crushing an old man remedy anything that was still left to be healed? Justice is giving to each what is deserved, but why would anyone deserve punishment for doing something anyone would have done?

This trial and all similar trials are an exhibition of the state’s power to claim moral superiority by crushing insignificant flies. Everybody involved proudly assert their preeminence for adopting the generally accepted and obvious view of history. They risk nothing and are about as courageous as a lynch mob.

What is more, this parody of justice is displayed in memory of a totalitarian state. Man is an ironic animal.