three officer judges enter. They give the Hitler salute.
The prosecuting officer starts to scream straight away. It is what is expected of him. His face goes purple. His voice rises to the highest octave.
'These traitors,' he roars, 'have attempted to sink a knife in the backs of our fighting men in the front line. They have committed a monstrous crime. They are not merely traitors, but also common murderers, who have handed over wounded German heroes into the hands of the Soviet untermensch , and this infamous crime they have committed merely to save their own miserable lives. They have also attempted to persuade other German soldiers into taking part in their criminal activities. When their sick suggestions were refused, this scoundrelly Oberst ordered these brave Germans to take part in the crime and to leave the wounded like a heap of offal. I demand that both the accused be sentenced to death in accordance with paragraph 91a: Defiance of orders and aiding the enemy, paragraph 8, sub-paragraph 2: Treachery against the people and security of the state, paragraph 73 and 139, sub-paragraphs 3 and 4: High Treason. I do not request the taking into consideration of paragraph 149: Desertion. I regret that there is no heavier punishment than the death penalty. In this case it is too humane.'
The three judge-officers doodle on the paper in front of them unconcerned with hiding the fact that they find the trial boring, and only attend to the prosecutor with half an ear.
The prosecuting officer sits down and gives a smiling nod to the defending officer.
The defending officer turns over his documents for a few moments. Then he gets to his feet slowly, pulls down his tunic, brushes a well-manicured hand over his grey hair, and smiles a comradely smile at the prosecutor and the presiding officer.
'I ask the court to take into consideration the accused officers' decorations and the attention to duty shown in their previous service records. I ask the court to consider their crimes with mercy.' He sits down again, avoiding the Oberst's reproachful glance.
'Do the accused wish to make any statement in their defence before sentence is passed?' asks the Kriegsgerichtsrat, looking impatiently at his watch.
Obertst Frick rises and begins to explain the hopelessness of the situation in that Arctic hell.
'You are wasting the court's time,' the Kriegsgerichtsrat cuts him off, sharply. 'Did you or did you not leave wounded German soldiers at the mercy of Russian troops, yes or no? Did you give the order for your unit to withdraw, yes or no?'
The Oberst realises that it is impossible to combat this kind of cold logic.
'Yes,' he replies, sitting down heavily.
'And you,' the Kriegsgerichtsrat nods at Oberleutnant Wisling, 'stated clearly that you were in agreement with your Commanding Officer?'
'The whole proceedings are a mixture of truth and falsehood, an infamous juggling with the facts,' screams Wisling in a piercing voice. 'I refuse to recognise this caricature of a court! It is a slaughterhouse! Any respectable judge would be ashamed to sit in it!'
'Sit down and be quiet! You are the worst villain we have ever had in this courtroom,' shouts the prosecuting officer, sulphurously, purple in the face.
The Kriegsgerichtsrat nods and whispers for a moment to his two assisting officers. In a low, pleasant voice he begins to read from a document which has lain in front of him throughout the trial:
'For cowardice, contempt of the Fuhrer, the Commander-in-Chief of the Greater Germany Army, aiding the enemy and sabotage of orders, the accused, Oberst Gerhard Frick and Oberleutnant Heinz Wisling, are condemned to death by shooting. Their rights, civil and military, are lost to them for life. Their entire property is to be confiscated on behalf of the state. Both of the accused are reduced to the rank of rifleman and all decorations they may have received are withdrawn from them. The sentence to be carried out as soon as possible. The
The prosecuting officer starts to scream straight away. It is what is expected of him. His face goes purple. His voice rises to the highest octave.
'These traitors,' he roars, 'have attempted to sink a knife in the backs of our fighting men in the front line. They have committed a monstrous crime. They are not merely traitors, but also common murderers, who have handed over wounded German heroes into the hands of the Soviet untermensch , and this infamous crime they have committed merely to save their own miserable lives. They have also attempted to persuade other German soldiers into taking part in their criminal activities. When their sick suggestions were refused, this scoundrelly Oberst ordered these brave Germans to take part in the crime and to leave the wounded like a heap of offal. I demand that both the accused be sentenced to death in accordance with paragraph 91a: Defiance of orders and aiding the enemy, paragraph 8, sub-paragraph 2: Treachery against the people and security of the state, paragraph 73 and 139, sub-paragraphs 3 and 4: High Treason. I do not request the taking into consideration of paragraph 149: Desertion. I regret that there is no heavier punishment than the death penalty. In this case it is too humane.'
The three judge-officers doodle on the paper in front of them unconcerned with hiding the fact that they find the trial boring, and only attend to the prosecutor with half an ear.
The prosecuting officer sits down and gives a smiling nod to the defending officer.
The defending officer turns over his documents for a few moments. Then he gets to his feet slowly, pulls down his tunic, brushes a well-manicured hand over his grey hair, and smiles a comradely smile at the prosecutor and the presiding officer.
'I ask the court to take into consideration the accused officers' decorations and the attention to duty shown in their previous service records. I ask the court to consider their crimes with mercy.' He sits down again, avoiding the Oberst's reproachful glance.
'Do the accused wish to make any statement in their defence before sentence is passed?' asks the Kriegsgerichtsrat, looking impatiently at his watch.
Obertst Frick rises and begins to explain the hopelessness of the situation in that Arctic hell.
'You are wasting the court's time,' the Kriegsgerichtsrat cuts him off, sharply. 'Did you or did you not leave wounded German soldiers at the mercy of Russian troops, yes or no? Did you give the order for your unit to withdraw, yes or no?'
The Oberst realises that it is impossible to combat this kind of cold logic.
'Yes,' he replies, sitting down heavily.
'And you,' the Kriegsgerichtsrat nods at Oberleutnant Wisling, 'stated clearly that you were in agreement with your Commanding Officer?'
'The whole proceedings are a mixture of truth and falsehood, an infamous juggling with the facts,' screams Wisling in a piercing voice. 'I refuse to recognise this caricature of a court! It is a slaughterhouse! Any respectable judge would be ashamed to sit in it!'
'Sit down and be quiet! You are the worst villain we have ever had in this courtroom,' shouts the prosecuting officer, sulphurously, purple in the face.
The Kriegsgerichtsrat nods and whispers for a moment to his two assisting officers. In a low, pleasant voice he begins to read from a document which has lain in front of him throughout the trial:
'For cowardice, contempt of the Fuhrer, the Commander-in-Chief of the Greater Germany Army, aiding the enemy and sabotage of orders, the accused, Oberst Gerhard Frick and Oberleutnant Heinz Wisling, are condemned to death by shooting. Their rights, civil and military, are lost to them for life. Their entire property is to be confiscated on behalf of the state. Both of the accused are reduced to the rank of rifleman and all decorations they may have received are withdrawn from them. The sentence to be carried out as soon as possible. The
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