Defeatist Z

Defendant Klara Z had just been brought from prison to the Berlin People's Court. She took her place before the nine judges. She was thin. Her shoulders sagged. Her voice was a tired whisper.

The first witness was Mrs. Z's house maid. She deposed : "Mrs. Z never discussed politics or the war. Mr. Z has been on the eastern front a long time. Mrs. Z's oldest son was inducted into the Army three months before her arrest. Her second son is working in an Austrian factory. Her youngest child, a daughter of 17, was a driver in the A.R.P. and was killed during a raid on Berlin. I was present when Mrs. Z received this news. At first she stared at me, then shouted: 'All this is the work of the devil, that mass murderer! Poor Germany, this is how things are with us.' I considered this utterance as of a decidedly defeatist nature and inimical to our Fuehrer. I did not hesitate to inform the authorities."

The only other witness was Mrs. Z's janitor. He deposed: Mrs. Z led a solitary life, contributed little to Nazi Winter Relief, did not read any Party newspaper, never attended Nazi meetings.

Then Presiding Judge Ronald Freisler pronounced sentence: "Mrs. Klara Z is sentenced to die by the ax for her defeatist attitude and for having insulted the Fuehrer, the German people and the German state."

As Mrs. Z was led away, a bailiff cried: "Naechster Fall"--next case.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.