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60 years too late
According to Nazi-hunters supreme the Simon Weisenthal Centre, they’ve found so-called Dr Death Aribert Heim alive and well and living in Patagonia.
I’m always a little conflicted when I hear about these sort of cases, whether they be Nazi’s from the Second World War, or Bosnian’s, or Romanian’s or any of dozens of other nations that have committed so-called war crimes over the last 60 years, and I can’t really properly explain where that confliction comes from.
Part of it is the phrase ‘war crimes’ which, to me, implies that there are rules to war in much the same way that there are in boxing. I’m sorry, it’s war and rules don’t exist. If rules existed, then the US would not have been able to use napalm in Vietnam to burn innocent villagers out of their homes. There are no rules to war; two sides fight for what they believe in with methods that they find acceptable. If they lose, history calls them all sorts of names. If they win, they get to carry on doing what they like.
The other thing that gets to me is the length of time that has passed. Heim was a public figure until 1962 - nearly 20 years after the end of WW2. Why could he have not been detained during that time? OK, so he did a runner when he heard they were closing in on him, but that’s the result of sloppy intelligence work. Properly organised, he could have been taken before he knew what was happening. Now, if it is him, what is really going to be achieved by putting him on trial? Even assuming he’s in charge of his mental faculties and so understands what’s happening to him, he’s 94. The man you really want to get to is 60 years in the past and can never be held accountable.
And if you do prosecute him and find him (surprise, surprise) guilty, what punishment will you give him? The electric chair? Lethal injection? Life imprisonment? The guy’s 94 and can expect to die any day now - what will it matter to him? Hell, he’ll probably die while you’re trying to extradite him. Whichever way, he wins and no-one is any better off; justice is not served.
What we really needed to do was to learn the lessons of WW2 and not let leaders and regimes like that ever arise again. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that and in the past 60 years we’ve seen - and are still seeing with the current situation in Zimbabwe - a succession of leaders that think they can do what they like to their citizens (or in their name, Mr Bush) just because they happen to be in the big chair. All the sacrifices of WW2 have, sadly, been in vain.
Comments
4 Responses to “60 years too late”
I think you know what to do....
Wolfs Stuff
Wolfs Helpers
I understand your conflict. I have often wondered about this. They are so old but I guess they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with what they did. What would deter others from doing the same. I stumbled your great post.
checking to see if this comment shows up as my last one didnt
@Karen
First time commenters are moderated, which is why your comment didn’t show up straightaway. Thanks for stopping by.
War crimes, isn’t that an oxymoron?
Viewed as hindsight from the comfort of home or coffee shop some incidents may sound harsh to the uninitiated. Let me assure you that they were by the person performing the act(s) at the time they occurred. Funny how perspective can change.