Rescuer

We had just taken our seats when we were told to stand for the reading of the

defendants and their accused committed crime. I had not taken pity on any of them,

they had committed serious crimes and should not be taken or treated innocent. Most

of the defendants pleaded “Not guilty” and said that “They were just following orders”

or “They never meant for any of that to happen”. I had created the original charges

against the Nazis, I felt as though they deserved to be put in prison or maybe even

die for their wrongs. I was next to be prosecuting against the Germans in front of the

International Military Tribunal, I stated that “The privilege of opening the first trial in

history for crimes against the peace of the world imposes a grave responsibility. The

wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant,

and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot

survive their being repeated”. This opening statement would make the rest of the court

room agree with me if they didn’t already, I was up at the podium, giving my speech I

paused, and glazed over the crowd to insure attentiveness when I caught a glimpse of the

twenty men who were the accused, they sat there stump and nervous they looked almost

numb, motionless, maybe they were beginning to realize their wrongs, a little to late.

When I was done with my statement I returned to my seat and listened to the rest of the

prosecutors, we all had the general same idea, that the Nazis were guilty. When the end

of the trails were reached we began to exit row by row the defendants were taken away,

and in a couple of months maybe years we would return to our normal lives to remember

these days forever I left with the images of dying Jews in my thoughts, they have finally

gotten justice.