The Reader Page #3

At the end of the month's labor,

every month,

60 inmates were selected.

They were sent from the satellite

camp back to Auschwitz.

That's right, isn't it?

Yes, that's right.

And so far,

each of the defendants has denied

being part of that process.

Now I'm going to ask you.

Were you part of it?

Yes.

So you helped make the selection?

Yes.

You admit that?

Then, tell me,

how did that selection happen?

There were six guards,

so we decided

we'd choose 10 people each.

That's how we did it every month.

We'd all choose 10.

Are you saying

your fellow defendants took part?

We all did.

Even though they've denied it?

Saying "We", "We all" is easier

than "l", "I alone",

isn't it, Miss Schmitz?

Did you not realize

that you were sending these women

to their deaths?

Yes, but there were new arrivals.

New women were arriving

all the time.

The old ones had to make room

for the new ones.

I'm not sure you understand.

We couldn't keep everyone.

- There wasn't room.

- No.

What I'm saying is...

Let me rephrase.

To make room,

you were picking women out:

"You and you have to be

sent back to be killed".

Well,

what would you have done?

Should I never have signed up

at Siemens?

Ms. Mather, they're ready for you.

Go, go, go, go.

- Where's Michael?

- I don't know.

In your book you describe

the process of selection.

Yes.

You were made to work and then,

when you were no longer any use,

they sent you back to Auschwitz

to be killed.

Are there people here today

who made that selection?

Yes.

I need you to identify them.

Can you please point them out?

Her.

And her.

Her.

And her.

Her.

And her.

Thank you.

Please continue.

Each of the guards would choose

a certain number of women.

Hanna Schmitz chose differently.

In what way differently?

She had favorites.

Girls, mostly young.

We all remarked on it.

She gave them food

and places to sleep.

In the evenings,

she asked them to join her

and we all thought...

You can imagine what we thought.

And then we found out

she was making these women

read aloud to her.

They were reading to her.

At first we thought:

"This guard is more sensitive,

she's more human".

"She's kinder".

Often she chose the weak, the sick.

She picked them out, she seemed

to be protecting them almost.

But then she dispatched them.

Is that kinder?

I want to move on now to the march.

As I understand it, you and your

daughter were marched for months.

In the winter of 1944 our camp

was closed down.

We were told we had to move on.

But the plan kept changing

every day.

Women were dying

all around us in the snow.

Half of us died on the march.

My daughter says in the book:

"Less a death march,

more a death gallop".

Please,

tell us about the night

in the church.

That night we thought we were lucky

to have a roof over our heads.

Go on.

We'd arrived in the village.

As always, the guards took

the best quarters,

the priest's house.

But they let us sleep in a church.

There was a bombing raid

in the middle of the night.

The church was hit.

At first we could only hear

the fire that was in the steeple.

Then we could see burning beams

and they began to crash

to the floor.

Everyone rushed...

rushed to the doors.

But the door had been locked,

on the outside.

The church burned down

and nobody came to open the doors.

Is that right?

Nobody.

Even though you were

all burning to death?

How many people were killed?

Everyone was killed.

But you survived.

Thank you.

I want to thank you

for coming to this country

today, to testify.

I don't know.

I don't know

what we're doing here anymore.

Don't you?

You keep telling us to think

like lawyers, but there is something

disgusting about this.

How so?

This didn't happen to the Germans,

it happened to the Jews.

- What are we trying to do?

- We are trying to understand!

Six women locked 300 Jews

in a church and let them burn.

What is there to understand?

Tell me, I'm asking!

What is there to understand?

I started out

believing in this trial,

I thought it was great.

Now I think...

It's just a diversion.

Yes?

Diversion from what?

You choose six women,

you put them on trial,

you say:
"They were the evil ones,"

"they were the guilty ones".

Because one of the victims

happened to write a book.

That's why they're on trial

and nobody else.

Do you know how many camps

there were in Europe?

People go on about

how much did everyone know.

Who knew? What did they know?

Everyone knew.

Our parents, our teachers.

That isn't the question.

The question is

"How could you let this happen?"

And better, "Why didn't you

kill yourself when you found out?"

Thousands. That's how many camps

there were. Everyone knew.

Look at that woman.

Which woman?

The woman you're always staring at.

I'm sorry, but you are.

I don't know which one you mean.

You know what I'd do?

Put the gun in my hand,

I'd shoot her myself.

I'd shoot them all.

Why did you not unlock the doors?

Why did you not unlock the doors?

I've asked all of you

and I'm getting no answer.

Two of the victims

are in this court.

They deserve an answer.

This is the SS report.

You all have copies.

This is the report written,

approved and signed by all of you

immediately after the event.

In the written report

you all claim you didn't even know

about the fire until afterwards.

But that isn't true, is it?

Well?

It's not true.

I don't know what you're asking.

The first thing is

why didn't you unlock the doors?

Obviously.

For the obvious reason.

We couldn't.

Why couldn't you?

We were guards.

Our job was to guard the prisoners.

We couldn't just let them escape.

I see.

- If they escaped, you'd be blamed.

- No.

- Maybe even executed.

- No.

Well, then?

If we'd opened the doors,

there would have been chaos.

How could we have restored order?

It happened so fast. It was snowing,

the bombs, the flames...

There were flames all over the

village, then the screaming began,

and got worse and worse.

If they'd all come rushing out,

we couldn't just let them escape.

We were responsible for them!

So you did know what was happening.

You made a choice.

You let them die

rather than risk

letting them escape.

The other defendants

have made an allegation against you.

Have you heard this allegation?

They say you were in charge.

It isn't true.

I was just one of the guards.

- She was in charge.

- She was.

It was her idea.

Of course she was.

- Did you write the report?

- No, we all discussed what to say.

We all wrote it together.

She wrote the report.

She was in charge.

- Is that true?

- No.

- Yes, you did.

- Does it matter?

She wrote it.

I need to see a sample

of your handwriting.

- My handwriting?

- Yes.

To establish who wrote it.

Your Honor,

it's not appropriate...

Take her a piece of paper.

Counsel, approach the bench.

- You're going to compare...?

- Approach the bench.

I will not accept this in my court.

I'm sorry.

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