Читать книгу The Nightmare - Cecil Louis Troughton Smith - Страница 3

Not one of these stories tells of an actual happening, but all of them except the last could easily have happened. From the thousands of pages of matter—sworn evidence at the Nuremberg and Belsen trials, sober history, self-exculpatory memoirs, and actual documents—which have appeared since the fall of the Nazi régime, material for many stories could be gathered, most of them hardly credible on account of their cynicism or horror. There is Naukocks’ affidavit regarding the ‘criminals’ left dead beside the Gleiwitz radio station; the evidence against Hartjenstein in the Natzweiler trial, and that against Kramer in the Belsen trial; from these sources came, as will be obvious, suggestions for some of the stories in this book. But those sources are not easily accessible and to some extent are tedious reading, so that it is hard for the average reader to become acquainted with the remarkable possibilities of unfettered power. During the dozen years of the Nazi régime in Germany things happened that could hardly find a parallel in the most debased days of the Roman Empire; crimes were committed—usually quite legally according to the letter of the law of the land—which make those of Jack the Ripper and Landru appear quite insignificant. A fantastic pyramid of a new governing class arose, mortared with blood though honeycombed by suspicion, but nevertheless only eventually undermined by military failure. A few more victories in Russia, or a moment of irresolution on the part of the British people, and that governing class might be in existence to this day; it is less than ten years ago since it fell, although that seems hard to believe. Less than ten years ago people were dying by the hundred thousand at the word of one man, and that man not quite sane. It happened ten years ago; it seems quite certain that similar things are happening at this very moment in other countries where ruling gangs are established in power. There is no purpose in studying history unless the lessons of the past are to influence policy in the present, and present policy can only have a basis in the lessons of the past.