I don't believe this man has any notion of what is going on in the world. He is acute, in no ways dull, but his mind seems to have blocked out the salient features of the trials thus far. He rejects the atrocities, the killing of millions of Jews, the barbarism of the SS, the entire criminal modus operandi of the Nazi Party. He sees only that he was innocent of any crime, past or present, and that any attempt to incriminate him or any of the others on trial with him is political connivery. He feels Germany's actions were the result of oppression after the last war, on the one hand, and on the other takes no cognizance of his own culpability in being a faithful servant to Hitler and his regime. He denies atrocities at sea and is still doubtful about them on land.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker critiques Dönitz for blocking out awareness of Nazi atrocities and accepting guilt, viewing his innocence claims as political conspiracy.
- In plain terms
- Dönitz is criticized for denying Nazi crimes and seeing his trial as a plot.
- What can you take from it?
- Denial of systemic evil reveals a selective moral blindness.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can one serve a regime without knowing its crimes?
- Is denial political or personal?
Another view
The critique assumes full knowledge that the accused may genuinely lack.
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