Elie Wiesel by The Forgotten

see them off at the station.
    PROSECUTOR : He saw them off, and never spoke?
    WITNESS : Oh yes, he spoke. He ordered the Hungarian police to be harder on us. To be crueler. They made us lighten or empty our knapsacks. Then they herded us into the freight cars and slugged us as we went.
    PROSECUTOR : Are you sure it was because of him that the police were cruel?
    WITNESS : He gave the orders.
    PROSECUTOR : Was he himself cruel? I mean, did you yourself witness an act of brutality on his part?
    WITNESS : Yes. At the station, a Jewish doctor approached him to report serious worries—there were three sick peoplein the boxcar; they needed room.… The captain listened and then struck him. The doctor fell to the ground. The SS captain kicked him until the doctor couldn’t stand up and had to be carried onto the boxcar. The captain beat the men who were carrying him.
    PROSECUTOR : You witnessed this yourself?
    WITNESS : I was there. I was on the last transport. I saw it all.
    Reporters were scribbling notes, the audience was holding its breath. The judge, somewhat remote, gazed upon prosecutor and witness in turn but seemed unaware of the audience. Elhanan had never felt more present, or more absent. His face hardened when the defense attorney cross-examined the witness; it betrayed pain and anger at the same time.
    DEFENSE : Mr. Neimann, you seem to have a good memory. Am I right?
    WITNESS : I believe I’ve always had a good memory.
    DEFENSE : I congratulate you. If only all witnesses were as gifted as you … In this connection, May 17 remains vivid in your memory, does it not?
    WITNESS : Yes.
    DEFENSE : You rose early that day?
    WITNESS : At dawn. To say my prayers. Dress. Get ready to leave.
    DEFENSE : Your family also? Up early?
    WITNESS : The whole ghetto—or what was left of it—rose at dawn.
    DEFENSE : What day of the week was that?
    WITNESS : A Sunday. Yes, Sunday.
    DEFENSE : You’re sure of that?
    WITNESS : Yes … I think so.
    DEFENSE : Then you’re not positive.
    WITNESS : Yes, I’m sure.… I think.
    The lawyer broke off to consult his documents and, without raising his eyes, asked a deceptively casual question of the witness.
    DEFENSE : What was the name of this SS captain in your village?
    WITNESS : I told you before. Hans Hochmeier.
    DEFENSE : You’re sure?
    WITNESS : Yes.
    DEFENSE : Absolutely?
    WITNESS : Yes … yes.
    DEFENSE : Not Rauchmeier?
    WITNESS : N-no. Hochmeier.
    DEFENSE : How do you spell that?
    WITNESS : Just like it’s pronounced.
    DEFENSE : With an
i
or a
y
?
    WITNESS : With an
i
, I think.
    DEFENSE : But you’re not sure?
    WITNESS : Yes … yes.
    DEFENSE : I see that you hesitate. Perhaps you remember the defendant’s rank more clearly?
    WITNESS : I told you that before, too. A captain in the SS.
    DEFENSE : But the SS was formal and exact about its rank:
Scharführer? Sturmbannführer? Hauptsturmführer?
    WITNESS : I don’t know.… In the ghetto we called him captain.
    DEFENSE : Ah, I see.
    Another pause.
    DEFENSE : So you saw the defendant in the courtyard of the synagogue and after at the station, is that right?
    WITNESS : Yes.
    DEFENSE : If you don’t mind, Mr. Neimann, recall for us the color of his uniform that day. Was it light gray? Dark gray?
    WITNESS : I think … dark gray.
    DEFENSE : And was his holster on his left side or his right side?
    WITNESS : The right side … I think.…
    DEFENSE : Was the belt of his jacket tight or loose?
    WITNESS : Tight. All the SS wore their belts—
    The witness interrupted himself, embarrassed. He turned to the judge, then to the prosecutor, his eyes begging them for help. Then he shrugged, exhausted, beaten. He wept.
    DEFENSE : That’s all, as far as I’m concerned. I have no further questions for this witness.
    A smirking defendant shook his head.
    During the recess, Elhanan told his son he wanted to go home. Elhanan was sweating. He headed for the exit. Malkiel went out with him. Outside, whipped by an icy wind, Elhanan raged: