Peter Weiss wrote a play entitled, THE INVESTIGATION, which is described on the book cover as “a dramatic re-construction of the Frankfurt War Crimes trials, based on the actual evidence given.” Weiss took the evidence given at the trials for those running the Auschwtiz Nazi death camp and formed it into a play where the characters – judges, witnesses and defendants- are reciting verbatim things he extracted from the documents.
I could not help but be struck by the stunning contrast between what Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-5):
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth
And what Female Witness Number 5 said about who did not survive the horrors of Auschwitz:
The unfit
The dull spirited
The gentle
The bewildered and the impractical
The grief stricken and the self-pitiful
Were crushed underfoot
Fraternized 