英文小说连载《朗读者The Reader》Part 2 Chapter 7

　　JUST AS Hanna’s insistent contradictions annoyed the judge， her willingness to admit things annoyed the other defendants. It was damaging for their defense， but also her own.

　　In fact the evidence itself was favorable to the defendants. The only evidence for the main count of the indictment was the testimony of the mother who had survived， her daughter， and the daughter’s book. A competent defense would have been able， without attacking the substance of the mother’s and daughter’s testimony， to cast reasonable doubt on whether these defendants were the actual ones who had done the selections. Witnesses’ testimony on this point was not precise， nor could it be； there had， after all， been a commandant， uniformed men， other female guards， and a whole hierarchy of responsibilities and order with which the prisoners had only been partially confronted and which， correspondingly， they could only partially understand. The same was true of the second count. Mother and daughter had both been locked inside the church， and could not testify as to what had happened outside. Certainly the defendants could not claim not to have been there. The other witnesses who had been living in the village then had spoken with them and remembered them. But these other witnesses had to be careful to avoid the charge that they themselves could have rescued the prisoners. If the defendants had been the only ones there—could the villagers not have overpowered the few women and unlocked the church doors themselves？ Would they not have to fall in line with the defense， that the defendants had acted under a power of compulsion that also extended to them， the witnesses？ That they had been forced by， or acted on the orders of， the troops who had either not yet fled or who， in the reasonable assumption of the guards， had left for a brief interval， perhaps to bring the wounded to the field hospital， and would be returning soon？

　　When the other defendants’ lawyers realized that such strategies were being undone by Hanna’s voluntary concessions， they switched to another， which used her concessions to incriminate Hanna and exonerate the other defendants. The defense lawyers did this with professional objectivity. The other defendants backed them up with impassioned interjections.

　　“You stated that you knew you were sending the prisoners to their deaths—that was only true of you， wasn’t it？ You cannot know what your colleagues knew. Perhaps you can guess at it， but in the final analysis you cannot judge， is that not so？” Hanna was asked by one of the other defendants’ lawyers.

　　“But we all knew . . .”

　　“Saying ‘we，’ ‘we all’ is easier than saying ‘I，’ ‘I alone，’ isn’t it？ Isn’t it true that you and only you had special prisoners in the camp， young girls， first one for a period， and then another one？”

　　Hanna hesitated. “I don’t think I was the only one who . . .”

　　“You dirty liar！ Your favorites—all that was just you， no one else！” Another of the accused， a coarse woman， not unlike a fat broody hen but with a spiteful tongue， was visibly worked up.

　　“Is it possible that when you say ‘knew，’ the most you can actually do is assume， and that when you say ‘believe，’ you are actually just making things up？” The lawyer shook his head， as if disturbed by her acknowledgment of this. “And is it also true that once you were tired of your special prisoners， they all went back to Auschwitz with the next transport？”

　　Hanna did not answer.

　　“That was your special， your personal selection， wasn’t it？ You don’t want to remember， you want to hide behind something that everyone did， but . . .”

　　“Oh God！” The daughter， who had taken a seat in the public benches after being examined， covered her face with her hands. “How could I have forgotten？” The presiding judge asked if she wished to add anything to her testimony. She did not wait to be called to the front. She stood up and spoke from her seat among the spectators.

　　“Yes， she had favorites， always one of the young ones who was weak and delicate， and she took them under her wing and made sure that they didn’t have to work， got them better barracks space and took care of them and fed them better， and in the evenings she had them brought to her. And the girls were never allowed to say what she did with them in the evening， and we assumed she was . . . also because they all ended up on the transports， as if she had had her fun with them and then had got bored. But it wasn’t like that at all， and one day one of them finally talked， and we learned that the girls read aloud to her， evening after evening after evening. That was better than if they . . . and better than working themselves to death on the building site. I must have thought it was better， or I couldn’t have forgotten it. But was it better？” She sat down.

　　Hanna turned around and looked at me. Her eyes found me at once， and I realized that she had known the whole time I was there. She just looked at me. Her face didn’t ask for anything， beg for anything， assure me of anything or promise anything. It simply presented itself. I saw how tense and exhausted she was. She had circles under her eyes， and on each cheek a line that ran from top to bottom that I’d never seen before， that weren’t yet deep， but already marked her like scars. When I turned red under her gaze， she turned away and back to the judges’ bench.

　　The presiding judge asked the lawyer who had cross-examined Hanna if he had any further questions for the defendant. He also asked Hanna’s lawyer. Ask her， I thought. Ask her if she chose the weak and delicate girls， because they could never have stood up to the work on the building site anyway， because they would have been sent on the next transport to Auschwitz in any case， and because she wanted to make that final month bearable. Say it， Hanna. Say you wanted to make their last month bearable. That that was the reason for choosing the delicate and the weak. That there was no other reason， and could not be.

　　But the lawyer did not ask Hanna， and she did not speak of her own accord.

　　汉娜有时固执己见地进行抗议，这使审判长大为恼火。同样，她有时心甘情愿地认错，这也气坏了其他被告。这无论是对她自己的辩护还是对她们的辩护都十分不利。

　　证明材料本来对被告有利。那幸存下来的母女和她们写的书是第一项主要指控的推一证明材料。一个好的辩护律师，应该能够在不抨击母女证词的情况下就能够令人信服地驳回对那几位被告参与挑选囚犯的指控。就这一点而言，证词不精确，也不可能精确，因为毕竟还有一名指挥官、一个警卫队和其他的女看守，以及一项层层下达的命令和任务，这样，这些囚犯在这个等级制中就只是一个组成部分，他们也只能看清楚与这相关的部分。类似的情形在第二项指控中也存在：那母女俩被关押在教堂里，不能就外面所发生的事情做证。虽然被告不能找任何借口，说她们当时不在现场，因为当时在那座村子里生活过的那些证人与被告交谈过，现在还记得她们，但是，这些证人必须要注意防止引火烧身，否则，人们会说，本来他们是可以把那些囚犯救出来的。如果仅仅是那几位被告在场的话，难道村民们就制服不了几个女人而自己把教堂的门打开吗？为了减轻那几位被告和作为证人的他们自己的负担，他们难道不必须站到被告这一边来吗？他们不会说当时他们都处在警卫队的暴力或命令之下吗？不会说因为警卫队确实没有逃跑，或者至少像那几位被告估计的那样，他们为了抢救一座野战医院的伤员只是离开了很短的时间，不久就又回来了吗？

　　当其他被告的辩护律师意识到像这样的策略由于汉娜心甘情愿地认错而落空时，他们又换了一个策略。他们想利用汉娜认错的主动性，把责任都推到她身上，以此减轻其他被告的罪行。辩护律师们很专业地不动声色地这样做着，其他被告以愤怒的谴责为其助威。

　　"您说过，您知道您是送囚犯去死，这只是说您自己，是吗？您的同事们知道什么，您不可能知道。您也许能猜测，但是却不能最终断定，不对吗？"

　　问汉娜的是另外一位被告的辩护律师。

　　"但是，我们大家都知道……"

　　"'我们'，'我们大家'，这样说比说'我'或说'我自己'要容易得多，不对吗？您，仅您一人，在集中营里有被您保护起来的人，每次都是位年轻的姑娘，每过一段时间就换一位，有这么回事吧？"

　　汉娜犹豫不决地说："我相信，我不是淮一的一个…，

　　"你这个卑鄙下流说谎话的家伙！你的心肝宝贝，那是你的，你一个人的！"另一位被一个油嘴滑舌。尖酸刻毒的悍妇，用一种慢得像母鸡打咯咯的口吻说道。她显然很恼怒。

　　"可能是这样的吧，您说'知道'的地方仅仅是您的猜想，而'猜想'的地方是您的捏造吧？"'那位辩护律师摇着头，好像对得到她的肯定的回答比较担心。"所有在您保护之下的人，当她们令您感到厌倦时，您就会在下一批被送往奥斯威辛的人中把她送走，有没有这回事？"

　　汉娜没有回答。

　　"那是您特殊的、个人的选择，难道不是这样吗？您不再想承认它了，您想把它隐藏在大家都做过的事情的背后。但是……"

　　"啊，天哪！"在接受听证之后又坐到观众席上的那位女儿用手蒙住了脸说，"我怎么能把这件事给忘了呢？"审判长问她是否想补充她的证词。她没有等被传呼到前面去，就站了起来在观众席的座位上讲了起来。

　　"是的，她有心爱的人，总是年轻、体弱而温柔的姑娘中的一位。她把她们保护起来，关照她们，不让她们干活，给她们安排较好的住处并在饮食上给予较好的照顾。到了晚上，她把姑娘带到她那儿，姑娘们不允许说出她们晚上和她做了什么。我们当时想，她和那些姑娘在一起……因为她们也都被送走，好像她用她们来满足她自己的乐趣，然后又厌倦了她们似的。但事实根本不是这么回事。有一天，有位姑娘还是说了出来。我们才知道那些姑娘是一个晚上接着一个晚上地在为她朗读。这要比她那样……好得多，也比在建筑工地干活累得要死好得多。我一定是这么想的，否则的话，我不会把这件事给忘掉的。但是，那样确实好吗？"她坐下了。

　　汉娜转过身来望着我，她的目光一下子就捕捉到了我，我才意识到她早就知道我在这儿了。她只是看着我。从她的面部表情看，她既不是在请求什么，也不是在追求什么，更不是在保证或许诺什么。我看得出来，她的心里是多么紧张，身体是多么疲惫。她的眼圈是黑的，面颊两边从上到下各有一条我所不熟悉的皱纹，虽然还不太深，可是却已像一条疤痕一样。我在她的注视下脸红了，于是她移开了目光，把它转向法庭中的长椅子。

　　审判长想知道向汉娜发问的那位辩护律师是否还有问题要问被告。他想知道汉娜的律师是否还有问题要问。应该问她，我在想，问她选择了体弱、温柔的姑娘是否是因为她们反正承受不了建筑工作，是否是因为她们总归要被送往奥斯威辛，是否是因为她想使她们最后几个月的日子过得好受一点。说呀，汉娜！说你是想使她们最后的日子过得好一点。说这就是你挑选体弱、温柔姑娘们的原因，说不存在其他原因，也不可能有其他的原因。

　　但是，辩护律师没有问汉娜，汉娜自己也什么都没有说。