In late November, closing arguments were presented in the case of the international community and the Cambodian people versus Kaing Guek Eav. Better known as "Duch," this 67-year-old former Khmer Rouge official was the commandant of the most notorious prison and torture house in Phnom Penh. The verdict in this spectacular trial is expected soon. When the judges in Phnom Penh pronounce it and, as expected, Duch is sentenced to several decades in prison, justice will have been served. The offender will be locked away, and a chapter in Cambodian history will be closed.
But does the Duch trial honestly represent a reasonable settling of accounts for the country's past, which saw almost a quarter of its population fall victim to genocide in the horrific period between April 1975 and January 1979? Likewise, are there similarities to be found among the men who order others to commit genocide, a core of absolute evil that can be identified in their characters and careers? If so, can crimes against humanity be dissected and classified so as to prevent their recurrence?
Duch, who was at times submissive and at times provocative during his trial in Phnom Penh, seems depressingly ordinary. But if you take a closer look, it becomes clear that the one thing he is not is unique. In fact, Duch resembles a Nazi henchman put on trial in Jerusalem in the early 1960s for his role in the deaths of six million Jews. Indeed, in a way, Duch is a second Adolf Eichmann.
The life of this Khmer Rouge official, the crimes he committed, methodically and completely devoid of pity, his maneuvering during the trial between expressing regret for the victims and attempting to evade responsibility by claiming that he was nothing more than a "cog in the wheel" -- all of this is highly reminiscent of Eichmann's behavior. And like the 1961 trial of the SS lieutenant colonel -- which, despite the best intentions of the prosecutors and the great attention it generated among those affected -- proved to be a failed historic opportunity, the Phnom Penh trial of Duch in 2009 also threatens to end in failure.
Early Parallels
Kaing Guek Eav, the son of a farmer, was always a model student. He valued precision and logic; his favorite subject was mathematics. To him, the clear distinction that Khmer Rouge ideologues made between a life that was useful and one that merited destruction made perfect sense.
A generation earlier, Adolf Eichmann exhibited similar character traits. The son of an accountant from the western German city of Solingen, Eichmann was no intellectual. In fact, he left school early and then dropped out of an apprenticeship to become a mechanic. Still, he was shrewd enough to understand that his rise to power depended on an institution -- "his" Nazi Party -- that looked after him and to which he, in turn, devoted himself unconditionally.
Neither Eichmann nor Duch ever met their respective supreme leaders. Duch never met Pol Pot, or "Brother Number One," and Eichmann never met Hitler. They worked their way up into positions that carried responsibility. Duch rose from junior administrative positions to become commandant of Tuol Sleng Prison, the main Khmer Rouge prison and torture facility after 1975. Eichmann began his career as a clerk for Jewish affairs, then rose through the ranks to record the minutes at the 1942 Wannsee Conference and, finally, became the technical administrator of the "final solution" in Hungary. Nowhere in the meticulous records kept by both men is there a shred of evidence that they ever harbored doubts about their actions. Indeed, they were both certain they were doing their duty.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Next Part 1: The Khmer Rouge, the Nazis and the Banality of Evil Part 2: Later Parallels Part 3: Parallels in the Dock Part 4: Blind, but Creative Obedience Part 5: Punishing, Stalling and Rehabilitating Social Networks
� SPIEGEL ONLINE 2009 All Rights Reserved Reproduction only allowed with the permission of SPIEGELnet GmbH
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Find out how you can reprint this DER SPIEGEL article in your publication.
RELATED SPIEGEL ONLINE LINKS SPIEGEL Interview with Daniel Jonah Goldhagen: 'Mass Slaughter Is a Systemic Problem of the Modern World' (10/08/2009) The Hunt for Nazi War Criminals: Elderly Suspects Continue to Evade Justice (05/13/2009) German Police Have Doubts: Is 'Dr Death' Aribert Heim Really Dead? (05/04/2009) Interview with Notorious Lawyer Jacques Verg�s: 'There Is No Such Thing as Absolute Evil' (11/21/2008) INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS NRC Handelsblad
Former Shell CEO helps shape Nato's future
Cheesmaking made the Dutch cleanest people of Europe
Politiken
COP15: Copenhagen pact reduced to declaration
COP15: U.S. and China in final meeting
ABC News
Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike on Yemen Terrorists
Will Christmas Shopping Be Snowed Out?
BusinessWeek
Can Hershey Snatch Cadbury?
Hershey, Ferrero Consider Cadbury Bid
New York Times
Many Goals Remain Unmet in 5 Nations’ Climate Deal
Forty Years' War: Cancer Center Ads Appeal to Emotions at a Fragile Time
NEWSLETTER Sign up for Spiegel Online's daily newsletter and get the best of Der Spiegel's and Spiegel Online's international coverage in your In- Box everyday. FB.init("8e0192d8770be48129dc946121d0092e"); MORE FROM SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL German Politics Merkel's New Govermnent: Forging Germany's Future World War II Truth and Reconciliation: Why the War Still Haunts Europe Global Economy Green Shoots: Europe Climbs Out of Crisis Climate Change Global Warming: Curbing Carbon before It's Too Late Fall of the Wall 20 Years Later: Legacy of the Iron Curtain Overview International Home Politik Wirtschaft Panorama Sport Kultur Netzwelt Wissenschaft UniSPIEGEL SchulSPIEGEL Reise Auto Wetter DIENSTE Schlagzeilen RSS Newsletter Mobil VIDEO Nachrichten Videos SPIEGEL TV Magazin SPIEGEL TV Reporter MEDIA MediaSPIEGEL Mediadaten Quality Channel buchreport weitere Zeitschriften MAGAZINE DER SPIEGEL KulturSPIEGEL DEIN SPIEGEL SPIEGEL Wissen SPIEGEL Geschichte Harvard Business Man. SPIEGEL GRUPPE Abo Shop SPIEGEL TV manager magazin SPIEGEL-Gruppe WEITERE Hilfe Kontakt Nachdrucke Impressum
Duch, who was at times submissive and at times provocative during his trial in Phnom Penh, seems depressingly ordinary. But if you take a closer look, it becomes clear that the one thing he is not is unique. In fact, Duch resembles a Nazi henchman put on trial in Jerusalem in the early 1960s for his role in the deaths of six million Jews. Indeed, in a way, Duch is a second Adolf Eichmann.
The life of this Khmer Rouge official, the crimes he committed, methodically and completely devoid of pity, his maneuvering during the trial between expressing regret for the victims and attempting to evade responsibility by claiming that he was nothing more than a "cog in the wheel" -- all of this is highly reminiscent of Eichmann's behavior. And like the 1961 trial of the SS lieutenant colonel -- which, despite the best intentions of the prosecutors and the great attention it generated among those affected -- proved to be a failed historic opportunity, the Phnom Penh trial of Duch in 2009 also threatens to end in failure.
Early Parallels
Kaing Guek Eav, the son of a farmer, was always a model student. He valued precision and logic; his favorite subject was mathematics. To him, the clear distinction that Khmer Rouge ideologues made between a life that was useful and one that merited destruction made perfect sense.
A generation earlier, Adolf Eichmann exhibited similar character traits. The son of an accountant from the western German city of Solingen, Eichmann was no intellectual. In fact, he left school early and then dropped out of an apprenticeship to become a mechanic. Still, he was shrewd enough to understand that his rise to power depended on an institution -- "his" Nazi Party -- that looked after him and to which he, in turn, devoted himself unconditionally.
Neither Eichmann nor Duch ever met their respective supreme leaders. Duch never met Pol Pot, or "Brother Number One," and Eichmann never met Hitler. They worked their way up into positions that carried responsibility. Duch rose from junior administrative positions to become commandant of Tuol Sleng Prison, the main Khmer Rouge prison and torture facility after 1975. Eichmann began his career as a clerk for Jewish affairs, then rose through the ranks to record the minutes at the 1942 Wannsee Conference and, finally, became the technical administrator of the "final solution" in Hungary. Nowhere in the meticulous records kept by both men is there a shred of evidence that they ever harbored doubts about their actions. Indeed, they were both certain they were doing their duty.
� SPIEGEL ONLINE 2009 All Rights Reserved Reproduction only allowed with the permission of SPIEGELnet GmbH
Find out how you can reprint this DER SPIEGEL article in your publication.
Former Shell CEO helps shape Nato's future
Cheesmaking made the Dutch cleanest people of Europe
COP15: Copenhagen pact reduced to declaration
COP15: U.S. and China in final meeting
Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike on Yemen Terrorists
Will Christmas Shopping Be Snowed Out?
Can Hershey Snatch Cadbury?
Hershey, Ferrero Consider Cadbury Bid
Many Goals Remain Unmet in 5 Nations’ Climate Deal
Forty Years' War: Cancer Center Ads Appeal to Emotions at a Fragile Time
Read Full Article »