(Text / Yang Shiyang)
Generally speaking, we are accustomed to thinking that the concept of history is static, dusty, isolated from reality and the present, only for us to look back, analyze, study and sigh, no matter the people and things in it are just a "historical material" "In fact, for the turbulent and turbulent 20th century, this period of contemporary history has never really become "material", because it has never ended, but has been affecting and invading in a surging way. , disturb the present. Those raging flames were extinguished, but the dark fire was still raging underground. Violence, totalitarianism, and all the evil that was unleashed were temporarily silent, reshaped but still accumulating, waiting for a certain time to revive and reshape. Many works reflect all of this, whether it is the classic "The Tide", or the recent "Hitler Is Back" that was seriously tortured in the name of a comedy, all of which are warning people again and again. Beyond these fictions, documentaries stare at the long tentacles of totalitarian evil.
The documentary "Mystery of the Century: Ivan the Terror" is one such story, focusing on the dramatic transformation of a brutal old guard in a Nazi concentration camp who was rediscovered in his old age. Its original English name is The Devil Next Door, the devil next door. Yes, the most chilling part of this story is the announcement to us that the devil is not abstract, distant, and frightening to look at, he may be right there with us, our neighbor, our colleague , An old man who looks harmless to humans and animals and has kind-hearted eyes at the door of our house. Looking at it, you will find that the most terrifying part is not even the numerous crimes he has committed, but that a person can be so "changed" - from a person to a demon, from a demon back to a human, to hide In all living beings, become like you and me.
John Demjanjuk is a standard immigrant pursuing the American dream. He came to the United States from Ukraine after the war. He has a regular job at Ford Motor Company, and works hard at making auto parts. Flowers and plants, integrate into the community, and participate in worship. He is fat, bald, laughing all day long, like every ordinary man of his age, digesting the grief of the war with trepidation, and doing his best to give his children a new life. But just then, a report revealed that the man was suspected of being a once-notorious Nazi executioner, a war criminal nicknamed "Ivan the Terrible".
There is no more dramatic scene than this, the placid suburban town has become the focus of the world's media. Historically, the man needed to be extradited to Israel because the Nazis never committed crimes in the United States. The United States stripped him of his citizenship and cooperated with the extradition. This documentary completely recounts the trial process of this century's major case, starting from the present, interviewing his grandchildren, revisiting the place of residence, splicing historical scenes, and interviewing almost all the core parties including judges and lawyers. Under the focus of this short five episodes, such a case unexpectedly had a wonderful relationship with almost all major historical events in the 20th century. The espionage war brought about by the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union made the identification of this man even more difficult. Unfortunately, the release of the new archives brought about by the fall of the Berlin Wall unexpectedly reversed the imminent trial... From youth to old age, this man was completely embedded in the gaps of history until his death at the age of 91.
The focus of "Mystery of the Century: The Terror of Ivan" is actually very simple - is this person the guard who guarded the concentration camp in the past? Is he the devil who drove the Jews into the gas chambers with a spear and even cut off the ears and noses of prisoners for fun? There are no fingerprints or DNA for comparison, just an ID card from that year and a photo of a young man. Some people think that there are so many people around the world, why did they find him? Some people think that no case can shake the foundation of the presumption of innocence. If his identity cannot be conclusively proven, then he is innocent, no matter how many doubts there are.
Around this trial, relatives, neighbors, and pure melon eaters stirred up a larger vortex of public opinion. Judges, lawyers, and witnesses appeared one after another. All such major cases of the century are showrooms of human heart and human nature. The same is true of the former Simpson case. In that "American Crime Story", the police, media, and lawyers all want to focus on the case, but slowly digress. , not to mention "Terror Ivan", which is too complicated, containing painful historical memories, irreconcilable estrangements and scars, and sharp conflicts between nationalism and humanitarianism. History broke into reality. There are still people who have survived the victims of the past, and their suffering is the evidence and fossils of history, but can this be the testimony to a specific individual? A certain survivor firmly believes that the "terrifying Ivan" standing in front of him is the "terrifying Ivan" of the year. Should this be directly accepted? If it is accepted, it proves that such cases are destined to be treated differently in the judicial system. If not, which judge and legal system can withstand the scorching of public opinion? Not to mention, this is the trial of a Jewish executioner in Israel.
Everything became more and more a show. Israeli lawyers acting rebellious, American lawyers abiding by the rules but seemingly helpless, Israeli crowds in high spirits, governments in silence... all of these people inevitably become part of the acting system. Those who survived the concentration camps, who identified in a rage, turned around to be found, had testimonies that contradicted what was said in court. Those tears and reprimands became suspicious and awkward in an instant. But most people can only digest this doubt and embarrassment silently, and no one dares to say anything. The trial is the last thing that should not be coerced by public opinion, but this case is almost the public opinion itself.
This case took a long time, the wheels of the times were rolling forward, people caught and released, released and arrested again, new evidence overturned old evidence, and new evidence re-confirmed old evidence, until the man was over ninety years old, and he was howling. China was towed away by the police again and extradited to Germany. He wasn't ultimately identified as "Ivan the Terrible" either, but basically considered him a guard at another concentration camp, and on appeal, died of old age. From a legal point of view, he returned to dust with a clean body, but from a human point of view, is he ultimately a human or a ghost?
The torture at the end of the story is more embarrassing than the case itself. Those who once worked with the Nazis were not completely liquidated in the new dawn, and some even turned into builders of the new world. Will evil be diluted by time? Will it be deliberately ignored by the new system? Will it be absorbed in daily life? Will it be carefully hidden by the world? We have roughly figured out why people become devils and what motivates evil, but do we know how the devil transforms back into human form? Is this a discovery of conscience, or survival of the fittest? In the cruel history of the 20th century, there are still many that have not become the past tense in the full sense. Those who did evil are still alive, so when we look around, who can know how many demons in this world are hidden in humanoid skins?
(This article was first published in Beijing Youth Daily)
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