ANGEL

A Nightmare of the Holocaust

by Jo Davidsmeyer

For my sister, Dona Davidsmeyer Beale

In eternity all questions are answered

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Playwright: Jo Davidsmeyer
Address:    5591 Shady Brook Trail, Sarasota FL 34243
Phone:      (941) 355-5852

ACT I

HOUSE OUT: The sounds of an approaching freight train fills the theater. As the train comes to a halt, the sound of cattlecar doors sliding open is heard along with orders barked in a multitude of languages. The door center stage is quickly thrown open, spilling glaring hot light over the audience. Silhouetted in this light is IRMA GRESE. All noises cease abruptly.
IRMA:
Welcome to Auschwitz!
  • The gates of Auschwitz (The floodlights fade to a reasonable level as IRMA steps down center into a pool of light and the drop flies out. IRMA is strikingly handsome, appearing to be the epitome of the classic nordic-maiden: strong, fair, blue-eyed, and appealing. Her hair is piled high atop her head, with not a hair out of place. She wears a dark skirt, white blouse, a sky-blue jacket [specially selected by her to match her eyes] and a black string tie. A holster and pistol are strapped to her waist and a short cellophane whip is tucked inside her black top- boots. A swastika armband is proudly displayed on her right arm and S.S. insignia gleam on her collar. With the drop gone, we see that the stage is dominated by a huge red banner bearing the swastika. During IRMA's welcome speech projections of the camp appear on the stage, beginning with a photo of the main gates of Auschwitz.)

IRMA (continued):
You have been brought here throughout Europe for one pur- pose, and one purpose alone ... to work. Auschwitz is a work camp, as you can well see from the sign above the gates. Arbeit macht frei -- work brings freedom! Germany needs you. Every able-bodied man, woman and child will be put to work for the glory of the Third Reich. The doctor will pass before you in order to separate you into work parties.

(The camp gates are replaced by a photo of the train selections.)

IRMA (continued):
As the doctor points to you, go in the direction he indicates and form ranks of five. If you are ill, please indicate so to the doctor. As you can well see, we have ambulances standing by to transport the sick to the camp hospital. Healthy adults will be put to work immediately. The others will be taken for showers and delousing.

(A photo of showers/gas chambers appears)

IRMA (continued):
You are being separated now, but you will all be quartered in the same camp. After work detail you will be reunited with your loved ones.

(An image of a Jewish child held at gunpoint replaces the previous photo. The PROSECUTOR steps around the banner to watch IRMA as she completes her cheery address. He is carrying a legal pad and pen and takes notes)

IRMA (continued):
We realize that you have all been through a long and arduous journey, and many have died along the way. But that is behind you.

(The last image is of mounds of dead awaiting their final disposition)

IRMA (continued):
You are now at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Welcome!

PROSECUTOR:
Would she always greet the trains with that speech?

(OLGA LENGYEL steps from the other side of the banner. She and the PROSECUTOR bracket IRMA on both sides. IRMA continues to stare forward, oblivious to their attentions)

OLGA:
On slow days only. There was not time for their charade when shipments arrived hourly.

PROSECUTOR:
And there was always a doctor present?

(MENGELE enters. He is smartly dressed in a tailored hospital coat, carrying himself as one who knows he is a prime example of Aryan superiority)

OLGA:
Yes. Often it was Mengele. He liked the duty. It gave him first choice of the prisoners for his own purposes.

MENGELE:
Irma, did you notice the finds I made today? A set of identical twins and even a dwarf. Marvelous stroke of good fortune.

IRMA:
You must be very happy, Joseph.

MENGELE:
My dear Irma, you might at least feign some enthusiasm.

(IRMA crosses to MENGELE)

IRMA:
I'm sorry. How are the experiments coming?

MENGELE:
Quite well! The Führer has even expressed an interest in my genetic work. Finding more twins always helps, even if they are of inferior stock. And angel, did I mention we've started work in sterilization? It was the Kommandant's idea. But it's quite interesting anyway. Oh, that reminds me, I'll require some of the women from your hospital for tests. Youngsters, preferably teenagers. New outfit?

IRMA:
Ja, you like it?

MENGELE:
Lovely. Not as nice as the gown you wore last evening. Where do you find the time to liberate so many fine dresses?

IRMA:
No use shipping all our bounty back to S.S. headquarters. There are very few size sevens in the high command.

(A train whistle blows)

MENGELE:
Another shipment. Shall we?

IRMA:
I wish they would give us more warning.

(IRMA takes a compact from her pocket to check her make-up and hair. She meticulously pats a stray hair into place)

MENGELE:
Stop fussing, Irma. You're lovely, as always. Come, your audi- ence awaits.

(IRMA takes MENGELE's proffered arm and they begin to stroll away)

OLGA:
So meticulous. She took pains to look her best as she picked those about to die.

(HELENE enters)

HELENE:
Lies! The woman lies. My sister was not like that. I kept in contact with her all through the war. I would have known if she had done these things this liar claims. Irma is gentle, loving, always considerate. For heaven's sake, she even remembers birth- days!

IRMA:
Helene? Helene, it's Irma. Happy Birthday, dearest.

HELENE:
Irma? Where are you calling from? Are you back in Germany?

IRMA:
No, no. I'm still in Poland.

HELENE:
I don't believe it. How did you get through? The bombing raids have just about wiped out all the phone systems.

IRMA:
Now a little war is not going to stop me from talking to my baby sister on a special day. Did the package arrive?

HELENE:
Yes, thank you. The dress is beautiful. How did you come by a Paris gown?

IRMA:
I have my ways. How are the boys? And - and how is Papa?

HELENE:
He's still Papa. Nothing much changes.

IRMA:
So what are you doing for your birthday? Is there a ... What?

HELENE:
Irma. Are you still there?

IRMA:
Yes, operator. Thank you. Helene, still on the line?

HELENE:
I'm here, Irma.

IRMA:
Listen, I've not much time. I might be transferred back to Germany, to Ravensbrück again. And ... I'd like to come home. Just for a visit and if you could talk to Papa for me...

HELENE:
Oh, Irma, after last time ...

IRMA:
I know. But maybe if you said something to him. I'd really like to come home...

HELENE:
I don't know, Irma...

IRMA:
Just try, please! For me, ja?

HELENE:
I'll see what I can do.

IRMA:
Danke, Helene, danke. Oh, there's so much to say and not enough time. They limit our outside calls. I'm afraid I really must go. You don't know how good it's been to hear your voice. We'll see each other again, I promise. Talk to Papa. And you give the boys a big hug from their sister. (HELENE disappears into the shadows) You take care of yourself. And, well, I love you, Helene ... Helene? Are you there? ... Helene? ... Aufwiedersehen.

OLGA:
I'm sure she loved her family. Most beasts protect their own. But we prisoners were not family. We were drek, as they called us. Shit. Gentle and loving? I bear scars from her tenderness.

PROSECUTOR:
(Referring to his notes) This was in the spring of '44?

OLGA:
Yes.

PROSECUTOR:
And she summoned you to her office to talk about ...

OLGA:
About Dr. Klein. She distrusted him.

IRMA:
I saw you talking with Klein today, and the day before that. You two seem thick as thieves.

OLGA:
We are countrymen, both from Hungary.

IRMA:
Did I ask you a question, Drek? ... So, you and he are old friends. Where did you meet?

OLGA:
Here in Oswicim. I am a medical student assigned to camp hospi- tal where Doktor Klein is in charge.

IRMA:
Auschwitz, not Oswicim. I do not recognize the language you speak with him. What is it?

OLGA:
Is local dialect from my region, Frulein.

IRMA:
Your name?

OLGA:
(surprised at the question) Olga Lengyel.

IRMA:
(IRMA waves her closer with her pistol) Well, Olga Lengyel, medical student, Drek, were you with Klein today? Did you assist him when he released the selected women from the washroom?

OLGA:
Yes, Fraulein

IRMA:
I am an Arbeitsdienstführerin, Work Party Leader. I've worked long and hard to attain that prestigious title. I suggest you remember it.

OLGA:
Yes, Arb -- Arbeitsdienstführerin.

IRMA:
Was it you who suggested Klein remove the door to the washroom? The door that I had ordered nailed shut on the women inside?

OLGA:
No, no, Frau ... Arbeitsdienstfüh--

IRMA:
(Loading the pistol) You're lying. Drek, you will no longer accompany Klein on his rounds. If he speaks to you, you will not answer. If he sends for you, you will not come. Understand? Good. Now let us discuss why you disobeyed me today. You didn't leave Klein and return to roll call as I ordered you to do. That's twice you have disobeyed me. Two deadly mistakes.

OLGA:
Herr Doktor Klein ordered me to stay. I am a member of his Infirmary staff. I thought I should obey--

IRMA:
You thought? Who said you could think? Klein is merely a doc- tor. I am Arbeitsdienstführerin. I am to be obeyed at all times. I alone! (She lifts OLGA's chin with the barrel of the pistol) You will never disobey my orders again, isn't that right?

OLGA:
Jawohl, Arbeitsdienstführerin. Always will I obey your orders.

IRMA:
See that you do. (IRMA forces OLGA's chin up higher with the pistol) And so that you will remember ...

(IRMA slams the butt of the pistol across OLGA's face. She hauls back to begin a merciless beating, but is halted by the sudden movements of the PROSECUTOR)

PROSECUTOR:
Enough!

(The PROSECUTOR rips the banner down, revealing the full stage for the first time. It consists of five platforms forming a semi-circle around a downstage playing area that is empty except for a table set to one side. The platforms serve as portions of a British military courtroom. Each actor is isolated in his own area. OLGA crosses to take her place on the opposite side of the stage from HELENE GRESE. IRMA exits. The DEFENSE COUNSEL sits at a desk with notes before him and a brief case at his feet. The PROSECUTOR stands by his desk. A cyclorama surrounds the set)

PROSECUTOR:
May it please the court, the accused are being charged with committing a war crime, a violation of the laws and usages of war. The case for this prosecution is simple: that at Auschwitz and Belsen a practice, a course of conduct, had grown up under which internees were being treated in such a way that they were of no value at all as human beings. The camp staff agreed, either tacitly or expressly, with the course of conduct in force in the camp to brutalize and ill-treat prisoners. This prosecu- tion suggests that when nationals have been put in the military machine and have been gassed and killed without any trial, be- cause they have committed no crime except that of being a Jew or being unwanted by the State, that that is a clear violation of an unchallenged rule of warfare which outrages the general sentiment of humanity. In concluding my opening remarks, with the court's permission, I would like to introduce the accused.

(IRMA GRESE re-enters, to take her place in the center platform, in the dock. She is now wearing a dull gray prison outfit consisting of a skirt and blouse.)

PROSECUTOR (continued):
One Irma Grese, aged twenty. A mass murderess who joyed in beating defenseless, starved women; who took pleasure in striking at those who could not strike back.

IRMA:
My name is Irma Grese. At the age of seventeen I was made to join the S.S. as a supervisor at concentration camps. I was aware of what was happening at the camps and have hidden mothers and children away in order that they should not be chosen for the gas chambers. I was once denounced by a Jewish informer for having done this and was arrested for two days and beaten. Conditions in the camps were bad for everyone, including the S.S. I was told by a superior that if it was necessary I could hit prisoners, but I never did this. I have never beaten or struck any prisoner.

PROSECUTOR:
At this time the prosecution wishes to enter into evidence affi- davits attesting to acts of brutality committed by Irma Grese. Deposition of Gitla Dunkleman. Deposition of Ilona Stein. Depo- sition of--

IRMA:
In a previous statement I said I have never beaten or ill-treated prisoners. I have thought this over and now wish to confess that I have done so. While at Auschwitz I struck female prisoners on the face with my hand. On the whole, however, I feel that I treated prisoners quite well considering the circumstances.

(PROSECUTOR rises with another handful of depositions. He starts to speak, but IRMA cuts him off)

IRMA (continued):
Upon further reflection I wish to add that I have in fact, beaten prisoners other than with my hand as already described.

OLGA:
When I first saw Irma Grese, I was certain that a woman, no, a child, of such beauty could not be cruel. You look at her, and you know she was an angel. But it was soon I learn she was angel of death.

HELENE:
My sister was an angel growing up. She was gentle. Not aggres- sive at all. When, as sometimes happens, girls were quarreling and fighting, Irma never had the courage to fight. No, she ran from violence.

OLGA:
Always she carried a whip, and how she made use of it ... and smiled at the blood and the sound of her victims' cries.

HELENE:
On the farm, she could not stand even the harsh necessities of life. Often she ran into the hills on slaughtering days.

OLGA:
She chose women for the slaughter. I often saw her in charge of the selections for the gas chambers.

DEFENSE:
You have been accused of selecting women from roll call to be sent to the gas chambers. Have you done that?

IRMA:
No. How could I when I knew what would happen to them if they were selected?

DEFENSE:
(To HELENE) From your knowledge of your sister, do you think her a person likely to beat prisoners under her charge?

HELENE:
Never. My sister was never anything but kind and gentle. I can not believe she would or could participate in such cruel acts. What she really wanted to do was go into nursing, to help people.

IRMA:
In 1938 I left the elementary school and worked for six months on agricultural jobs at a farm, after which I worked in a shop in Luchen for six months. At fifteen I applied to become a nurse, but the Labor Exchange would not approve that and sent me to work in a dairy. In July, 1942, I again tried to become a nurse. Instead the Labor Exchange sent me to Ravensbrück Concentration Camp for training, although I protested against it.

DEFENSE:
What happened after you completed training at Ravensbrück?

IRMA:
I was allowed five days leave. I went home to visit with my family.

DEFENSE:
And what transpired between you and your father during your leave?

IRMA:
We argued, he beat me severely and turned me out of the house.

PROSECUTOR:
When your sister was home in 1943, did you actually witness your father give her a thrashing.

HELENE:
I did not see the beating, but I heard them quarrel. Papa did not approve of Irma being in the S.S.

(As the DEFENSE COUNSEL continues his exami- nation of HELENE, the voices of IRMA and her father arguing are heard. As the tape plays, IRMA listens emotionlessly, staring intently forward)

PAPA (taped):
Ausziehen es sich! Nun aber! Nimmer will ich das in meinem Haus leiden.

IRMA (taped):
Das ist auch mein Haus, und hier will ich das Uniform aus meinem Heimat tragen.

(The voices of a younger IRMA and her father continue arguing underneath the questioning.)

DEFENSE:
Did he forbid her to come to the house again?

HELENE:
I did not hear him say that. But Irma never came home again after that.

PROSECUTOR:
You were sixteen at that time. Did you never ask your sister what she did in the camps? She never told you of her actions?

HELENE:
We asked her about it, of course, but she said her work was classified and she couldn't discuss it.

PROSECUTOR:
Why did your father lose his temper with her?

HELENE:
Because he was very much against her being in the S.S.

PAPA (taped):
Nein. Ist gar nicht dein Haus. Du hast jetzt deine Heimat, aber keinem Heim.

IRMA (taped):
Ich Schäme mich meiner Beruf nicht! Diesmal bin ich auf meinem Beruf.

PAPA (taped):
Nicht beschämt! Aber du hast deine Familie verschämt. Geh aus, Lass mich! Nun kommst nimmermehr zurück!

IRMA (taped):
Du kannst mir sowie nicht sprechen! ‘Ch bin eine Deutscherbeamtin!

PAPA (taped):
Beamtin! Bist du nur ein Kind!

IRMA (taped):
Und Sie sind ein alten Narr!

PAPA (taped):
Schweig! Dirne!

IRMA (taped):
Wissen Sie nicht, dass ich Sie einkerkern kann?

PAPA (taped):
Und weisst du dass ich dir jedermal eine Strafen verhängen kann? Verdammenswerte Hüre!

(The sound of a slap and a stifled gasp)

HELENE:
I have not seen my father since April of 1945.

(At the sound of another blow, IRMA shuts her eyes and the lights dim out on stage except for a pin spot on her face. Behind her on the cyc appears a . At the sound of the next blow the photo dissolves into a large shot of a whip clenched in a black-gloved fist)

IRMA:
Nein, Vati. Bitte, nein!

(Another slap)

IRMA (continued):
No. No more!

(The photo dissolves to a larger shot of IRMA brandishing a whip in a black-gloved fist.)

MENGELE:
(From the darkness) Irma! ... Irma, liebchen, it's good to see you again.

(As IRMA opens her eyes, lights rise in the downstage playing area, revealing MENGELE standing there dressed in S.S. uniform. He extends his arm to her and helps her down from the dock)

IRMA:
Mengele? Joseph, is it you?

MENGELE:
Let me look at you. You don't seem any the worse for wear.

PROSECUTOR:
(From the darkness) Miss Grese, would you call your father a cruel man?

(IRMA whirls around, surprised at the voice. She starts to answer, but her sister answers first. Throughout this cross-examination the others are merely disembodied voices from the darkness. The two conversations should overlap. Photo dissolves)

HELENE (off):
No, not cruel. He was very strict, though.

MENGELE:
You seem to have survived your two days of confinement quite well. How did you manage?

IRMA:
Would you believe me if I said it was the thought of you waiting for me that gave me strength?

MENGELE:
Not for a moment.

(IRMA and MENGELE cross to table in downstage playing area)

DEFENSE (off):
As children, did you and your sister attempt to join any of the Nazi youth groups?

HELENE (off):
Yes. We were very anxious to become members of Hitler's League of German Maidens.

IRMA:
That's what I like about you, Mengele. You're no one's fool. It's an attractive trait.

HELENE (off):
But father would never allow us to join. He strictly forbade Irma and me from having any associations with the Nazi party.

MENGELE:
Take off your blouse, let's have look.

IRMA:
You're usually subtler than this, dear Joseph.

MENGELE:
Purely a professional interest. I was told there was some corpo- ral punishment included in your sentence. I'm sure you've not had a doctor look at your back yet.

IRMA:
Well, in the interests of medicine ...

(IRMA removes her blouse, revealing a black camisole beneath. She sits on the table in the downstage area with MENGELE standing behind her)

DEFENSE (off):
Why did you wish to join Hitler's League of Maidens?

HELENE (off):
All the school girls were joining, all our friends were in the League. They'd tell us about it.

PROSECUTOR (off):
So, though you were not members, you were still aware of the League's activities, the lessons and disciplines?

MENGELE:
(He has lifted the camisole from behind and is examining her back) Ah, old-fashioned German discipline, it is what makes our army great. How many strokes were you given?

IRMA:
Twenty-five.

MENGELE:
Not too bad.

IRMA:
How would you know?

(MENGELE's examining hands have worked their way to her chest)

IRMA (continued):
I thought this was a purely professional examination?

HELENE:
(off) We were very mad that father wouldn't let us join. There was so much to do with the League; trips, picnics, professional training ...

MENGELE:
I'm a very thorough professional. I love my work.

(IRMA removes his hands and pulls the camisole into place)

MENGELE (continued):
Are you saving yourself tonight for our much-beloved Kommandant? Or do you prefer the Polish sausage you've been sampling?

IRMA:
Liebchen, now you know I much prefer Aryans. They truly are superior in every aspect.

(IRMA lays on the table and pulls MENGELE down on top of her)

IRMA (continued):
Deutschland uber alles.

MENGELE:
Zieg heil, my angel.

(They kiss)

PROSECUTOR:
(off) In later years, you never sought to join the S.S? You were not driven to serve the Nazi party as your sister Irma was?

HELENE:
(off) I was younger than Irma. She had ambitions.

IRMA:
(Breaking their kiss) Ouch!

MENGELE:
What is it?

IRMA:
Your medals.

MENGELE:
I thought you aspired to be covered with medals?

IRMA:
Covered by them, ja, but not impaled.

(She starts to unbutton his jacket. HELENE enters the downstage playing area. She is wearing a dirndl dress and has flowers in her hair)

HELENE:
Irma! Come on, Irma. They'll be here any moment.

MENGELE:
Something wrong?

IRMA:
Nein ... I ... it's nothing.

HELENE:
Are you coming down, Irma?

IRMA:
Ja, Helene.

(IRMA starts to rise, but MENGELE holds her down)

MENGELE:
Playing hard to get?

HELENE:
I'm so nervous about the Festival. How can you be so calm? Oh my, I don't think I remember even the first line of the song. What are the words?

MENGELE:
Can't you stay, or are you on duty tonight?

IRMA:
I don't know.

HELENE:
Irma, what's the first line?

IRMA:
I don't know!

HELENE:
What?

IRMA:
I don't know, Ich weiss nicht -- that's the first line.

HELENE:
Ja, ja. (Singing "The Lorelei") Ich weiss nicht, was soll es bedeuten, dass ich so traurig bin ...

(HELENE crosses to table)

HELENE (continued):
Irma! You're not even dressed yet!

(HELENE picks IRMA's blouse up from the floor and shakes it out. IRMA rises, but MENGELE does not let her pass by him)

IRMA:
I should check the duty roster.

HELENE:
(Steps around MENGELE holding out blouse) Stop daydreaming. Honestly, Irma, you're always off in your own little world.

MENGELE:
No, you wait here. I'll check the roster. Remember where we left off.

(MENGELE exits)

HELENE:
We've got to be leaving soon. And can't you at least be a little bit nervous, like me?

IRMA:
(Putting on blouse) Helene, you'll be wonderful. You know the song by heart and we've practiced it hundreds of times.

HELENE:
I know, but ...

IRMA:
No buts. I wouldn't let my little darling sister fail. Just think of all the fun we're going to have today at the Music Festival. Everyone will be there. And this is one thing Papa can't object to.

HELENE:
I'm not so sure. He complains about everything. It seems like ages since we've been to a party. And now you're going off and leaving me alone with father.

IRMA:
You'll join me later, but I am not staying here one day after I graduate. I'm fifteen, I can be earning my own living. And I'm not going to miss out on any more parties or fun because Papa's so stubborn and old-fashioned. But we'll show him today. He'll see then what his two little girls can do.

HELENE:
Don't be silly, Irma. Father's not coming. Father never goes anywhere.

IRMA:
Not coming? Are you sure, Helene? I thought since we were singing ...

HELENE:
Pooh, I don't care whether he's there or not.

IRMA:
I know it's silly of me, but I hoped he'd come. Well, don't you want Papa to be proud of us?

HELENE:
Oh, who cares what he thinks. We're not babies anymore. You're a woman about to go out in the world. What will you do when you leave?

IRMA:
I'm sure I can find something through the Labor Exchange. Maybe nursing. You think I'd make a good nurse? You know there are many young, good-looking doctors in hospital. It might be fun. Or perhaps I'll become a singer or an actress. Oh, I don't know. I'll take whatever comes along, as long as it takes me away from here.

(MENGELE enters)

HELENE:
Whatever it is you'll be wonderful. But I'm going to miss you so much.

IRMA:
Now, Helene, you have to finish school and look after the boys when I'm gone. And ja, look after Papa, too. And when you graduate, then you come join me. It'll be just you and me and a whole world to discover. We'll dazzle them, and settle for nothing less than champagne every night.

MENGELE:
Roster assigns you to corpse detail tonight. Afterwards come to my quarters. I've just liberated a case of champagne.

HELENE:
We'll do that. But for now we've got to be going.

MENGELE:
Next shift starts soon. You'd better go now.

(A gavel bangs three times)

HELENE:
To the future.

(HELENE kisses IRMA and exits)

MENGELE:
'Til then, my angel.

(MENGELE kisses IRMA and exits. IRMA stands alone and confused. Gavel sounds three more times. PROSECUTOR and DEFENSE enter the downstage area. DEFENSE offers PROSECUTOR a pack of cigarettes)

DEFENSE:
Cigarette?

PROSECUTOR:
No thank you.

DEFENSE:
Beastly business, what?

PROSECUTOR:
Yes.

DEFENSE:
Starting the second month today.

PROSECUTOR:
Really? I'd lost track of the time.

DEFENSE:
Yes, yes, yes. Our two month anniversary.

PROSECUTOR:
Red letter day.

DEFENSE:
Yes. On three counts.

PROSECUTOR:
Really, why so?

DEFENSE:
My retirement's today.

PROSECUTOR:
Congratulations. You'll finish out the case?

DEFENSE:
Suppose I must. Wouldn't want the whole affair to start again due to my plans. But it's a bloody way to end a thirty-year career, defending a pack of murderers.

PROSECUTOR:
You said there was a third reason to mark today?

DEFENSE:
Oh, yes. Grese, it's her birthday. Twenty-one today.

PROSECUTOR:
Only twenty-one? I keep forgetting she's little more than a child.

DEFENSE:
And a rather dangerous one. Never forget that.

PROSECUTOR:
What is she like?

DEFENSE:
Grese? You have all the testimony, judge for yourself.

PROSECUTOR:
That tells me of the criminal, or rather, the crimes. What of the woman?

DEFENSE:
Suffice it to say, she's not the type you'd invite to high tea.

PROSECUTOR:
(stares at IRMA whom the DEFENSE seems not to see) What could have made a child do such things? Look at her. If you were to meet her on the street you'd think, "What a nice young woman."

DEFENSE:
"Nice" people don't commit murder. It's bad form.

PROSECUTOR:
The world's not as simple as that.

DEFENSE:
It's complex enough without overturning rocks to discover why vile creatures live there. Let us just get the woman tried and convicted and get on with our lives.

(PROSECUTOR starts to draw closer to IRMA, like a moth to a flame, but never quite enters her pool of light)

PROSECUTOR:
The very nature of the crimes demands our attention. We can't just return to our little lives and forget.

DEFENSE:
I can. I rather enjoy my little life. And I have little inter- est in wading through the muck to examine hers. She seems not to have. Why should I bother?

PROSECUTOR:
Bother? Do you consider it a bother to try to determine what led to the slaughter of millions? We have a duty to those that are gone--

DEFENSE:
Save it for the courtroom. Really, my dear boy, I wonder at the nature of this sudden interest in our lovely blonde angel.

PROSECUTOR:
(returning fully to his "scene") I've a professional interest, I assure you.

DEFENSE:
Steady on there. I meant nothing improper.

PROSECUTOR:
It's just such a fascinating case.

DEFENSE:
I suppose there's a certain inherent fascination for mayhem and barbarism. It's what makes us all slow as we pass an automobile accident. But as civilized men, we never look directly at the wreckage.

PROSECUTOR:
A shame. We might learn something from closer examination. If you stop to think--

DEFENSE:
It's really not my place to think of anything beyond the current proceedings. Nor yours, old chap. If I were to be so bold as to make an observation, I'd say your problem is you think entirely too much. Get all muddled in minutia.

PROSECUTOR:
If you are suggesting that my handling of this case has been less than--

DEFENSE:
No, no, no, old man. Nothing of the sort. Your prosecution has been flawless. You're a veritable lion before the bench. I was just offering some unsolicited advice. Be careful. Evil can be quite appealing at times, especially when it comes packaged so attractively.

PROSECUTOR:
Evil? This is a young woman we're discussing, not Satan's spawn.

DEFENSE:
Makes little difference. She'll hang one way or the other.

(The gavel sounds again. PROSECUTOR exits. Lights rise as DEFENSE crosses to his playing area. The courtroom is empty.)

Continue to Act I, Part Two

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