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SIDES:

ROSEN

It was our last night out before we shipped. At the end of the night, late, about ten of us were walking down the street back to camp. We were pretty drunk. A bunch of the colored soldiers came walking toward us. Then I saw something I’d never seen before. All of the colored fellas got off the sidewalk and stepped into the street. Can you believe that? All except Crenshaw. He was from Chicago, I think. I knew him.

When Crenshaw saw us coming, he just walked toward us and smiled. He knew us, you know? We were his buddies, the guys from camp. I remember this big smile on his face. As he came toward us, one of the white guys, a big hick from Alabama with a crew cut, steps up and punches him, right in the face. Pow. Knocks him right off his feet into the street. “Boy,” he says, “when you see a white man walkin’, you get off the sidewalk.” I remember the look on Crenshaw’s face…

And I did nothing.

                   
For once it felt so good not to be the one. Not to be the one they noticed. Not to be the one they stared at. Not to be the one they whispered about every goddamn time I walked by. For once, I was one of them. Do you understand?

So, I didn’t say anything. Later, I laughed at their jokes about the “coloreds.” We all walked back to the base together. They were singing and one of the guys put his arm around me like we were brothers. I was singing too.

And when I got back to the barracks, I went out to the latrine, and I threw up.

Because I didn’t do anything. I’m a Jew and I didn’t do anything.

GOERING

Oh, you are a member of my “defense.” I think that’s how you say it. You and my attorney are charged with saving my life. To save me from the gallows. That’s the way this works in America, correct? I am innocent until proven guilty.

I don’t speak the language of my accusers, Rosen. So, I will have to rely on you. You know two languages. I only know one. I will speak to a room of strangers. Men of stone, without ears, without hearts. I will speak in words, Rosen, but you can turn my words into music. My life will hang on the words you choose. And I will never know those words. You can smile at me from across the room in your glass box and all the while be cutting my throat. I must trust you. I must trust that you are trying to save my life.

I know you can do it! But you must know this:

I hear the hammering. All night. The sound of the gallows being built for me. And each night, it gets louder. But I am not afraid to die. I’ve lived as no man has ever lived. And if it has to end, so be it. But I don’t intend to give up without a fight. We’ll show the world something they’ll never forget, Rosen.

You will be my voice. You will be the mirror of my soul. You will make them see the world through my eyes. And they will understand.

That’s what the defense does, doesn’t it?

Yes, you will be my voice and my heart and my soul. And the words… will belong to both of us.

ERICKSON

You know who I am, Cosgrove. At least you know who my father is: General Erickson.

We’re three generations of Army, going back to the Civil War. My grandfather served with Meade at Fredericksburg. We’re all West Point. My father was Brigadier General at forty-five. I’m forty-one, Cosgrove. Forty-one. You know what I mean?

Well, anyway, we’re lucky to be getting this chance. To actually try them.                                                                                                     

I mean, the French and the English just wanted to shoot them. The Russians wanted to give them a fair trial…then shoot them. But Truman wants a real trial, with judges and defense attorneys and cross examination. He wants to show the world that even though we won, they still get the chance to defend themselves.

That’s what worries me. If it’s a real trial, they have a shot at getting off. I’ve worked too hard to get to this point.

But I think they’ll all hang. And before they do, there’s information we need. We still haven’t caught all of them, Boorman, Eichmann, Roschmann, some of the others. We’re pretty sure they’re still in Europe. And I intend to get them. I’ve worked it out with the boys at Stars and Stripes. When I get them, they’re going to put my picture on the front page. They’ve even got the headline written: “Colonel Nabs Top Nazis.” Can you imagine that? My father always told me if you want to get to the top in the Army, a little publicity is worth more than a lot of boot licking and ass kissing.

COSGROVE

Rosen, ever read Popular Mechanics?... you’d love this issue. It’s all about the “World of Tomorrow.” Come here. Have a gander.

See. “The World of Tomorrow” It’s all about what life is going to be like in the year two thousand. See, rocket planes that will go from New York to California in two hours.

No more railroads. Clothes you wear once and throw away. Don’t invest in any dry cleaners. And all of our power is going to come from atomic energy. We’re going to put all those atom bombs to good use after all. And everybody’s going to have a car, maybe two.

But here’s the best part. (Reading) “With machines doing most of the work, people will have to find new interests to fill the hours.” Well, I’m not going to have a problem with that. Hey, Rosen, let me ask you something. Do you fish? Have you ever gone fishing?

Hell, you’ve got to get out of the city, Rosen. You’ve got to come out to the big sky country where I’m from. You’ve got to step into a mountain stream as clear and cold as ice with trout as big as… Sherman tanks. They practically jump out of the water right into your arms.

STAHMER

Do you know anything about Herr Goering? He’s like no one you’ve ever encountered before, Rosen. I can assure you of that. He is extremely intelligent. I believe he’s been playing some sort of game with me. He’s retreated into his own mind. Everything he once had – castles, yachts, jewels – everything is gone. His power has been squeezed down to the little power he can wield over others, including me. And soon, you. You’re soon going to be in a position to find out. Just promise me something? If you find something really “interesting,” let me know. I’ll put you in my book.