KONSTANTIN FISCHER, HANIA, CRETE

WHEN THE TRUTH HAD COME OUT

I often wonder, how, afterward, they were able

to keep the appearance at least

of sanity, when the truth had come out, how they managed

to think of their last names without the echo

of Obersturmfuehrer or Hauptmann or Gefreiter.

When the truth had come out, how did they

find the strength to deny, to ignore, to make up stories, where did they

find the chutzpa, some of their victims might have said, not to vanish

from the surface of the earth, how did they

muzzle their memories, how were they

able to survive their nightmares, their fears, how could they

carry on day by day, when the truth had come out, I often wonder.

Konstantin Fischer, 2013 / 2014