“On July 25, Gerstein was found dead in his cell. Among his
papers was found the opening portion of a letter he had undoubtedly
begun to write before he was transferred to France. It was
addressed to his Dutch friend H. J. Ubbink:
‘Dear Friend Ubbink:
You are one of the first to whom I shall send greetings. Let
me congratulate you from the bottom of my heart on the liberation
of your country from our brood of vipers and criminals. However
dark our fate may now be, those terrible people could not be
allowed to win. Ask your people if, now at least, they believe
what went on in Blezec, etc. I thank God that I did everything
in my power to cut through this abscess on the body of humanity.’
[…]
The precise circumstances of Kurt Gerstien’s death are not entirely clear.
Nevertheless, it is plausible to assume that he committed suicide. […]”
_KURT GERSTEIN: The Ambiguity of Good_
Saul Friedlander
Translated from the French and German by Charles Fullman
Translation c. 1969, Alfred A. Knopf
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 69-10716
(Original Copyright 1967, Casterman, Paris)
[pp. 222//]
