【英语语言学习】追求公正

ELI ROSENBAUM: The time pressures grow every year. Sometimes I say it's sort of like when we started, we were told, OK, run a four-minute mile and we did it. And then a few years later, they say, OK, you've got to run that mile but you've only got about three minutes, 45 seconds. So, each year we have to run faster.

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

 

They have to run faster because many of the Nazis² who perpetrated crimes during World War II are coming to the end of their lives. Eli Rosenbaum works at the Justice Department, where he leads a team of lawyers, historians and investigators⁴ whose sole task for decades was to find Nazi¹ criminals living in the United States and then deport⁵ them. Sometimes they are prosecuted⁶ in their home country; sometimes they are not.

 

Seventy-five years ago this weekend, Nazis launched attacks against the Jews of Germany and Austria. That gruesome night of violence came to be known as Kristallnacht, which in German means the night of broken glass, and marks for many the beginning of the Holocaust⁷. Eli Rosenbaum first started really thinking about the Holocaust when he was a kid. He was from a Jewish family in New York, but his parents didn't really talk about it, even though his dad fought in the war. Rosenbaum remembers one unforgettable car ride with his dad when the subject finally came up. Eli Rosenbaum is our Sunday Conversation.

 

ROSENBAUM: We were driving on the New York State Thruway in a blizzard⁸ talking about whatever it is we could think to talk about. And I liked to hear my dad's humorous stories about serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. And suddenly, out of the blue he mentioned to me that he had been sent to the Dachau concentration camp the day after its liberation. I think I said something like, wow, what did you see? And both of us are looking out the window at this blizzard we're driving through and I don't hear any response from my father. So, finally, I looked over and my dad's driving and his eyes have welled with tears. And his mouth is open as though he is trying to speak and he can't. And so there was silence in the car for some time and then we just changed the subject. Men of that generation were not supposed to be seen crying, and it was only time in my life, other than when my mom died, that I saw my father crying. And you don't forget that as a child.

 

MARTIN: Is there a particular case? I'm sure there are many. But can you share with us the story of one of these criminals that has stuck with you?

 

ROSENBAUM: As you say, there are many such cases. The World War II case is that of Alexandros Valeikas. He was the head of the Sogumus, the Lithuanian analog⁹ to the Gestapo. In the early '80s, when I was a young prosecutor¹⁰, we got an indication that there was someone named Valeikas living in Massachusetts who had had this job. And we found one document. It was an order saying that the 52 Jews named below being held at my disposition¹¹ in the Vilnius Hard Labor¹² Prison are released to the unit assigned to shoot to death the Jews of Vilnius. There were some 50,000 Jews taken to pits and methodically murdered. The bottom of the order had the typed word Valeikas and then district chief. Our historians tried mightily¹³ to find something that Valeikas signed. They could not. Finally, there was nothing left to do but try to question Valeikas. And so on a cold morning, I found myself with an investigator³ parked in a car outside of his home. And we knocked on the door and he agreed to speak with us. He readily admitted that he had this job during the war. He insisted that he had discharged only routine functions. And when I asked him about what he did for the Germans against the Jews, he said absolutely nothing, the Germans did all of that themselves. Finally, there being really nothing else to do, I used the one arrow in my quiver, which was to take out that order and hand it to him and ask him then how does he explain this? He looked at it very calmly and he said I've never seen this before in words that would echo in my ears for nearly a decade. He said show me something that I signed. He had us. We had nothing. When the Soviet¹⁴ Union finally collapsed¹⁵ and we could get one of our brilliant staff historians into archives in Lithuania, there he found document after document signed by Valeikas. And the one that those of us who worked on this case will never forget is an order consigning¹⁶ Thuma Cafflin(ph), age 6, to be killed. We were able to marshal that evidence. The federal court in Boston agreed with us and Valeikas' U.S. citizenship¹⁷ was revoked¹⁸. He ultimately ended up back in Lithuania and he was put on trial.

 

MARTIN: Where is he now?

 

ROSENBAUM: He's since passed away and the trial was never completed but he was at least put on trial.

 

MARTIN: What is it like to be in the same room, to do the work of questioning people who have been accused of these kinds of crimes?

 

ROSENBAUM: I would say other than meeting the victims, the most memorable¹⁹ part of the work is questioning the suspects. It's an almost surreal experience because by this point, these people look close to harmless. Sitting, you know, on a bright, sunny day in a comfortable room, maybe in someone's home or the U.S. Attorney's office, hearing someone talk about terrible, terrible things that they did or that they were a part of for the Nazi regime is, it's unsettling. But it's also a situation in which one tends not to focus on the - how shall I say - on the horror of it. You focus on getting the answers to the questions you're posing. But afterwards, that's usually when it hits you.

 

MARTIN: It's awfully²⁰ heavy work. Has there ever been a time when you thought perhaps you would be keen for a job change?

 

ROSENBAUM: Yes. When I was in my first stint²¹ as a prosecutor the work did get to me. I remember I used to feel guilty if I took off a weekend day. I thought, well, because of that some war criminal's getting away. We were, after all, told from the very start that time was our biggest enemy, that these people were already senior citizens and that we would have to work as fast as we responsibly could. We were under time pressures that hardly any other prosecutors²² in the world could imagine. And the combination of those time pressures and the tragic²³ nature of the cases was really too much. And so I left after three years to go to a big law firm in Manhattan and work for corporations, and that turned out not to be right for me. And I was invited to come back as deputy a few years later and I did.

 

MARTIN: Why?

 

ROSENBAUM: Because the cases just don't let go of you. I have the extraordinary privilege of meeting victims of atrocity²⁴ crimes from World War II to more recent times. Each of these people breaks your heart. Each of these people impresses you with their courage, being willing to talk about what happened to them and their families, being willing to reopen these psychic²⁵ wounds that can't really ever heal. You meet them and you say, well, I have to pursue justice for them. It has to be done.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

 

MARTIN: Eli Rosenbaum is the director of strategy and policy at the Justice Department's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions²⁶ section. As of 2010, he is responsible for tracking down former Nazis as well as war criminals from other global atrocities²⁷.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

 

MARTIN: And you're listening to WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News.

1 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

2 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

6 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

7 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

8 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

9 analog   

n.类似物，模拟

参考例句：

• The analog signal contains high-frequency video information,which helps make up the picture.模拟信号包括有助于构成图像的高频视频信息。
• The analog computer measures continuously,without proceeding step by step.模拟计算机不是一步一步地进行，而是连续地进行量度。

10 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

11 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

14 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

15 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

16 consigning   

v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的现在分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃

参考例句：

• By consigning childhood illiteracy to history we will help make poverty history too. 而且，通过将儿童文盲归于历史，我们也将改变贫穷的历史。 来自互联网

17 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

18 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

19 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

20 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

21 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

22 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

23 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

24 atrocity   

n.残暴，暴行

参考例句：

• These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
• I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。

25 psychic   

n.对超自然力敏感的人；adj.有超自然力的

参考例句：

• Some people are said to have psychic powers.据说有些人有通灵的能力。
• She claims to be psychic and to be able to foretell the future.她自称有特异功能，能预知未来。

26 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

27 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》