Is Lack of Courage a Crime Punishable By Death?

The slow-moving minimalist 2016 film "The Interrogation" is extraordinary. All the moving parts push us to actually have sympathy for former commander of Auschwitz Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Hoss. The movie is now playing on free streaming platform Tubi.

Essentially the plot is about Polish Judge Albert's assignment to get a confession from Hoss. Albert, although young, has been successful in the past. He is at this too. But what is disclosed creates questions about the justice of the coming death penalty for Hoss as well as some other SS members.

What Hoss feels is his real crime was his lack of courage. Himmler forced the Auschwitz "mission" on him. Quickly Hoss sized up that he didn't have it in him to say, no, I can't handle this. That's because he also sized up what that could cost him professionally. The rest is history. 

Later, when on the job, Hoss also couldn't summon the courage to allow anyone to see that he experienced compassion for the prisoners. To mask that he took on the protective coloring of extreme toughness in applying the rules. 

Hoss turned out to be quite the achiever. After he introduced the lethal chemical Zyklon B for the Final Solution, its efficiency wiped out the lives of 1.1 million.

Near the end of the film we witness evidence of Hoss's hanging. The chair is kicked from underneath his feet. We also apprehend Albert's suffering after all that he has heard. That sticks with him.

So, we really have to wonder if not only the death penalty for Hoss but also for other reluctant SS members was a miscarriage of justice. It is all-too-human to go along with authority or the herd in order to protect membership in a group, one's job, status and future prospects.

Extend that to those in glam fields such as entertainment. They might not have had the courage to report sexual misconduct. 

Law firm Paul, Weiss was hired by the two Murdoch boys to investigate allegations of that at Fox. Soon enough Roger Ailes stepped down. But who else could have been looped in as ignoring what might have been going on? Usually such behavior can't be kept secret. Meanwhile allegedly woman were suffering greatly. Should non-whistleblowing be considered a crime? 

In doing tarot readings the regrets confessed frequently take the form of not standing up to the abuse of the children by the spouse, either father or mother. The parent who didn't take action lacked the courage, at the time, to upset the status quo. Like Hoss, though, some could wind up dead. I have been informed about situations in which the victim murders both parents. 

Can a society be shaped to nurture courage? There were snippets of that during the late 1960s counterculture on large university campuses. We were motivated to speak up, no matter the risk. 

In my tarot readings I help the well-meaning calculate the cost of their deep convictions. The first card in the Tarot is about complexity of risk. 

Career Paths? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matter what.

Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Street-smart Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.