Looking down on the assembly, standing patiently in the drizzle awaiting a verdict, I suddenly had a vivid understanding of something. Like so many, I had heard, appalled, the reports that trickled out of postwar Germany; the stories of deportations and mass murder, of concentration camps and burnings. And like so many others had done, and would do, for years to come, I had asked myself, "How could the people have let it happen? They must have known, must have seen the trucks, the coming and going, the fences and smoke. How could they stand by and do nothing?" Well, now I knew.
The narrator recalls a moment of deep realization while observing a group awaiting a decision, amidst the discomfort of drizzle. Reflecting on the atrocities of postwar Germany, they recognize the horror of deportations, mass exterminations, and the grim existence of concentration camps. This understanding echoes a common sentiment expressed by many who questioned how such events could occur without public intervention or dissent.
This moment of clarity leads the narrator to empathize with those who lived through the tragedy, acknowledging the complexities of human behavior in the face of overwhelming injustice. It highlights the difficulty in discerning the motivations and fears that may have paralyzed individuals, making it easier to understand their inaction during such a dark chapter in history.
