Hitler's Table Talk

644 HITLER AS A WITNESS
experience of the law courts. Two people go to court; they
cannot both be right, and the one who has had the better and
more well-known lawyer wins his case. The first time I went to
court I thought that lawyers were honourable men. When my
lawyer suggested to me that I had been the victim of grievous
damage, I, in my innocence, agreed with him; it was only later,
when I received his account, that I realised the consequences
of my ready acquiescence. Now, am I not right in saying he acted
dishonestly? I have known cases in which a peasant has been
shamefully exploited by the lawyers, who squeeze the wretched
little man like a lemon to the last available drop; and once that
has been extracted, the case ends! Such malpractices must
cease; the lawyer of the future, like the judge and the physician,
must be a servant of the State. For the whole object of the Law is
to arrive at the truth.
I once had a lawyer who was so timid that within forty-eight
hours I had the feeling that I was the defendant, not the plaintiff!
The worst feature of the legal system is trial by jury.
Formerly this was regarded as the ideal, and up to 1918 I myself
regarded the jury in a case as men apart. As a matter of fact
at that time I held all officials, I think, in similar respect. I
reminded myself that my father was a man of honour, a Chairman
of the Assizes and a Justizrat. I had no idea that a Justizrat
is a private individual who makes his living by defending
scoundrels !
On one occasion I was called as a witness in a case against an
army deserter—a first-class swine named Sauper. The Justizrat
rose and asked me a few questions, to which, like a silly fool, I
answered quite frankly. "You have just returned from the
front? You have, I see, a wound-stripe and the insignia of the
Iron Cross, First Class—what is your opinion of this deserter?"
I told him in unmistakable terms what I thought of the swine.
The Justizrat smiled. "I object to this witness on the score of
personal prejudice," he declared solemnly. The objection was
upheld and the filthy Sauper got off scot-free ! When the case
ended, an officer who was in the public gallery came up to me
with outstretched hand. "For God's sake, let's get out of here!"
he cried.
I have a reputation for driving very slowly through built-up