ABSTRACT
In the wake of World War II, Western man found himself in a state of dumbfoundedness. As the gates of concentration camps opened and the vestiges of a ruined humanity emerged, the fantasy of basic innocence and honor in human nature was shattered. People asked how a “civilized” nation could descend into such bestiality and barbarism. Some of the aggrieved and self-righteous awaited revenge and judgment to occur at the Nuremburg trials. There, the victors expected confirmation of their beliefs, that each Nazi officer would be found to be corrupt, guilty, and personally evil. However, the trials failed to satisfy the prosecution's desire for simple justice and elucidated some sinister implications for man. Arendt (1963) cites an example. When asked, “How was it possible that all you honorable generals could continue to serve a murderer with such unquestioning loyalty?”, one general replied that it was “not the task of a soldier to act as Judge over his supreme commander. Let history do that or God in heaven [p. 101].”
