The Khmer Rouge, the Nazis and the Banality of Evil

Adolf Eichmann at the dock (Photo: DPA)

Duch at the dock (Photo: AFP)

Friday, December 18, 2009
By Erich Follath
Spiegel Online

Hannah Arendt used the phrase 'the banality of evil' to describe Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi bureaucrat who hastened millions to their deaths. SPIEGEL columnist Erich Follath points out the striking similarities between Eichmann and "Duch," the Khmer Rouge official now on trial, which indicates just how universal the propensity for evil really is.

In late November, closing arguments were presented in the case of the international community and the Cambodian people versus Kaing Guek Eav. Better known as "Duch," this 67-year-old former Khmer Rouge official was the commandant of the most notorious prison and torture house in Phnom Penh. The verdict in this spectacular trial is expected soon. When the judges in Phnom Penh pronounce it and, as expected, Duch is sentenced to several decades in prison, justice will have been served. The offender will be locked away, and a chapter in Cambodian history will be closed.

But does the Duch trial honestly represent a reasonable settling of accounts for the country's past, which saw almost a quarter of its population fall victim to genocide in the horrific period between April 1975 and January 1979? Likewise, are there similarities to be found among the men who order others to commit genocide, a core of absolute evil that can be identified in their characters and careers? If so, can crimes against humanity be dissected and classified so as to prevent their recurrence?

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