Wilhelm Keitel at Nuremberg
Wilhelm Keitel was made chief of staff of the Armed Forces in 1938. If that sounds like a vote of confidence, in fact Hitler regarded the man with disdain: Keitel had “the brains of a movie usher.” He was still worth promoting, though, because he was “loyal as a dog.” Any order Hitler wanted issued, Keitel would sign, including, notoriously, the Commando Order.
Keitel was arrested shortly after Germany surrendered. This poem is based on interviews with him conducted during the Nuremberg trials.
(Note that poetry is best read in a browser on a larger screen. This is part of the series Interviews With Vampires.)
Wilhelm Keitel at Nuremberg
Things happened quickly once I took the job—
The annexation, the Sudetenland—
And I began to fall from each event
To its successor, staggering ahead
As if anesthetized. In circumstances
Such as those, the interface between
One’s will, and the elusive world beyond,
Begins to slip; the will fades into shadow;
And all power to deliberate is lost.
Things turned sour, as you know. There were reverses.
I told myself: where I stand, I stand.
To be obedient when things go well
Is easy, and no virtue. A good soldier
Must also obey when things go badly.At Nuremberg Keitel was convicted of crimes against humanity. He was hanged on October 16, 1946.