A SPECTATOR 'S NOTEBOOK
THE outcry about the alleged omission of Hitler from the list of war-criminals is very much beside the mark ; there would be much more reason for outcry if he were included. War-criminals, as I understand it, are men against whom specific crimes are charged, and they will be formally tried, with full opportunity to make any defence they can after sworn evidence has been heard. No one in his senses, I should have supposed, would want to see Hitler or Himmler or any others of that kidney put on trial. That kind of cause célèbre would outrage humanity. When Hitler and ammler are taken they will be at the disposal of the Allies, and suffer what- ever penalty the Allied leaders decree. Their crimes shout to heaven, and to give them a chance of declaiming from the dock would be an indulgence savouring of unpardonable weakness. Per- sonally, I hope they will be neither shot nor hanged, but left in some exile devoid of all amenities to reflect on their past and the frustration of all their criminal designs. Death, with whatever purgatory it may bring, will overtake them in the end. Meanwhile, let them taste something of life's bitterness.
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