comment on theme

The author uses the character of Judge Fromm to portray his message that, despite the horrors, atrocities and millions of deaths caused by the Germans during the Second World War, in the end Justice itself will still survive, even if only feebly. Judge Fromm is the predominate symbol of Justice in the novel, serving his whole career as a judge in the court system of Germany. Since his retirement he has lived a quiet life which proves to his advantage as he apparently harbors and assists the "undesirables" of the state. He has been the servant of Justice his whole life, even amidst threats to his life by criminals who hoped to intimidate him to rule differently in their cases. However, he is not a man to be swayed. As he tells Frau Rosenthal, "I made Justice the guiding light for everything I did" (75).