Book Review: The Twilight Zone: Deaths-Head Revisited

The Twilight Zone: Deaths-Head Revisited original screenplay by Rod Serling, adapted by Mark Kneece and illustrated by Chris Lie

At the end of World War II, Nazi officer Lutze escapes from Dachau by shooting a prisoner and taking his clothing. Decades later, he returns to the town with a new identity and makes a visit to the place where he committed many atrocities. He arrives at the camp late in the afternoon and wanders around alone. Soon the memories begin to haunt him. He sees prisoners he remembers. They accuse him of the terrible crimes that happened to them. Lutze rehearses the Nuremberg defense ("I was only following orders") which is chilling given the horrors depicted (which just scratch the surface). In one scene, people come back out of the ovens to accuse him for their deaths. His memories finally drive him mad. He is discovered wailing uncontrollably on the grounds of the death camp by the attendant.

This story is very powerful and haunting. The episode was made in 1961 during Adolf Eichmann's trial for his part in the Nazi's Final Solution. This graphic novel captures the horror of a man without a conscience as he finally succumbs to his own humanity. Well worth reading.