WHEN THE FIRST witness was announced on Tuesday morning, there was a ripple of whispers in the courtroom. Doctor Samuel Sterzer walked over to the witness stand with methodical determination.
Orysia hadn't told Danylo that Dr. Sterzer had agreed to testify at his hearing. He hadn't seen him for more than four decades, but Danylo thought that if he had encountered him on the street, he would have recognized him immediately.
Dr. Sterzer was very short and slim, and his leathery skin was tanned but surprisingly unwrinkled. He wore no jewellery — not even a wedding ring. And his blue suit was crisp and conservative. Once he sat down in the witness stand, he looked around until his eyes met Danylo's, and then he nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
"Doctor Sterzer," began Mr. Vincent. "Can you tell me your background?"
"I am a medical doctor with a family practice in Tel-Aviv, Israel."
"Can you tell me your relationship to the defendant, Mr. Danylo Feschuk?"
"Certainly," replied Dr. Sterzer. "We were both in the UPA — Ukrainian Insurgent Army — from 1943 to 1945."
"Can you tell me what you know about the defendant, Mr. Danylo Feschuk?" asked Mr. Vincent.
Dr. Sterzer regarded the lawyer for a moment and then he looked over at Danylo. "He was one of the many UPA soldiers in the Volhyn region. I met him when he brought me a patient. A girl who had been tortured by the Gestapo. He carried her in his arms for more than a mile to get to my underground hospital. I will never forget his face."
"Dr. Sterzer, was Danylo Feschuk a Nazi collaborator?"
"No, he was not," replied the doctor.
"No more questions."
Mrs. Caine got up from her chair and approached the witness stand. "Did you know Mr. Feschuk between 1941 and 1943?"
"I met him in 1943."
"So you have no way of knowing what sort of man he was before he joined the UPA?"
"Madame," said the doctor. "The UPA was a disciplined fighting unit and they were people of the highest principals. Even seemingly minor infractions like swearing or drinking were not allowed. To hurt a villager was punishable by death. If Mr. Feschuk had been a collaborator, the UPA would have sentenced him to death."
Dr. Sterzer's answer caused a ripple of whispers in the courtroom.
"Order," admonished the judge. "If you can't hold your tongue, you will have to step outside.
The whispers ceased.
"I have no further questions," said Mrs. Caine.
Kat was surprised by Doctor Sterzer's testimony. This was a whole side of World War II that she had never had an inkling about. As he spoke, the image of a whole army hidden in the woods formed in her mind. But it also raised a question for her. How did her grandfather transform himself from an auxiliary policeman to an UPA soldier? She hoped some of the other witnesses would shed light on this question.