We take it as a fundamental proposition that man is not the helpless product of his environment. Civilization is a lengthy chronicle of men who triumphed over difficulty. Its survival depends on the moral fibre of individuals who can use circumstance, not be determined by it. If society must answer for the actions of men, and not men for the course of society, then, indeed, governments are our masters and not our servants; then, indeed, law dictates but does not express justice. Erhard Milch lived during years of violence and in an evil environment but he was a man well able to overcome these factors and become a force for good. It was by his own free choice that he followed the line of least resistance and became one of the evil spirits who cast a dark shadow of war and crime over Germany and the world. He had a choice between the easy wrong and the hard right—he chose the former. Peace, order, and progress depend on men of sufficient courage to choose at times a hard, just path. Ours indeed is an exacting standard, but the rewards are great, and the alternative is chaos.
[64] Opening statement is recorded in mimeographed transcript.
[65] See section IV A3, p. 524 ff.
[66] Trial of the Major War Criminals, vol. XIX, pp. 417-18, Nuremberg, 1947.
[67] Ibid., vol. II, pp. 139-140.
[68] See Table of comparative ranks, p. [331].
[69] Trial of Major War Criminals, vol. I, p. 331.