Echoes down the corridor : collected essays, 1944-2000

A collection of socio-political essays by Miller, whose realistic works of drama largely deal with topics of public morality. In "The Nazi Trials and the German Heart" (pp. 62-68), Miller reflects on the Frankfurt trial of Nazi war criminals in 1964, which he attended. Focuses on the German public's opposition to such trials due to its approbation of those who follow orders, which poses a threat to democracy in Germany and, it is stressed, elsewhere as well. "Guilt and 'Incident at Vichy'" (pp. 69-75), written in 1965, discusses the actual incident when a non-Jew gave his life to save a Jew in the Holocaust, which inspired Miller's play. Claims that the play is not about Nazism or wartime horrors, but about the individual's relation to injustice and violence. "The Face in the Mirror: Anti-Semitism Then and Now" (pp. 205-208), written in 1984, recalls wartime U.S. antisemitism and lack of comprehension of Nazi racism, and the taboo on writing about U.S. antisemitism. These factors led Miller to write "Focus, " a novel about an antisemite who changes his attitude toward Jews. There has been a decrease in antisemitism since the 1960s, but this "deeply social" phenomenon is related to permanent human traits, reflecting the alienation of indigenous peoples that is projected onto Jews and "Jews."… (more)