Papon's Paper Trail and Trouble at the Tower Summary and Analysis

In "Papon's Paper Trail," Gopnik attended the end of the trial of Maurice Papon, former secretary general of the Gironde department (or area of the country), of which Bordeaux is the capital. Papon was accused of complicity in crimes against humanity during the German occupation of France in World War II. The trial has been long, sad, and ridiculous, like the O.J. Simpson trial in America, Gopnik wrote. In Bordeaux, Gopnik listened as British and American journalists in the press room translated their notes on Papon's closing speech. Gopnik wrote a short history of Papon's activities during the occupation, and of the charges against him, including the deportation of more than 1,500 Jews to the Auschwitz death camp. Gopnik wrote that the state machinery in France was...