They Would Never Hurt a Fly
They Would Never Hurt a Fly is a 2004 historical non-fiction novel by Slavenka Drakulić discussing the personalities of the war criminals on trial in The Hague that destroyed the former Yugoslavia. Drakulić uses certain trials of alleged criminals with subordinate power to further examine and understand the reasoning behind their misconduct. Drakulić covers Slobodan Milošević and his wife, Ratko Mladić is portrayed as a Greek tragic figure.
Synopsis
They Would Never Hurt a Fly begins with an introductory section explaining Drakulić's purpose in the book as well as her choice in characters. She explains that she would like to learn more about their personalities to justify how the Yugoslavian war arose. Drakulić describes the war as an unexpected tragedy that befell innocent civilians within the boundaries of Yugoslavia - specifically Bosnia. As the book begins to unravel descriptive profiles of different war criminals, Drakulić elucidates that these criminals were not complete monsters but ordinary people who committed crimes due to the circumstances they were in: "the war itself turned ordinary men into criminals because of opportunism, fear and, not least, conviction."Many of the perpetrators actually regard themselves as heroes rather than criminals and only regret "that they have been stupid enough to get caught or being tricked into surrendering." This argument is mirrored with political theorist Hannah Arendt's thesis on the Banality of Evil.
The book ends with a note about the strange coexistence of war criminals together in Scheveningen Prison in The Hague. Despite the atrocities they had committed, the convicted men set aside their nationality and ethnic background. They formed alliances based on friendship and brotherhood. The prison director, Timothy McFadden, claimed that the accused must be considered innocent until their guilt is proven. For this reason, the criminals had better living conditions than in any other European prison. They could watch television shows in their native languages in their fairly spacious cells and were allowed frequent visits. The author pointed out the discrepancy between their living conditions and the crimes they had committed. Slavenka Drakulić concluded the book by questioning the purpose of war if the people who waged it can get along well, embrace without any hostility or patriotic feelings behind closed doors. She ultimately summed up her view with the thesis that the war was, after all, pointless.