Historical Context
The Execution of Private Slovik
The drama centers on the true story of Private Eddie D. Slovik's execution, a grim milestone as the only American soldier executed for desertion during World War II. This fateful event unfolded on January 31, 1945, in the waning days of the war. In a poignant line from Beim's play, a soldier laments, "They ain’t never shot anybody before. Not even in the last war. They ain’t never shot anybody." Through his depiction of Slovik, the play channels the disbelief and horror of a man condemned for fleeing the front lines. While Slovik's execution was an extraordinary shock, countless soldiers endured a myriad of other terrifying ordeals throughout the conflict.
Infantrymen during World War II
World War II unfolded as a relentless saga of hardship, and for infantrymen, it was a crucible of both mental and physical torment. Exposed on battlefields, these troops carved out foxholes to shield themselves from enemy fire, aerial assaults, and the myriad horrors of war. In his preamble to Six Award Winning Plays, Beim reflects on his own youthful wartime experiences: "Trying to dig a foxhole in the frozen earth. Urinating in our helmets because it was too cold to get up. Wandering lost in the dark in the early hours of the morning." Soldiers lived in an unending state of suspense, never knowing when death might strike. The soldier in Beim's play, moments from execution, finds solace in knowing his fate, unlike his comrades who are left to grapple with the uncertainty of survival, musing, "They’ll never know when they’re gonna get it. It was the waiting and the uncertainty that was the worst of it."
The Holocaust
Beyond the battlefield, some soldiers encountered nightmarish realities upon liberating Nazi concentration camps. These grim facilities were the lynchpin in Germany's heinous "Final Solution," an attempt to obliterate the Jewish population of Europe. This monstrous ambition nearly came to fruition. Jews were ruthlessly exterminated in mass shootings, gas chambers, or other horrific means. By the time Allied forces arrived to free the camps, Nazi Germany had orchestrated the systematic murder of approximately six million Jews, eradicating nearly two-thirds of Europe's Jewish community.
The Aftermath of the Vietnam War
During World War II, American involvement was buoyed by fervent national support, galvanized by the Attack on Pearl Harbor, drawing the nation into a battle against the encroaching specter of fascism. Hollywood rallied, fueling the war effort with morale-boosting films. In stark contrast, the Vietnam War incited widespread antiwar sentiment. When Beim first staged The Deserter in 1978, the deep scars of Vietnam (1965–1973) were still raw among veterans. This conflict claimed over 55,000 American lives in brutal jungle warfare reminiscent of WWII's rigors. More than 150,000 were wounded, yet unlike their WWII predecessors, returning Vietnam veterans received a conflicted welcome. As Martin Gilbert observes in A History of the Twentieth Century, Volume Three: 1952–1999, "As the American public turned against the war, it also seemed to turn against the search for adequate provision for the veterans, for adequate recognition of what they had been through."
Literary Style
One-Act Play
Plays are typically carved into acts, serving as grand segments of dramatic storytelling. These acts, in turn, are often split into scenes. Yet, The Deserter defies this norm as a one-act play, embracing a singular dramatic framework. This unique format confines its narrative to a single setting, unlike the more expansive multiact plays which shift locations between acts. The action flows unbroken, without the interruptions that usually herald new scenes. Despite the absence of traditional cues like fade-outs, Beim artfully divides the play into two distinct scenes. The...
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curtain rises with the sergeant and the soldier entering, their conversation setting the stage. The second act unfolds as the priest steps in to replace the sergeant, ready to hear the soldier’s confession.
Setting
The play unfolds in the waning days of World War II. The sergeant poignantly remarks, "The war’s almost over. A couple more months. That’s all that’s left." The closeness of the soldier’s execution to the end of such a devastating conflict amplifies the sense of futility in his death. With victory near and the Germans nearly vanquished, the soldier's chances of survival and returning home were tantalizingly close, yet his execution steals that possibility away. Set against a backdrop of winter, a season symbolic of death, the tragedy is further highlighted. The deserted chateau, veiled in gloom with cloth-draped windows and furniture, casts a shadowy pall, accentuating the somber fate of the soldier.
Irony
Irony weaves a tapestry of nuanced understanding, where words and actions betray their apparent meanings. In The Deserter, the finale embodies situational irony, where outcomes defy expectations with a stark reality. While irony often brings laughter, here it draws a solemn conclusion. Throughout the narrative, the soldier is tormented by his aversion to killing, particularly with a firearm. He writes to his wife, "As I told you, I would never fire my rifle, and I haven’t." In conversation with Father Murray, he recounts how he "used to carry a gun," abandoning it after his brother’s imprisonment for a deadly heist. His hometown priest, Father Hart, had impressed upon him the gravity of murder as a mortal sin. "Somehow I got it into my head that it was wrong to carry a gun," he confides to Father Murray. His refusal to bear arms leads to attempted desertion. Ultimately, his desperate efforts to avoid violence culminate in his own demise by firing squad—a deeply ironic and poignant conclusion.
Compare and Contrast
1945: As the flames of World War II engulf the globe, the United States steps into the fray, allying with England and the Soviet Union to combat the aggressive forces of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Late 1970s: Amidst the shadowy dance of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union find themselves locked in a relentless standoff. Though the period is marked by peace in name, an unsettling air of distrust blankets the nation, leaving Americans with the haunting sensation of an invisible war being fought in their minds.
Today: In the relentless battle against terrorism, nations unite in vigilance. The devastating strikes on New York and Washington in 2001 ignite a surge of awareness and caution among American citizens, ever alert to the lurking threat of terrorist incursions.
1945: As World War II rages on, countless American men are called to arms. Driven by patriotism, they stand ready to defend their homeland against the ominous specter of fascism.
Late 1970s: The aftermath of the contentious Vietnam War leaves a nation divided. Many American men, having either faced or fled the draft, witness the dissolution of the selective service system, a move that dismantles the bureaucratic machinery behind conscription.
Today: Although the selective service system has been revived to augment the military if necessary, the United States now places its confidence in a leaner professional military, bolstered by a robust reserve force of volunteers ready to answer the call to action.
1945: Returning home from the crucible of World War II, American soldiers are lauded as heroes. Yet, some grapple with the invisible wounds of war, enduring a psychological turmoil then known as shell shock—born from living on the razor's edge of mortality.
Late 1970s: Vietnam veterans find themselves isolated, burdened by public disdain for the war they fought. The stigma and the psychological scars of combat fatigue—once called shell shock—intertwine, leading to widespread behavioral and substance abuse issues within their ranks.
Today: As American warriors return from the harsh landscapes of Afghanistan, they are met with a vigilant Pentagon, determined to ease their passage back into civilian life through an extensive network of support programs designed to care for their mental and physical well-being.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Sources
Beim, Norman, The Deserter, in Six Award Winning Plays, New Concept Press, 1995, pp. 233–51.
———, ‘‘Preface,’’ in Six Award Winning Plays, New Concept Press, 1995, pp. viii–x.
Gilbert, Martin, A History of the Twentieth Century, Vol. 3, 1952–1999, Perennial, 2000, p. 453.
Further Reading
Beevor, Antony, The Fall of Berlin, 1945, Viking Press, 2002. Beever examines the massive advance of Soviet and other Allied troops to Berlin, which ultimately led to the defeat of Germany and the end of the European conflict. The author incorporates several eyewitness accounts and new research from both Soviet and German archives.
Beschloss, Michael R., The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler’s Germany, 1941–1945, Simon & Schuster, 2002. Beschloss examines the political motivations of the American government and its allies during World War II. Their plan for postwar Germany ultimately led to the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Canfield, Bruce N., U.S. Infantry Weapons of World War II, Andrew Mowbray Publishers, 1996. Canfield gives detailed, technical coverage of all of the portable weapons used by Americans during World War II.
Huie, William Bradford, The Execution of Private Slovik, Nuell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1954. Huie’s book was Beim’s main inspiration for writing The Deserter.
