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Thierry Cruvellier

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The Master of Confessions: The Making of a Khmer Rouge Torturer Kindle Edition

by Thierry Cruvellier (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 119 ratings

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Renowned journalist Thierry Cruvellier takes us into the dark heart of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge with The Master of Confessions, a suspenseful account of a Chief Interrogator's trial for war crimes.

On April 17, 1975, the communist Khmer Rouge, led by its secretive prime minister Pol Pot, took over Cambodia. Renaming the country Democratic Kampuchea, they cut the nation off from the world and began systematically killing and starving two million of their people.

Thirty years after their fall, a man named Duch (pronounced "Doïk"), who had served as Chief Prison officer of S21, the regime's central prison complex, stood trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Unlike any other tribunal defendant, Duch acknowledged his personal responsibility, pleaded guilty, and asked for forgiveness from his victims. In The Master of Confessions, Thierry Cruvellier uses the trial to tell the horrifying story of this terrible chapter in history.

Cruvellier offers a psychologically penetrating, devastating look at the victims, the torturers, and the regime itself, searching to answer crucial questions about culpability. Self-drawing on his knowledge, and experience, Cruvellier delivers a startling work of journalistic history—by turns deeply moving, horrifying, and darkly funny.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[An] exceptionally fine portrait of the man and his judgment. . . . [Cruvellier] is an elegant, understated writer, with a keen and rigorous intellect, and a wry, quiet wit.” — Philip Gourevitch, author of We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families, The New Yorker

“A brilliant study in the mind of a zealous servant to a maniacal ideology.” — George Packer in The New Yorker

“Cruvellier, who has reported on some of the world’s most notorious war crimes, recounts the trial of Duch, the director of the Khmer Rouge’s S-21 prison, where thousands of people were killed. His exhaustive account includes a sly commentary on the whims and limits of the international justice system.” — New York Times Paperback Row

“[The Master of Confessions is] a sobering story of a horrifying episode in recent history, rich in detail and thoroughly-researched. ... an unforgettable, overwhelming, exploration of a tragic period which shouldn’t be forgotten or overlooked.” — Publishers Weekly

“[A] fascinating glimpse into history and the international tribunal system. . . . For a history buff this is a must read, for the average individual it is interesting, and for the person willing to do some soul searching the experience of this book can be profound.” — Portland Book Review

“Superbly memorable. With chilling clarity, a veteran international journalist delineates the totalitarian ideology and horrific crimes of the leaders of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge. Cruvellier is an extremely articulate and compassionate observer.” — Kirkus (Starred Review)

“An exceptional, infinitely troubling work, nothing escapes Thierry Cruvellier’s attention - neither the public’s reactions, nor the court’s idiosyncrasies, the clashes between foreign and Cambodian lawyers, or each side’s motivations and weaknesses.” — Le Point

“A gripping eye-witness account. Thierry Cruvellier’s book is wonderful. Against the backdrop of modern Cambodia, The Master of Confessions recounts the striking story of Duch’s trial, giving voice to both the victims’ horrifying stories and the torturer’s no less unbearable explanation.” — Télérama

“A solemn and rigorous fresco, which will open the eyes of any honest man moved by genocide.” — Le Monde Diplomatique

“A meticulous observer of this unique trial, Cruvellier’s eye is both clinical and critical… A vivid picture of Cambodia caught in systemic slaughter by the Khmers Rouges.” — Libération

“You have to be talented, precise and infinitely patient to tell the story of a distant international trial - Thierry pulls off this feat masterly… It’s the torturer’s own account that draws us into this book - The Master of Confessions is fascinating.” — Le Temps

“An unforgettable book. An impressive, thorough, and well-written depiction of the trial and its audience from the perspective of an outside observer, who through the cathartic experience of watching the trial reveals that ‘torturers’ are not so different from ourselves.” — La Croix

“Thierry Cruvellier’s The Master of Confessions is a book everyone should throw themselves into. The great reporter delivers a striking account of this lengthy trial. With rare talent, he manages to sketch out the dozen or so protagonists in this tragic show. ” — Lire

“An exceptional narrative, which makes this book so much more than just an eyewitness account.” — France Info

“Analytical, thorough and astute, Cruvellier ... steps back and lets his reporting do the talking. … A work of exceptional quality.” — Le Monde

“... Thierry Cruvellier has an unrivalled knowledge of international tribunals. [... Cruvellier] put[s] us in the position of impartial, intelligent spectators, by looking upon these trials in a way that is both distanced and engaged.” — France Culture

“A brilliant blend of journalism and deeper reflection, Cruvellier’s work - a literary accomplishment - maintains a surprising balance between distance and proximity, objectivity and compassion, fact and experience.” — La Quinzaine Littéraire

“...With his supple intelligence and bitingly funny understanding, [Cruvellier] shares and decodes the complexities of the trial and its characters. He pinpoints the crucial moments for those who wish to better understand the way that trials of crimes against humanity work.” — Libération (cambodge.blogs.liberation.fr)

From the Back Cover

An Eichmann in Jerusalem for the Khmer Rouge, Thierry Cruvellier's The Master of Confessions is a harrowing account of the trial of Duch, director of the regime's most brutal prison. Cruvellier paints a startling portrait of a war criminal contending with his past.

The Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. Led by their secret prime minister, Pol Pot, the Communist revolutionaries brutally seized Cambodia, established the totalitarian state known as Democratic Kampuchea, and isolated themselves from the rest of the world. When the Vietnamese invaded in 1979, the international community discovered that the regime had murdered approximately two million people: a third of these had been executed, the others had been starved or worked to death.

On February 17, 2009, Duch (pronounced "Doïk"), who had served as the director of S-21, the regime's primary center for interrogation and execution, stood trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Master of Confessions builds around the mysterious Duch, who, unlike any other Khmer Rouge operative prosecuted for war crimes, took responsibility for his involvement in the crimes, apologized to the victims, and pleaded guilty. In a deft, suspenseful narrative, journalist and witness to the trial Thierry Cruvellier asks: Is Duch the deviant monster depicted by the prosecutor? Or is he the genuinely remorseful, born-again Christian he claims to be? Was he a pawn of his Khmer Rouge superiors? Is he now a man just trying to face up to his past?

Cruvellier both recounts this unique trial and delves into the history of the Khmer Rouge's rule of terror, offering a psychologically penetrating and devastating look at the victims, the torturers, and the regime itself. Cruvellier captures the intense human drama of the trial as it unfolds—from ironic twists and banalities, to the illusions and disillusions of the players, and finally to a stunning coup de théâtre. By offering readers a distinct view into the mind of a mass murderer, The Master of Confessions sheds light on one of the most storied genocides of our time.

Duch was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in February 2012.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00F8P3A54
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco; Reprint edition (March 18, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 18, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2390 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 339 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #968,036 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #213 in Prehistory eBooks
- #548 in Communism & Socialism (Kindle Store)
- #738 in Fascism (Books)

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4.1 119 ratings

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Gym boy latsch

Good and interesting

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2019

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Interesting to read. Much to say about Cambodia during the worst time ever imagined. How the Pol Pot regime operated and what they believed. How this came about from start to finish. Glad to have read this book.

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IAK

Good read on the banality of evil Cambodian style

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2019

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Provides excellent insight into the mind and memory of a cog in a bureaucratic killing and torture machine. Also exposes the rather insipid bureaucracy that has emerged recent decades later to supply a veneer of justice to the victims and history.

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2014

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I chose this rating because I wanted to know what had happened to Cambodia after their war.
The Kemir Rouge activities when they gained control of the country was an education.

5 people found this helpful

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drbob

A different perspective on the killing fields ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2014

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For others like me, the question has been how can this happen. Mass killings in Cambodia were based on ideology unlike many others in recent history, which were sectarian and race based. I wanted to read an account which went past the statistics. Cruvellier has put together an account based on the trials of one of the perpetrators.

5 people found this helpful

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Manuel

Great analysis of a criminal mind

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2019

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Astonishing review of a twisted mind, including his justifications as explanation of his criminal actions. Well balance and written. A must.

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Bill

Not what I was expecting

Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2014

When I bought this book, I read "the making of a Khmer Rouge torturer" and expected a biography similar to Kershaw's classic of Hitler. However, the title is misleading - the book is not a biography, at least not in the strict sense of the word, and it is certainly not about the making of a killer. In fact, we are told very little about the evolution of Duch from teacher to revolutionary to torturer. Instead, I think this book is best looked at narrowly as an account of a genocide trial and how it affects both the perpetrators and the victims (this distinction was often not possible).

While this distinction may seem unimportant to many, it was very important to me. I never expected to truly understand how someone becomes a mass torturer and murderer and I would have been okay with the author simply concluding that it is impossible to know. However, Cruvellier didn't even try. We only get snippets about Duch's early life and evolution. Instead, we are exposed to the trial's narrative, something that one comes to see as being highly subject to the prejudices and desires of the defendant, international community, and victims. None of the pictures presented is truly convincing or even all that interesting. They range from the classic banality of "just following orders" to a portrait of a man who was never truly human.

So, to this point, you may be questioning why I am giving this book four stars.

The reason is that the book fails to explain or account for Duch, but is a remarkable exposition of the dynamics of these international crimes against humanity cases. By the end of the book, it becomes clear that we cannot completely blame Cruvellier for these inadequate portraits; these are the impressions that the major players in the court wanted us to form! In fact, there is a stunning lack of sincerity and seriousness during much of the proceedings. I will not forget the moment when one of the international judges censors a Cambodian witness for recounting verbatim the profanity that he was forced to endure during a particular moment. It quickly becomes clear that the each individual moment is more about the judges', prosecutors', the defenses' needs than it is about those of the victims and their quest for the nebulous justice they desire. This is also true of the witnesses, many of whom were shown to be providing false testimony (there was a particularly interesting discussion of denunciations provided under duress during the genocide and those provided under a different type of duress during the trial).

On a larger scale, we must also be critical of the response of our government and society to these crimes. We are accustomed to believing that Duch was running the Auschwitz of Cambodia. However, S-21 was not the Auschwitz of Cambodia in any other manner than its relative fame. In actuality, as this book so painfully elucidates, Duch argues that S-21 was more of a party purging center than it was a killing center for "innocents" (though in genocidal times, this term often seems to make a distinction without reality). Of course, he also fails to mention that there were still plenty of completely innocent individuals killed, so I look at this as less a good defense for Duch than an indictment of our society. How can we go after Duch and a couple of other mid to upper level figures and call it a day? What about the hundreds of other camps that were not famous because they killed peasants and not the party's inner circle? Yet, we are satisfied with this?

I could go on, but suffice it to say that Cruvellier is at his best when he is discussing the machinations of this search for elusive justice. Having been to so many trials (he often refers to those in Rwanda), he is at his best in these moments. For those seeking to understand Duch, you will be disappointed. To those seeking to understand our societies current limitations in the search to understand this genocide, you will be more rewarded.

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Dick

good

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2014

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Must read. Great book if you are interested in Cambodian history. I learned a lot about Dk and S21 during the 70s.

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The Reader

An emotive, troubled and biased account

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2014

Cruvellier gives an impassioned but ultimately disappointingly biased account (see below) of the trial of Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch, the former chief of the Khmer Rouge's most notorious security centre, S-21. In 2009, Duch was put on trial before the ECCC, a criminal tribunal set up jointly by the UN and the Cambodian Government. Cruvellier, who followed every day of the trial, brings to his task considerable experience in following proceedings before international criminal tribunals.

At the start of the trial, Duch accepted responsibility for the imprisonment and murder of more than 12,200 victims whose names are recorded in the surviving S-21 archives (the actual number of victims likely exceeds 15,000). Duch confirmed the horrors of S-21, which are also recorded in the prison's files: victims were systematically and brutally tortured into confessing crimes against the regime, before being summarily executed. The interrogation of every victim led to the identification of new "enemies" of the regime. Duch was indispensable to the enterprise. He ran the prison with ruthless efficiency, supervising interrogations and approving the executions (including those of children). He had more than 150 of his own staff murdered at S-21 for breaches of discipline.

Duch's defence counsel argued that he was forced to follow the regime's orders and that he was a small wheel in a large murderous machine.They sought a significantly reduced sentence in return for his admissions. On the other hand, the prosecutors and victims' representatives argued that Duch had committed his crimes with zeal and enthusiasm, and that he failed to acknowledge the full extent of his involvement in the atrocities. Thus, while Duch was effectively pleading guilty, his trial revealed a gulf between his version of events, and that presented by the prosecutors and the victims' legal representatives. Cruvellier essentially ignores the significance of this tension at the heart of the case, preferring instead a simplistic and largely one-sided account of the trial and its dramatic outcome (more on this below).

But first, credit should be given where credit is due. Cruvellier is at his best when telling the story of S-21, including the prison's inner operations, the histories and personalities of Duch and his interrogators, and the sheer magnitude of the suffering they inflicted on their victims. He paints the victims' portraits with humanity and compassion. He takes the time to situate the stories of the victims and the perpetrators in Cambodia's tragic history. He argues against simple dichotomies between good and evil and challenges the reader to ponder the complex factors that led an educated and otherwise ordinary man to commit crimes on an almost unimaginable scale.

But Cruvellier's account of the trial itself is flawed in two main respects: it is tainted by the author's utter contempt for the institutions that conduct international criminal trials; and it is almost entirely one-sided. Cruvellier's cheering for the defence counsel is nauseating and amateurish. Cruvellier is trying to tackle two extremely complex issues - the institutional flaws of international tribunals, and the workings of a complex criminal trial. Both of these issues deserve serious analysis. But, unlike Hannah Arendt's ground-braking "Eichmann in Jerusalem," Cruvellier's coverage of the Duch trial lacks the intellectual rigour and objectivity necessary for such a serious undertaking.

Cruvellier calls Francois Rox, Duch's French counsel, "the master." He showers Roux with praise and adulation that are worthy of the most enthusiastic acolyte. In the final chapters of the book, Cruvellier naively laments the fact that the other participants in this trial did not live up to Roux's "dream" of allowing Duch to re-enter humanity. While Cruvellier does not say as much, he is suggesting that Duch should have been congratulated on his guilty plea, and given a lenient sentence. Thus, having displayed touching sympathy for the victims earlier in his book, Cruvellier here delivers a slap in the victims' face. He equates the victims' "lust" for retributive justice (punishment) with "the rush of air that preceded the blow of the pickax handle" which murdered the victims of S-21 (p. 296). In other words, the victims' (and society's) call for a tough sentence (prosecutors sought 45 years for Duch) for a man guilty of at least 12,200 murders is a moral equivalent of those murders! This is where one gets the impression that the author is so blinded by his loathing of international institutions that he has simply lost the plot.

His contempt for the (clearly imperfect) mechanisms of international justice leads Cruvellier into further dangerous territory when he deals with the final, dramatic stage of the trial. He essentially misconstrues this crucial stage of the proceedings, because it contradicts his chosen narrative. In reality, Duch's counsel failed him. Francois Roux, Cruvellier's "master," argued in his closing submissions that Duch should be given a lenient sentence. But his Cambodian legal counterpart, Kar Savuth, argued that Duch should not have been on trial to begin with, and that he should be acquitted and released immediately. This argument contradicted - dangerously and without compromise - Roux's more sensible strategy.

Roux was caught utterly unprepared by his colleague's arguments. But the arguments were not new. Kar Savuth had made the same point at the start of the trial. Now, when asked by the judges which of the two lawyers' (mutually exclusive) positions he preferred, Duch chose that of his Cambodian lawyer. The defence case lay in tatters, because the two defence counsel had failed to devise and present a consistent theory of their case.

But while Cruvellier does not hesitate to point out the errors committed by other participants in these proceedings, here, he is forgiving and surprisingly naïve. He does not ask how Roux and his international team had failed to see this turn of events coming; why they failed to safeguard against Kar Savuth's disastrous strategy when they knew of it from the start of the trial, and when there were numerous legal mechanisms available to them to solidify their strategy. Instead, Cruvellier presents a disjointed and highly emotive account of the final arguments, seemingly seeking to rescue his legal hero from scrutiny. Apparently missing the ultimate irony of his assessment, Cruvellier accuses Duch of betraying his international counsel. He theorises: "How can Roux fight the prosecutor when his own client and co-counsel behave as if they are on the prosecution's side?" (p.298) Duch, who was now destined to receive a harsher sentence, is also to blame for disappointing his lawyer!

Perhaps more importantly, Cruvellier fails to note that, during the trial, both defence counsel had pursued combative strategies which were inconsistent with Duch's plea for mercy and a reduced sentence. As Cruvellier states, lawyers enjoy the stage of an international trial. But pleading guilty and agreeing with prosecutors does not allow a defence counsel to do a lot of grand-standing. So Francois Roux and Kar Savuth tried to have their cake and eat it. During the trial, they fought the prosecutors on legal issues, sought to win inconsequential procedural arguments, and challenged attempts to introduce relevant evidence into the record. They conducted hopeless cross-examinations of witnesses and experts, at times eliciting powerful evidence against their own client, and displaying a bellicose attitude that did not serve Duch's interests. In the end, taking his cue from his lawyers, Duch became less interested in appearing contrite and adopted a combative attitude to both prosecutors and the victims' advocates. Cruvellier's failure to account for this dynamic exposes a serious lack of objectivity and analysis.

Many of Cruvellier's criticisms of the prosecutors' conduct of the case are justified. But the analysis is again shallow and incomplete. For example, he correctly criticizes the decision to have several prosecutors take turns appearing in court. But then he makes no distinction between those prosecutors who were formidable advocates, and those were deserving of criticism. While Cruvellier refers to the judges, defence lawyers and victim advocates by name, none of the prosecutors are identified (with the exception of one prosecutor whom Curvellier singles out for well-deserved criticism). So the reader gets the impression that Cruvellier is talking about the same person ("the prosecutor") when he is discussing different stages of the trial. This is sloppy at best.

Cruvellier charges the prosecutors with failing to understand the "legal system" applicable before the court. But at no point does he attempt to explain any aspect of the system (the ECCC uses the civil law, inquisitorial procedure). Nor does he elaborate how the system was misunderstood. In fact, not a single page of the book is devoted to explaining the trial's procedural mechanism, which forms the backbone of the proceedings.

Cruvellier has a beautiful writing style, which when applied to the story of S-21 presents a compelling, heart-wrenching and factually accurate narrative. But his shallow and one-sided analysis of the proceedings leaves the impression that he is out of his depth, quick to pass judgment, and reluctant to study his subject with rigour and objectivity. This is the exact charge that he levels at so many participants in this trial. The trials before the ECCC, like those before all international tribunals, are imperfect and deserving of constructive criticism. But Cruvellier's account does not rise to that particular challenge.

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Top reviews from other countries

The Stationmaster

Kang Kek Lew, Hang Pin, Comrade Duch.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2019

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Paperback, 326 pages, Thierry Cruvellier author 2014, from the French edition 'Le Maitre des Aveux' 2011.
There is a growing number of books about Comrade Duch and his career in the Khmer Rouge, this particular volume looks at a combination of his career and his trial which in February 2012 his appeal was rejected and received a permanent life sentence.
The book discusses the day-in and day-out turns of Duch's trial (Case 001) and his overt manipulation of his own defense combined with his very thorough Mathematic tutor's attention to detail. Duch is a very intelligent and articulate man and his analytical methods were clearly useful whilst he was the Santebal head of security at S-21 (Tuol Sleng) having took over the facility sometime in the summer of 1976, overhauling and fine tuning the interrogation and killing process at S-21.
In paradox Duch was very quick to accept responsibility for his actions and events whilst he was head of S-21, but was just as quick applying for his release declaring his initial arrest as illegal according to Cambodian law as well as using his suspiciously keen belief in Christianity (interestingly his dedication and attention to detail mirrors his early dedication to the Khmer Rouge cause earlier in his career...) believing that his sins will be repented upon his death whilst his native Buddhist faith begs to differ in the sense his soul would endure cycles of pain and agony (Kharma) for his activities.

A variety of witnesses and victims were rotated into the witness stand explaining their experiences, in particualr we can read the very dignified Vann Nath recalling his year long stint at S-21, A very emotional and passionate Chum Mey describing his anguish and agony as Duch's prisoner, Francois Bizot describes his time as Duch's prisoner for 3 months in 1971 when Duch ran M-13 in the forests of Southwest Cambodia, Francois being the only Westerner to be released and survive from the clutches of Comrade Duch, later on others were very much less lucky....We read the agonizing statement from a younger brother of a S-21 victim, New Zealander Kerry Hamill, who very unluckily fell into the hands of the Khmer Rouge and ended up at S-21, his younger brother in court clearly angered and distressed wanted to ask Duch what happened and confess to the murder of his older much-missed brother, clearly this example of a devastating loss of ONE victim from a family can be multiplied over 13.000 times! the essence of this seemed to have escaped Comrade Duch's conscience, which angered Kerry Hamill's younger brother and provoked a mild rebuke from the judge.

Is Kang Kek Lew a man or monster? is he directly responsible for his own actions and ingenuity at S-21, could it have run better or worse if Duch was removed from the equation? It's hard to say but I personally believe Duch was a lot more involved in the process than he would want us to believe, I believe this man sat on a reed mat, in twilight, at Choeung Ek Killing fields, smoking and watching very closely the executions going on around him, to reassure himself that he and his team were "Absolute", and he did this very often.
The book is well written and is able to hold the line in terms of the to-ing and fro-ing from court house antics to elements of Duch's life heading toward his final conviction and i find Thierry's careful description of the court house attendees quite illuminating.