| "Night and Fog" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 3.13 | → |
| Production number: 68018 First aired: 3 February 1993 | ||
 | ||
| Written By René Balcer & Michael S. Chernuchin Directed By Ed Sherin | ||
Plot[]
A Jewish Holocaust survivor is accused of killing his wife in order to hide his identity as a wanted war criminal who worked with the Nazis during World War II.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Jerry Orbach as Detective Lennie Briscoe
- Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
- Michael Moriarty as Executive A.D.A. Benjamin Stone
- Richard Brooks as A.D.A. Paul Robinette
- Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
- Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet (credit only)
Recurring cast[]
- Eric Bogosian as Defense Attorney Gary Lowenthal
- Joan Copeland as Judge Rebecca Stein
- Leslie Hendrix as Assistant M.E. Elizabeth Rodgers
- Fred J. Scollay as Judge Andrew Barsky
Guest cast[]
- Nehemiah Persoff as David Steinmetz
- Reizl Bozyk as Mrs. Liebmann
- Chip Zien as Mr. Green
- Diane Venora as Mara Feder
- Danny Maseng as Rabbi Dworkin
- John Driver as Malcolm Haynes
- Bahni Turpin as Theresa Jones
- Paula Laurence as Mrs. Franzel
- Joe Bacino as Jack O'Malley
- Cookie Rufino as Tina Montoya
- Beryl Bernay as Librarian
- Paul Schulze as EMS Medic
- George Rafferty as 1st Policeman
- Joe Perce as 2nd Policeman
- Alan J. Kitty as Reporter
References[]
- World War II
- The Holocaust
Quotes[]
| “ | My father was a G.I. in World War II. First regiment into Büchenwald. He never forgot how he felt when he saw those people. He wasn't religious, but he said after that day he believed in the devil. This stuff never went away, Mike. | ” |
–Lennie Briscoe | ||
| “ | Ben, you are walking through history. God help us if you fall down. | ” |
–Judge Rebecca Stein | ||
| “ | She wasn't protecting her father. She was protecting her son. | ” |
–Benjamin Stone | ||
Background information and notes[]
- This episode is based on the John Demjanjuk (a.k.a. "Ivan the Terrible") case. John Demjanjuk (born Ivan Mykolaiovych Demianiuk) was a retired Ukrainian-American auto worker, a former soldier in the Soviet Red Army, and a POW during World War II. John Demjanjuk was accused of being Ivan the Terrible, the nickname given to a notorious guard Ivan Marchenko, at the Treblinka extermination camp during the Holocaust. In 2011, he was accused of war crimes as a different guard named Ivan Demjanjuk, who served at the Sobibor extermination camp. Already in 1944, a cruel guard named "Ivan", sharing the distinct duties and the extremely violent behavior with a guard named "Nicholas", is mentioned in survivor literature (Rok w Treblince by Jankiel Wiernik, translated into English as A Year in Treblinka in 1945); however, very little is known about Ivan Marchenko. (Source: John Demjanjuk at Wikipedia)
- With a storyline about a Nazi collaborator, the episode title "Night and Fog" may be taken from Alain Resnais' famed 1955 documentary about the Nazi concentration camps. "Nacht und Nebel" (German for "Night and Fog") was also a directive of Adolf Hitler resulting in kidnapping and disappearance of many political activists and resistance 'helpers' throughout Nazi Germany's occupied territories. It was a specific punishment for opponents of the Nazis in occupied countries and intended to intimidate local populations into submission by denying families and friends of "les disparus" all knowledge of what had happened to them.
- Actor Eric Bogosian appears as Gary Lowenthal in this episode. Many years later, Bogosian would become a regular cast member on Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Captain Danny Ross.
- In this episode we learn that Detective Lennie Briscoe's father was a G.I. in World War II, and belonged to the first Allied regiment that went into the Büchenwald concentration camp.
- Benjamin Stone briefly mentions his daughter in this episode.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Apartment of |
Chambers of |
New York City |
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Center for |
Department of |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
| Previous episode: "Right to Counsel" |
"Night and Fog" Law & Order Season 3 |
Next episode: "Promises to Keep" |