33. Slovik’s Scheme
Slovik seems to have figured that confessing to desertion would get him sent to jail. As a former jailbird who had done multiple stints behind bars, jail held no terrors for him. As he saw it, staying safe, sound, dry, and well-fed in a military prison was preferable to risking life and limb, and dealing with the cold and mud and other hardships of frontline combat.
Sure, desertion could be punished with death, but nobody had been executed for that offense. Let the other suckers get shot up or maimed, seemed to be Slovik’s logic. By inviting the military to punish him, and embracing that punishment, he would achieve his goal of avoiding hazardous duty, and sit out the war in safety. It was a foolproof way to game the system and manipulate it for his benefit. Or so he thought.