About Eine Kleine Frohike

In “Eine Kleine Frohike,” a man asks the Lone Gunmen to spy on an old lady he suspects of being a former Nazi spy who poisoned his father because his father was part of the French Resistance. The guys reluctantly agree to find out if the old woman really is the Nazi and to have her brought to justice.

But I’m confused. It surely was not a crime for a German operative to kill a member of the French Resistance; many members of the Resistance were killed during the German occupation because it was war. It would be no more a crime to poison a member of the Resistance than it would be for an American soldier to kill a German spy. Both the member of Resistance and the Nazi woman were fighting for what they believed in; there was no crime committed in her killing him. He died as a patriot of France and should be remembered as a hero, but certainly it is not right for the man’s son to go looking for his killer seeking revenge. Should all descendents of WWII casualties go after the people who killed their relatives? Once peace is declared, that’s it. Reparations can be paid, and justice can be brought on those who committed war crimes, but neither side can seek vengeance for people killed according to the rules of war. And resistance fighters are fair game!

Now, in the episode there are certain facts the guys don’t know when they decide to help the son; I’m trying not to spoil those surprises for people who haven’t seen the episode. But the point is, at the time the Lone Gunmen agree to spy on the old woman, they believe she is guilty of nothing other than being a retired operative for German intelligence. Also, she had since become a U.S. citizen. Why would they agree to harass this innocent old lady? Did the writers think that simply being a former Nazi was sufficient evidence that she had to be arrested? That sounds a little fascist to me; aren’t the Lone Gunmen supposed to stand for freedom and American ideals? Or am I missing something?