I’m beginning research on the Jewish Holocaust of WWII for a school paper. I am to relate the suffering the Jewish people encountered and endured to the Christian view of suffering. That’s going to be a tough assignment for me. I read over some of the history of the Holocaust last night. It made me want to cry. I cannot imagine how one person or group of persons could get to the point where they thought it feasible to exterminate other humans at will. The suffering – the senselessness – why?
What was more alarming was that nothing was done about it for such a long period of time. Refugees on ships were turned away and eventually ended up back in Germany – and ultimately killed. I can only think that fear governed the times. And then there is the debate that say that this never really happened – 6 million people slaughtered – no way. I say, yes, way. It happened. When evil rules without opposition, even something so horrid as this can happen.
I know that this is not the typical message that I post, but I think it merits consideration. I think we need to remember. Let’s do an attitude check. Who is it that we think we’re superior to? The homeless? The less-fortunate? I believe that if we look within, we can find an answer. And, when we do, we can – no, we must, exterminate that attitude of superiority. We are all God’s children – and He is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34) He doesn’t show us partiality. He shows us all His love.
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Sanya,
I'm not sure if you knew this or not, but I taught freshman research writing at Indiana State University for 10+ years (before switching jobs last May) and a sample thesis statement I used to illustrate "what makes a good one" was on that very topic. As you might imagine, then, a hand full of students would always choose the Holocaust as their research project. It seems I learned something new every time I graded one of those papers--Dr. Mengele's twisted involvement (how could he go home to his own children after torturing other children, especially in his twin experiments?), or whether Hitler would've been different (less destructive) if on modern-day medications, etc. Most students focused on the horrific conditions of the prisoners, however, and I'm like you...I just can't fathom humans subjecting other humans to that. Terre Haute, IN has a wonderful Holocaust museum called C.A.N.D.L.E.S. that is run by a twin survivor named Eva Kor. If you google her name or the museum's name, I'm sure you'll read about it. If you decide to make the trip to visit you can stay with me! :-) The museum had to be completely restored a few years ago after it was targeted for a hate crime by arson. A lot of precious artifacts and documents were lost. (Sorry--that was probably WAY more than you wanted.)
Kathy,
Thank you for the great information! I will google Eva Kor and see what I find. Thanks again for the fantastic insight!