Monday, September 20, 2004
Why did it happen?
Last night I watched "The Last Days", James Moll's documentary on the fate of the Hungarian Jews during final phase of the Holocaust. Steven Spielberg was the executive producer and this is part of his work with the Shoah Foundation
One of the first statements of the film is that the Nazis pursued their final solution not only in the face of defeat, but diverted resources that could have prolonged the war effort to the extermination of Jews. Hitlers last statement to the German people entreated them to carry on the war against "International Jewry". This is one of the hardest things for the survivors to accept, that the Germans and their allies would continue to pursue their genocidal agenda, not only against all logic, and beyond what emotion could motivate, but even in spite of personal and national instincts of self-preservation. One illustration of this was a German colonel who was brought to Paul Parks, one of the Army doctors who liberated one of the concentration camps. When Parks demanded an explanation, the colonel spit in his face. Parks didn't flinched when he stated that his response was to shoot the German officer on the spot.
One conclusion I can offer is that if the determination of the Nazis to carry out their plan didn't seem natural, a case can be made that it was supernatural. Like Corrie ten Boom I reject out of hand the notion that that is was a specific punishment from God for rejecting the Gospel or any other offense. Many couldn't reconcile the premise that the Holocaust wasn't God's will with the idea that God's will is sovereign. In other words, if it wasn't God's will, why did it happen then? One of the survivors upon reaching the camp cried out "Where is God?"
Irene Zisblatt, after describing an atrocity that she witnessed said, "That's when I stopped talking to God" Bill Basch, after returning to Auschwitz after more than 50 years was overcome with emotion and asked, "Why did I survive? Why did God spare me?"
While I can't answer any of the survivors questions with any authority, for myself I've had experience of being under God's protection and far from it. I've also had experience of tragedy that seems random and unconnected with any action of the victim. And yet it's my personal belief that the Jewish people have an ancient enemy that they share with all humanity that God is constantly seeking to protect us from. For me, even this imperfect world and our own folly isn't enough to explain the Holocaust. Only the agency of a will and intelligence that goes beyond a single lifespan or human organization makes sense to me. Anti-semitism didn't die with Hitler or his generation. At this moment, new perpetrators plot the eradication of the Jews and the state of Israel. I respectfully submit that one reason for the Holocaust lies in the fact that even though many Jews believed in the God of the Torah, most ceased to believe in the adversary described there. And the reason I think it's worth mentioning is I also believe that the ancient enemy has already set his plan in motion for a second Shoah.
One of the first statements of the film is that the Nazis pursued their final solution not only in the face of defeat, but diverted resources that could have prolonged the war effort to the extermination of Jews. Hitlers last statement to the German people entreated them to carry on the war against "International Jewry". This is one of the hardest things for the survivors to accept, that the Germans and their allies would continue to pursue their genocidal agenda, not only against all logic, and beyond what emotion could motivate, but even in spite of personal and national instincts of self-preservation. One illustration of this was a German colonel who was brought to Paul Parks, one of the Army doctors who liberated one of the concentration camps. When Parks demanded an explanation, the colonel spit in his face. Parks didn't flinched when he stated that his response was to shoot the German officer on the spot.
One conclusion I can offer is that if the determination of the Nazis to carry out their plan didn't seem natural, a case can be made that it was supernatural. Like Corrie ten Boom I reject out of hand the notion that that is was a specific punishment from God for rejecting the Gospel or any other offense. Many couldn't reconcile the premise that the Holocaust wasn't God's will with the idea that God's will is sovereign. In other words, if it wasn't God's will, why did it happen then? One of the survivors upon reaching the camp cried out "Where is God?"
Irene Zisblatt, after describing an atrocity that she witnessed said, "That's when I stopped talking to God" Bill Basch, after returning to Auschwitz after more than 50 years was overcome with emotion and asked, "Why did I survive? Why did God spare me?"
While I can't answer any of the survivors questions with any authority, for myself I've had experience of being under God's protection and far from it. I've also had experience of tragedy that seems random and unconnected with any action of the victim. And yet it's my personal belief that the Jewish people have an ancient enemy that they share with all humanity that God is constantly seeking to protect us from. For me, even this imperfect world and our own folly isn't enough to explain the Holocaust. Only the agency of a will and intelligence that goes beyond a single lifespan or human organization makes sense to me. Anti-semitism didn't die with Hitler or his generation. At this moment, new perpetrators plot the eradication of the Jews and the state of Israel. I respectfully submit that one reason for the Holocaust lies in the fact that even though many Jews believed in the God of the Torah, most ceased to believe in the adversary described there. And the reason I think it's worth mentioning is I also believe that the ancient enemy has already set his plan in motion for a second Shoah.
papijoe 6:01 AM
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