“Anger and hate are seeds that germinate war. Forgiveness is a seed of peace. It is the ultimate act of self-healing.”- Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz (page 133). Eva Mozes Kor has survived one of the worst events in human history, the Holocaust, and decided that what would heal her was to forgive. Through this act alone, we can see crystal clear what kind of person Eva was. The quote above perfectly represents this passionate soul, as in the quote she speaks of how war and hatred can be forgiven. This shows that though she had battled with what happened in that concentration camp, she still found it in herself to forgive, and most importantly she found that forgiveness for the atrocities committed against her was one of the only ways she could cope. Forgiving Dr. Münch and Dr. Mengele was one of the ways that she healed the deep scars that the Nazis left on her. …show more content…
One example that she gave near the beginning of her book, was during the tattoo procedures she was moving and rebelling against the Nazis, while her sister Miriam stood still while getting her tattoo. This shows that even though she couldn’t fight the Nazis directly, she could do her best to inconvenience them and rebel against them. This could be considered one of the first character traits that she exhibits during her stay in the concentration camp. Although she discovers that for the sake of Miriam, she has to comply. The reasoning for this is that she quickly finds that even though they are Mengele twins, there are still consequences for all action that she tries to take. This is supported by saying that during her first day, during the roll call she “understood instinctively that [all of the twin’s] lives depended on cooperation.” (page
He should not have forgiven him because, “One soldier got up from the bench and looked at us as if we were animals in a zoo” (Wiesenthal 20). “Rectifying a misdeed is a matter to be settled between the perpetrator and this victim” (Wiesenthal 54). This shows only a small portion of what the Jewish people were treated as during this time. They were treated like animals, yet they are completely human. Also, an approximate eleven million people were killed during the Holocaust. Six million were Polish citizens, three million were Polish Jews, and another three million were Polish Christians. A single person who was not affected by the soldiers decisions cannot represent the eleven million people who were affected. In order to achieve actual “forgiveness” he would need to speak to every single person who was
Asher Lev and his mentor, Jacob Kahn illustrated a relationship of God’s creation and temptation from the devil. Throughout the novel, Kahn pushes Asher to devote his life to art, and describes it as “a tradition; it is a religion...It has it’s fanatics, and I will force [Asher] to master it” (Potok 213). Throughout Jewish texts, it is clearly stated that God’s people, whom Asher Lev belongs to in the novel, will face temptations from The Other Side that will lead them away from Him. As art is against Orthodox Jewish beliefs, another Jew persuading and encouraging Asher Lev to continue his passion of painting, can be a symbol of the devil in disguise. This is furthered, as Kahn introduced his pupil to many
Simon Wiesenthal’s book The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness spoke to me about the question of forgiveness and repentance. Simon Wiesenthal was a Holocaust prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. He experienced many brutal and uneasy experiences that no human being should experience in their lifetime and bear to live with it. Death, suffering, and despair were common to Simon Wiesenthal that he questioned his own religious faith because he asks why would his God allow the Holocaust happen to his people to be slaughter and not do anything to save them. During Simon Wiesenthal time as a Jewish Holocaust, Simon was invited to a military hospital where a dying Nazi SS officer wanted to have a conversation. The Nazi SS officer told Simon his story of his life and confesses to Simon of his horrific war crimes. Ultimately, the SS officer wanted forgiveness for what he done to Simon’s Jewish people. Simon Wiesenthal could not respond to his request, because he did not know what to do with a war criminal that participate in mass genocide to Simon’s people. Simon Wiesenthal lives throughout his life on asking the same crucial question, “What would I have done?” (Wiesenthal 98). If the readers would be on the exact situation as Simon was
In researching testimony, I chose to write about Eva Kor’s. Eva and her sister Miriam were taken to Auschwitz II- Birkenau from Ceheiu, a Romanian ghetto, in the 1940’s. Eva’s story starts out in Port, Romania, where she was born and raised with her family before the Holocaust. Eva had two older sisters, Aliz and Edit, who were murdered during the Holocaust along with her parents. The last time Eva saw her father and sisters was when they arrived in Auschwitz.
Forgiveness is not a one time thing it is something you have to deal with all the time. I 've discovered through life that feelings are strong, many people will tell you how you are suppose to feel and also I learned that most people do not want to feel the pain of the event that happened to them repeatedly. In this case we are talking about forgiveness to Karl for the things he did in the holocaust. Though it may be difficult I would say that I forgave him and after he passed away I would have found reasons to truly forgive him.
For example, she had to go through father dying, She always has her own way of doing things and will never do anything that she does not want to do. She will say whatever comes to mind, even if it is offensive or rude. For example, she would bicker back and forth with John Reid telling him horrible things and not feel any sympathy for his feelings:“I hate you Mr.Reid. And I’ll find a way of getting back at you!”.
Forgiveness is crucial for a clear conscience and peace of mind for the both of them. However, all of this is arguable by the fact that today’s experiences are incomparable to those of Hitler’s times. One cannot begin to place one in each other’s shoes and know exactly how to respond to the events happening. One can only guess how they would respond, but until they are in that moment, all plausible reasoning can change. Nevertheless, forgiveness continues to be an aspect of everyday life in every century.
In her memoir Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, Immaculée Ilibagiza endures horrific tragedies as everyone around her is viciously killed by Hutus during Rwanda’s genocide. In the course of just three months she loses almost everyone that she loves except her oldest brother, Aimable. However, despite everything that she goes through, Immaculée forgives the Hutus that wronged her and changed her life forever. Immaculée did not forgive for the good of others but rather for herself. It would do her no good to hold on to her negative feelings for the rest of her life as they would continue to eat at her. With the help of her extreme devotion to God she was able to let go and move on with her life, but without forgetting what had happened to her, her family, and many of the people that were close to her. Without her love for God, she would not have survived living in the bathroom for so long. It was very hard for her to forgive those that trespassed against her, and almost unimaginable to readers that she had the ability to do so, but it was the right thing for her to do.
The position to choose between forgiving one’s evil oppressor and letting him die in unrest is unlike any other. The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal explores the possibilities and limitations of forgiveness through the story of one Jew in Nazi Germany. In the book, Wiesenthal details his life in the concentration camp, and the particular circumstance in which a dying Nazi asks him for forgiveness for all the heinous acts committed against Jews while under the Nazi regime. Wiesenthal responds to this request by leaving the room without giving forgiveness. The story closes with Wiesenthal posing the question, “What would you have done?” Had I been put in the position that Wiesenthal was in, I would ultimately choose to forgive the Nazi on the basis
In Simon Wiesenthal’s The Sunflower on the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness the author is asked to fulfill a dying solider last wish to forgive him because of the crimes he has committed against the Jewish people of the Holocaust. When Wiesenthal is asked for forgiveness, he simply leaves the room. Wiesenthal states that the encounter with the dying man left “a heavy burden” (Wiesenthal 55) on him. The confessions in which he admitted to have “profoundly disturbed [him]” (Wiesenthal 55). As Wiesenthal tries to make sense of what he has encountered he begins to make excuses for why the man might have done what he did. He say...
Art has been the reflection, interpretation and representation of artists' beliefs and morals eternally. Various artists stand for different matters that quite possibly affect their lives, or might be of an interest to them. Norval Morrisseau is an artist that I was intrigued by his portrayal and the techniques used in his paintings. In this paper, we are going to look at the implementation of Morrisseau's painting style used to expose his philosophies of different aspects in his life.
An example is her torture during the majority of the book. In 6th grade she went to her friends party, and to her astonishment, a couple began making out in the closet. She called her mom to tell her what was going on and her mom told the mother ...
Her unsympathic attitude towards the characters in her stories could be seen in the way she structured that characters, situation, and the environment they’re in. She often structures the character to be very proud, and the pride of these people would not allow them to admit defeat or loss to the situation; but would instead continue to infest itself in the characters’ minds making putting them in to a false reality that they are somehow more superior then people surrounding them, by certain attributes such as their social class, race, knowledge, or heritage. Example of character like these would be Julian and his mother in her story “Everything Rises Must Converge” Julian mother was finds pride in what her grandfather was; and she finds herself to be fragile in the present state of the world for what it had changed into; but was unwilling to show her weakness to people around her. As for Julian his problem was that he was a failure to a certain extent, considering that he was a grown man still living off his mother; but yet he feels the need to not be overpower by his mother, but was unable to do so in any other but to do so by judging her judgement and, behaviour towards the African Americans.
Angeline Boulley's novel, “Firekeeper's Daughter”, is a young adult thriller that adds to the growing maze of identity, cultural history, and self-discovery. At the center of the story is an eighteen-year-old girl, Daunis Fontaine, whose mixed heritage—Native American and White—subjects her to countless issues. Personal problems, family secrets, and a dangerous undercover investigation regarding the new drug on the streets of her hometown develop into a rising conflict that will determine her life. Through rich use of cultural symbolism, compelling character development, and amazing plot structure, Boulley examines the complexities surrounding identity and the importance of embracing ancestry. Character development in "Firekeeper's Daughter" is outstanding, especially for Daunis.
“Now we come to forgiveness. Don’t worry about forgiving me right now. There are more important things. For instance: keep others safe, if they are safe. Don’t let them suffer too much. If they have to die, let it be fast. You might even provide a heaven for them. We need you for that. Hell we can create ourselves.”