We remember: A Struggle Between Good and Evil

I am currently on the plane leaving Poland to head home. Being on this long flight has given me time to reflect. My experience this week has been nothing short of incredible. It is difficult to put into words the amount of knowledge and experience I have received. My knowledge of the Shoah and Jewish-Christian relations has increased further than I ever thought possible. I have noticed a reoccurring theme of good vs evil throughout this trip. The Shoah was an experience of absolute evil, but what I have learned is that the Shoah also contained some of the purest forms of good. It is vital for our future to learn from this evil and to try to develop a world of good.

The suffering of Jews preceded the Holocaust. This hate went as far back as the 1500’s when Martin Luther announced his dissertation demonetizing and denouncing the Jewish religion. Since then it has only gotten worse. The Shoah was a break in history, the worst case of inhumaneness the world had ever seen. A quote by Father Emil Shofani states:

“It is not about good vs evil, but where is the person, the respect for a person? Where is the human being? That is the question.”

The concept of good vs evil can be seen as a choice. The topic of whether it was a choice is controversial. I personally believe that it was both. I think it was a choice to join Hitler’s regime. I think it was a choice to pull the trigger on an innocent child. I think it was a choice to lead a family into the gas chambers. However there was fear. Fear led to peer pressure of doing what the other SS men had to do. Fear of not following orders and what those consequences may be for you and your family. Many believed they did not have a choice; therefore they were not good nor evil they were just human. Humans following orders and doing a job to survive.

The struggle between good and evil is an ongoing battle even today. Over this past week I have seen many memorials that commemorate the 6 million lives lost. Memorials to honor those who have suffered. When I was visiting the grounds of what was the Plaszow concentration camp, I came across this large monument. It depicted five people with sullen faces. There was a large crack across the five figures. To me this crack represents the break in history that is the Shoah. The monument is there to remind us to learn from the past. It reminds us to remember the evil and build a future of good. They are unfortunately far too many instances of evil surrounding the holocaust even today. There are still holocaust deniers that are attempting to educate the youth of false facts and hate speech. There are still anti-Semites who praise the work Hitler had done. In the words of Stanley Ronell we must “deny the deniers.” We can no longer be bystanders. We must act against the hate and continue the legacy of the 6 million people who were murdered. It is our job as witnesses to educate others about the tragic past of the holocaust. As the saying goes "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

This image depicts the monument on the ground of what was the Plaszow concentration camp. This monument was created to commemorate the Poles and Jews who lost their lives there.

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The Presence of Absence

The presence of absence and the absence of presence has been a prominent theme throughout this course. I have stumbled upon many places in Poland that have reminded me of this theme. One place in particular that stood out to me as symbolizing this theme is Mariana Kolodzieja’s art exhibit. Mariana Kolodzieja was a Polish Christian holocaust survivor. He became one of the first prisoners in the 1940 transport to Auschwitz, his number was 432. In the absence of speech, Mariana chose to portray his personal experience of the Shoah using stunning images and illustrations. Mariana stated,

“… this is not an exhibition, nor art. These are not pictures. These are words locked in drawings. /…/ I propose a journey by way of this labyrinth marked by the experience of the fabric of death. Please, read my designed words, words born also from the yearning for clarity of criteria, from the yearning to understand what separates good from evil, truth from lie, art from appearance. /…/ It is a rendering of honor to all those who have vanished in the ashes.” (Mariana Kolodzieja, nr 432)

Mariana is stating that the presence of his art is honoring the absence of the 6 million lives lost. He asks visitors to read his work, to begin to understand his experience and to understand the difference between good and evil. He wants us to remember and honor those who lost their lives in this atrocious battle of hate.

Mariana’s artwork often contained sketches of Maximillian Kolbe. As I stated before in my previous blog post, Maximillian Kolbe was a Franciscan friar who became a prisoner in Auschwitz. He heroically gave his life for another man in order to save him from his ultimate death. Kolbe represented the presence of love when it was absent, the presence of kindness when it was scarce, and the presence of hope when there was none. I believe Mariana was fascinated with Kolbe because of the effect his presence had on the morale of the other prisoners. Another example of the absence of hate and the presence of kindness is shown in the memoir The Holocaust Kingdom by Alexander Donat. Alexander recalls a particular instance when compassion was expressed in a place where it was far too absent. He was on his way to the Radom ghetto after leaving Lublin. Alexander as well as several other prisoners were desperate, exhausted, and ultimately dying. They were invited to this Jewish man’s home for dinner on the Sabbath. Not only was Alexander “well” fed, but he also received medical attention as well as rations from other Jewish people in the ghetto. This act of kindness awakened the humanity in Alexander.

This painting was completed by Mariana Kolodzieja. The man illustrated in this painting is Maximillian Kolbe, number 16620. He is wearing a crown of thorns to represent that his martyrdom is that of Jesus.

The theme, the presence of absence and the absence of presence, can also be visible in an object itself rather than an exact event or location. This object is a flower. Flowers are used by Christians as a way to pay respect and honor those who have passed whereas someone who follows Judaism uses stones. Flowers represent beauty, growth, renewal, and hope. When I was visiting Auschwitz II Birkenau, I noticed beautiful white roses placed intermediately throughout the camp. Block number 16A had the most flowers. This block was used to imprison polish children of war. Many perished in the gas chamber as well as from the horrendous conditions. The roses were perfectly aligned on a barrack bed. The presence of the roses represents the absence of the polish children as well as all those who lost their lives in Birkenau, they represent hope for a better future. This theme was also noticeable when visiting the town of Oswiecim. We visited a field that once held a beautiful synagogue. This synagogue was the biggest in the town at the time, it could hold 2000 people. It was unfortunately destroyed by the Nazi regime during the Shoah. In the vacant space of what was a synagogue now grows angelic yellow flowers. The presence of the blooming flowers represents the absence of the synagogue. It was a remarkable site.

This image depicts the white roses on the bed in barrack 16A. A tribute to the children of war who lost their lives in the hell of Auschwitz II Birkenau.

This image portrays the angelic yellow flowers that grow and bloom in the vacant field where a synagogue once stood.

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Where Was God?

I have been in Oswiecim for two full days now. My experience thus far has been overwhelming. My knowledge on Jewish culture, Jewish-Christian relations, as well as the Shoah itself has grown exponentially. On our second day we visited Auschwitz I. When I entered the camp my mind went numb. I think it was then when I saw the infamous sign, “Arbeit Macht Frei,” that I truly realized that I was standing on the world’s largest burial ground. As we walked through the camp Marta, our tour guide, was re-counting the different events that took place in Auschwitz. She took us inside barrack number 11. This barrack was known for its inhumane acts of violence and torture. It contained a dark room, a starvation room , stand up chambers, as well as numerous different torture cells. Marta retold the story of Maximillian Kolbe. Maximillian Kolbe was a Franciscan Friar as well as a prisoner in Auschwitz. In 1941 a prisoner escaped. The SS men have this policy known as “collective responsibility” meaning that if one prisoner escapes ten people will be held responsible for his actions and suffer the consequences, and that’s exactly what happened. Ten random inmates were selected for death when Maximillian Kolbe heroically stepped up and offered to take the place of another prisoner by the name of Franciszek Gajownicze. He began to cry, "My wife! My children!” Kolbe wanted to give this man a chance at life. Kolbe was placed in the starvation cell with the nine other prisoners for two weeks. He survived the cell, however the SS men immediately injected him with phenol which caused him to have a heart attack and die. Another atrocity that took place at Auschwitz occurred in barrack number 10. In this barrack a gynecologist by the name of Dr. Clauberg would use women as guinea pigs and preform sterilization procedures. This was done so the she would not pass down her Jewish genetics to her offspring. Amongst all the various types of torture the most well known was the gas chambers. Hundreds of inmates of all ages were told to strip and step into the “showers”. When they were all inside, SS men would pour Zyklon B gas into the chamber which caused the prisoners to suffer a slow death of suffocation.

Auschwitz was a hell. It is difficult to understand how such events took place; why so many innocent victims lost their lives and suffered. It is fair in this scenario to ask the question “Where was God?” A quote from Father Jan Andrzej Kloczowski of Poland states,

“Auschwitz has become synonymous with inhumanity, the remoteness of God and mass murder. With the annihilating fight against the Jewish people at its centre, it was also a frontal attack against the biblical revelation and its image of man. Auschwitz must not be victorious. We must not allow ourselves to become hardened and embittered by the shock of Auschwitz, but instead reinstitute humaneness in its rights and regain the hope which enable us to believe and trust in love.” (“Did God Suffer in Auschwitz? Where Was He? Why Was He Silent?” pg. 164. Para 5.)

Auschwitz was perpetrated with a destructive force that attempted to complete the goal of the final solution, the mass murder of a race of human beings. This goal was not reached, love won as it always does, and Auschwitz was not victorious in achieving the final goal. After many years of fear and sorrow Judaism began to rise from the ashes and become a prominent religion again. Auschwitz has shown us that we must create a civilization of love with a force stronger than the one that perpetrated the camp.

There will never be a true answer to the question “Where was God?” I do not know if God was there or if there is a God, but I do know that through all the evil there was love and hope. Hope that one day the victims would again see their loved ones and freedom. Maybe God was in the prisoner who gave up food rations to an inmate in need or maybe God was in the child of war who was comforting his ill friend. Maybe the love of man is the essence of what many refer to as God.

This image depicts the rows of barracks that were used to preform inhumane experiments, torture victims, and hold prisoners.

This image depicts the wall of the gas chamber. There are scratch marks left behind by the innocent victims as they tried to escape their ultimate death.

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