Auschwitz & Others

Over the last few days I have watched more films than I have watched in the last year! Most of the films have been tear jerkers but more importantly they have been thought provoking. I watched two films that have turned me into an insomniac over the past couple of days. 'The boy in the striped Pyjamas' and 'God on Trial'. The first film kept me awake almost all night, I spent the night thinking and going over what I would have done if I was a Jew in a concentration camp or a Nazi General or a member of the generals family? Would I have stood up for the Jews or turned my back against them?

At the risk of spoiling the film for those who have not watched the film, I'll just say that both films are based on the experience of the Jews in concentration camps. The trial of God is said to have been held at Auschwitz. I have heard the stories several times and read a lot about the atrocities committed during those times but seeing a depiction of the scenes with all the human emotions potrayed filled me with horror, anger, awe, wrath, and of course I produced buckets of tears.

I have asked myself and others several questions over the past few days. Why does evil always seem to triumph over good? Why do people choose the path of least resistance and go with the tide of popularity instead of standing up and sticking their heads out? Why do I say Yes instead of shouting NO? Why do I sit back and watch people being mistreated and either turn my back or pretend that nothing has happened? Why do I not stand up for what I believe in instead of cowering behind the legs of others? Why? WHY? WHY? Why does goodness seem to be the sissy way of going about things? Why is it easy to divide ourselves into groups based on our silly classification systems? Why is someone mocked for being different and others are counted as members of the 'IN' group?

God on Trial was thought provoking and the conclusion of the matter was that was God was guilty of breaking His convenant with the Jews. One of the prisoners who had not known that he was to die that night started sobbing hysterically when he realized he had been scheduled to visit the gas chambers he asked the following question 'Now that we have found God guilty, what do we do now?' He had his question answered by another prisoner who said ' We pray to God'. Then all the prisoners start to recite one of the Psalms with their hands covering their heads in place of their prayer cloths. The chanting was beautiful. It seemed such a fitting end for it showed the helplessness of humans in the face of death! We don't have all the answers and we never will. Death is what we try to avoid when we allow evil to take the place of good but there is no escaping death. It will come for us all without exception so why are we so scared?

My small group is studying a book called Celebration of Disciplines and it has a quote by Thomas Merton in it. It goes thus "The person who has meditated on the Passions of Christ but has not meditated on the extermination camps of Dachau and Auschwitz has not yet fully entered into the experience of Christianity in our time. I would add that the killing camps in the Sudan, the ethnic cleansings of the Uzbeks and other such groups around the world are issues that we should not just meditate on but pray about.

The films are only just that films, these events happened and so many lives were affected and I cant even begin to imagine the suffering and pain they all went through. It hurts even more to know that these things happen on a daily basis all around the globe. I have no answers and no ideas for now on what can be done but hopefully I will somehow be a Voice for the many without a voice, eyes for those who cannot see and hands to those who have lost their arms in whatever struggles engulfed their lands!