I am a great admirer of the late novelist, Walker Percy (admittedly, he is not everyone's cup of tea). The main characters in his books generally suffer from some wound or affliction - often a physical disability in conjunction with an injury to the psyche or soul - and the themes usually involve sin and redemption. In his novel, The Thanatos Syndrome, there is an interlude entitled "Father Smith's Confession", a deeply thoughtful meditation on the nature of evil, and how seemingly kind and intelligent people can find themselves willfully committing the worst sort of horrors in order to achieve some "higher good." Father Smith reveals to a friend his experience as a traveler in Germany between the world wars, and a subsequent trip as a soldier in the U.S. Army in the final days of WWII. He recounts the shock of discovering that the intellectual and cheerful hosts of his boyhood visit had been involved in the grisliest excesses of the Nazis, including diabolical experiments on innocent children. At the end of his story, Father Smith explains to his friend why he subsequently became a priest:
"In the end one must choose - given the chance."
"Choose what?"
"Life or death. What else?"
6 comments:
During our time in Munich, when it was still West Germany, we went to Dachau. Gut-wrenching doesn't describe it, and it wasn't even one of the worst.
I missed visiting any of the concentration camps while stationed in Germany. I regret that. More so, after reading Rachel's post.
Count yourself fortunate, JeffS. It's not an experience I would recommend for anyone, even the psychologically healthy. There are some things no normal human should look at, not even to satisfy curiosity. Thank God I left my children in the Perlacher Forst Army nursery that day.
I realize that, Rebecca. I am well aware of that abhorrent history through reading and videos. In some regards, I do feel better about not seeing the camps in person.
But some things must be experienced, whether we like it or not. Viewing a bloody battlefield anywhere; visiting Arlington Cemetary; looking at the shattered remains of Iraqi vehicles parked out in the Kuwaiti desert; or looking at the East German border when it was still an armed line between the Soviet Union and the Free World. We all need a firm reminder of the ugliness humans can and will impose on each other, for whatever reason. It's a reality check.
And that reality check is sorely missing with some people today.
I visited Auschwitz some years ago. It's a horrible place. But even worse is the remains of the adjourning camp Birkenau. a few of the "living quarters" have been preserved, but the rest are long gone. Except for the chimneys. There are chimneys stretching as far as the eye can see. This is where the enormity of the place downs on you.
Hundreds of thousands of peple cramped in, waiting for their turn to die.
The place reeks of pure evil, you can still smell it in the air.
But I agree with Jeff, some things need to be seen, no matter how horrid it is. On my visit there was a class of German high-schoolers there as well. At first they were all cocky and bullshitting - perfectly normal for a group of 16-year olds - but as the tour progressed they became more and more silent. At the end you could see in their eyes they were thinking: "I wonder what my granddad did during the war."
That was a very valuable lesson for them.
I was there last year, almost to the day. To me, the most heart-rending was the display full of luggage, mostly suitcases. Why?
Because of the names painted on them.
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