Friday, May 9, 2008

The Jews made me cry

I'm reading this book - The Courage to Care:

"A companion volume to the film of the same title, this collection of personal testimonies of rescuers and survivors recounts some of the heroic activities of non-Jews on behalf of Jews in various European countries during the Holocaust. Elegantly crafted with old pictures of the principals, this engaging but all-to-brief book provides a refreshingly uplifting record of truly compassionate people willing to risk their lives for their fellows. While some attribute their actions to parental upbringing, others to religious or humanitarian impulses, most see their rescue efforts as unspectacular and natural. Greenberg provides a historical overview and Wiesel and others reflect on why some took risks while most did not. This will appeal to scholars and laypersons alike."

We have all seen pictures and film of emaciated victims of the Nazis and the piles of bodies in shallow graves. It's all very fucked up and horrible, but I'm kinda used to it, you know? I'm reading this book with first hand accounts of what motivated people to save the lives of some of the Jews they encountered, and it just broke my heart as it did theirs. Fuckers made me cry.

A sympathizer sees: The final moments before death a man with his son are in a long line to a pit of bodies that they will join. The fathers face is without emotion. His 10 year old boy was weeping. The image of this man stroking the hair of his son as they shuffle closer to slaughter... I'm crying again. At work. Fuck. Anyway, no parent should feel what that man felt. And he was in line with so many others doing the same thing. I guess I'm putting myself in his place. There are so many other storys. I cried a couple times last night. I have to keep reading. I must witness. They deserve that at least.

1 comment:

I'm Scooter, but I might be a troll. said...

Kim, thank you for speaking out. This horror, and the horrors in the Balkans and the horrors in Rwanda and the horrors in the Sudan and the many other horrors great and small must be witnessed, must be spoken out against, and must NEVER be forgotten.

You're deep. You're Kim. I rejoice in this.