Holocaust

Dachau Concentration Camp

“Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others, we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor

 

death march sculpture, Dachau

I suspected that this afternoon would be a heavy moment. As I made my way towards Munich, a visit to the Dachau Concentration Camp was on my agenda. Driving through the verdant countryside, imagining the horrors around the bend was difficult. 

Dachau, the longest working concentration camp of the Nazi regime, represents the most egregious violations of human dignity ever perpetuated. Tens of thousands were murdered here simply for being Jewish, a Jehovah’s witness, a gypsy, gay, or a political opponent of Nazi injustice. Hundreds of thousands more were made to labor for the war under horrific conditions. 

Holocaust Memorial, Berlin

Walking around the grounds, my heart felt weighed down. It was as if stones and buildings still remembered the cries of those imprisoned there. I cannot imagine how one group of people can inflict such cruelty on fellow human beings. But I have seen glimpses. All it takes is small steps toward dehumanizing another group and the brutal bullying of inhumanity follows.

If all are created in the image of God, then dehumanization is the defacement of what God has deemed excellent and good. To act heartlessly is to usurp God’s intention for one another. Jesus models an ever-expanding love and mercy, not a harsh and cruel judgment. 

"May the example of those who exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted Nazism
help us to unite the living for the defence of peace and freedom and in respect of their fellow men."
Memorial Plaque, Dachau

Empty Chair Holocaust Memorial
Leipzig

This is why I can’t understand why the Christians across our country are clamoring for the harsh treatment of people who are immigrants or trans. Why deny compassion for those on the margins? Didn’t Jesus welcome and embrace the outsiders, the despised, and the ostracized? Aren’t we called to do the same? Did Jesus encourage any exceptions? I think not.

The weight of the holocaust reminds me of what humanity can justify in the name of religion. The Christian Church in Germany was complicit with Hitler and only a small group of pastors spoke out – with the result being imprisonment or death. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one such voice that was snuffed out. From the Cost of Discipleship, he says, 

“Every moment and every situation challenges us to action and to obedience. We have literally no time to sit down and ask ourselves whether so-and-so is our neighbor or not. We must get into action and obey - we must behave like a neighbor to him.”

But speaking out comes with a personal cost. We may be attacked, misunderstood, and silenced. So when I am worried about speaking out, I remember what German theologian and pastor Martin Niemoller said:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out

—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out

—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out

—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me

—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Never Again memorial, Dachau