What Would I Have Done?

"Ought I to have forgiven him? Was my silence at the bedside of the dying Nazi right or wrong? This is a profound moral question . . . The crux of the matter is, of course, the question of forgiveness. Forgetting is something that time alone takes care of, but forgiveness is an act of volition, and only the sufferer is qualified to make the decision" (97-98)

“What would I have done?” The question could mean so many different things. Is it asking what would I have done sitting in the room with the dying Nazi soldier? Are my choices limited to forgive or not? Is it asking what would I have done for the remainder of my life following that event?

I think each individual’s response comes down to his/her personal psychological nature and how his/her actions in that moment would affect him/herself and humanity as a whole. If you were a person who would benefit from forgiving then why not? You wouldn’t have to be doing it for the sake of the dying soldier’s conscience. You could be doing it for purely selfish reasons. However, if forgiving the soldier is made public because of you or him, you may suffer costs because of others’ judgments. You may also want to consider how your actions will affect humanity and how that will affect the world you live in. If you do not forgive you may be contributing to a cruel and uncompassionate world. If you forgive you may be sending a wrong message: no act is too evil to make it unforgiveable. Or, moreover, I took the liberty of forgiving a man for crimes in which I was not the victim. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes, "No one can forgive crimes committed against other people" (165).

What would I have done after getting out of the camp? Simon “thought the work of the commission (investigating Nazi crimes) might help [him] regain [his] faith in humanity and in the things which mankind needs in life besides the material.” (84) This may be a good way to battle emotional issues related to the event in a somewhat directly related area, but this may not be suitable for all people struggling with what to do.

An additional question must be asked: Am I forgiving the person or the act? Forgiving the act I believe will prove to be much more difficult than forgiving the person. An act in itself could be unintentional or accidental, in which case forgiveness can be granted quite easily. However, the soldier is asking for absolution for a crime which he knew full well was wrong and almost all humans would agree is 100% wrong. On the other hand, forgiving the person is something that may be more acceptable. One should consider all other actions in the person’s life. Is this his first and only crime ever. Has he helped and/or saved any other lives. Has a significant amount of time passed since the incident and what has he done to repent? Having read the book the audience knows that the mother of the dying soldier says: "Ah, if you only knew what a fine young fellow our son was. He was always ready to help without being asked. At school he was really a model pupil--till he joined the Hitler Youth, and that completely altered him" (90). Was the soldier a good person that was only forced to do horrible things?

The Dalai Lama believes that one must forgive but not necessarily forget. He might be suggesting that we forgive so we can move on, but at the same time never forget the lessons that have been learned.

Jean Amery, “I refuse any reconciliation with the criminals.”

In conclusion, if I could have done anything, I would have figured out a way to end all killing and human suffering in the world while still assuring Nazis repent and see the error in their ways.