Holocaust

So, today at school we had this Holocaust survivor come and speak to us. It was just a tad bit random, but whatever. I had heard her speak before, and she is so funny. She actually spoke at a fireside one time because she is actually a Mormon convert and a member of the El Dorado Stake. I was a little surprised though that she didn't change her presentation much from the fireside presentation. She even included scripture references from the Bible and also talked about how she had "someone watching over her" that protected her while in the camps.

She told us how it was just her and her mom, but to protect themselves they had to pretend to be sisters. I also really liked that she was very upbeat about it all. She said that she knows that we all learn from bad experiences and that they must happen for a reason. I thought that was really interesting because Sophmore year you have to read Night by Elie Weisel, another holocaust survivor, who had a very pessimistic view following his life in the concentration camps. He also talks about that he rejects some of his Jewish faith because of his life in the camps. She was just the complete opposite and actually is featured in the video record of Holocaust survivors downtown talking about her experiences.

She was just so forgiving to all the Kapo, SS and other people who were just following Hitler. She even said that she understands that they were also prisoners because if they spoke out, they would face the same fate. What was a little funny is that she even feels a little sorry for Germans who had nothing to do with the Holocaust, but still feel guilty for the treatment of the Jews. Her spirit of forgiveness was just so overwhelming, that it was shocking, she was so at peace with all those who had wronged her. Wow, if she can forgive the people who killed her family and nearly killed her, I think that we all should be able to forgive. I know that I surely need to work on that because I have a hard time sometimes forgiving people or myself for the little things. I mean, what could be worse than mass genocide? I sure can't think of anything, and I hope that this may have got you thinking.

P.S. I don't intend to offend anyone with this post. Please don't write me a bunch of angry comments, I just think that everyone in this world could use a little bit of forgiveness. We aren't perfect, I know that I am indeed far from it! So please, this post is just a thought-provoker that I thought others might enjoy.