Horrible. This is the only word I could utter after having spent the morning combing the halls of the Holocaust Memorial in Israel. Image after image, each one painting a picture of the horror of human hate. I worked very hard not to let the images sink in, at least at first. Then I turned the corner and was face to face with the photograph that broke down my resolve not to cry. It was a print of a woman clinging to her child with her back to her soon to be executioner. The muzzle of the rifle was trained on the neck of the mom, her body tense expecting the blow but still shielding the child from the gruesome sight. The image was recorded just moments before the shot. How horrible to be put in a position of desiring to protect your child and at the same time being helpless against your attacker. It was in the moments of weeping before this print I thought of something that had not occurred to me. Who took the picture?
Who would want a picture of such a nightmarish sight? Why at that moment did he squeeze the shutter open? Was it by accident? Did he really want an image of the bullet piercing the mother and her son, and through mistaken timing had recorded an image milliseconds earlier than intended? Was this to be a trophy for the killer? Was this print circulated around the barracks and laughed at by spineless weak minded murders? The intended reason for the image may never be known but its affect on me is something I will never forget.
In my moment of anguish as I empathized with this mom I was interrupted by a plump red faced woman who blurted out “This is more than I can take, let’s go eat.” I couldn’t believe my ears. Lets go eat? That’s all she had to say about this memorial? This monument represents six million lives that were stripped of dignity, starved of the basics of humanity, and murdered. I guess a representation of such great sacrifice isn’t enough to keep the attention of the complacent millions whose number one is themselves. I almost asked God to let her choke on her “much needed” lunch but asked for forgiveness instead.
There is no happy ending to this story. I left the memorial, dejected, hurt and angry. That day I didn’t feel very Christian. I really didn’t like some people and wondered how God puts up with us.
It has been a week or so since I was there and I still am not real sure what I can do with the emotions I have. So I pray and trust God will give me the answers and grace to press out a life lesson from it all. I am working to understand how to love those like Hitler, and plump red faced self absorbed people. Not there yet.
“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
-Jesus
Who would want a picture of such a nightmarish sight? Why at that moment did he squeeze the shutter open? Was it by accident? Did he really want an image of the bullet piercing the mother and her son, and through mistaken timing had recorded an image milliseconds earlier than intended? Was this to be a trophy for the killer? Was this print circulated around the barracks and laughed at by spineless weak minded murders? The intended reason for the image may never be known but its affect on me is something I will never forget.
In my moment of anguish as I empathized with this mom I was interrupted by a plump red faced woman who blurted out “This is more than I can take, let’s go eat.” I couldn’t believe my ears. Lets go eat? That’s all she had to say about this memorial? This monument represents six million lives that were stripped of dignity, starved of the basics of humanity, and murdered. I guess a representation of such great sacrifice isn’t enough to keep the attention of the complacent millions whose number one is themselves. I almost asked God to let her choke on her “much needed” lunch but asked for forgiveness instead.
There is no happy ending to this story. I left the memorial, dejected, hurt and angry. That day I didn’t feel very Christian. I really didn’t like some people and wondered how God puts up with us.
It has been a week or so since I was there and I still am not real sure what I can do with the emotions I have. So I pray and trust God will give me the answers and grace to press out a life lesson from it all. I am working to understand how to love those like Hitler, and plump red faced self absorbed people. Not there yet.
“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
-Jesus
7 comments:
I like it. I've only read Monday's entry and I've got too much to do to read the rest right now. I empathize with you on the Monday entry - I understand exactly how you feel about what you've seen. That's the same demon that rides my back every single day. I'm constantly amazed that very few around me "get it" and I don't understand how they couldn't (have a theory - below). The only thought I can come up with to keep from being consumed by hatred or insanity is that I'm not the victim in the picture (or movie or whatever), so I can't feel sorry for myself and I can hang on to the ledge a little while longer.
My theory is this: There are generally three kinds of people in the world - sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. The usually hierarchy of predation applies here.
As you can guess, sheep represent most everyone, including the little fat lady who was hungry for lunch and the little malnourished lady and her child who were hungry for life.
Wolves prey on sheep. They can be the soldier in the picture (who I think is really a fourth type - the goat), or a mugger, rapist, loanshark, abusive parent, rogue preacher, whatever. There are far fewer wolves than sheep - thank God.
Sheepdogs protect the sheep from the wolves - one way or another. Some sheepdogs educate and train sheep so they avoid danger mostly on their own and do things they ought to do. This kind of sheepdog understands that they can't physically watch over every single sheep all the time and is probably the most effective over time. Other sheepdogs protect sheep by guarding only the sheep they can see all the time. This sheepdog is obviously less effective. Other sheepdogs hunt wolves and don't necessarily guard anything. This is probably the least effective, depending on your point of view. If you think the inevitable fate of a wolf who's been hunted and caught will deter other wolves, then you might think this guy can be pretty effective like the first - I don't know, but I doubt it. Be careful with this last one, however. A wolf who preys on other wolves is not a sheepdog, but they can be hard to distinguish.
The possible fourth type is the goat. They look like sheep, but they're different. A goat can be a bully and are most often seen as henchmen for wolves. I guess there's no real sense in distinguishing the two - if it does what a wolf does, it's a wolf, right? That's why I don't really count it, except to try and understand why some people do what they do. Does it work? Superficially yes, but not so much deep down.
Which brings me around to why the soldier in the picture did what he did. Did he have a personal vendetta against the woman and her child? Probably not. Was his commitment to the German army so great that his role as a disciplined soldier took over where his humanity failed? Having been part of the most disciplined and well respected military organization in the world, I say no to this, too. That would not be enough. Did he fear for his life and that of his family if he failed in his "duty"? I don't know if he or others were threatened or not.
One thing that stands out to me is the fact that he's not wearing headgear. I don't know why he isn't, but I do know that would be a major infraction in the German army of the day. Is it a clue? Can we imagine ourselves in this scene and draw some conclusions about his mental state at the time? About why he and others did what they did? Can we arrive at some understanding about how an attempted mass extinction of a human class can occur and under the most barbaric of conditions? Reality says - probably not. That sucks... all this dialogue and no answer? Nope. Oh well...
Which brings me to your question about the photographer.
Why did he/she snap that picture at that point in time? Was it a mistake, like you guessed? What was going through the mind of the photographer when he/she was observing all this through the viewfinder? Again, we may never know the answers to any of this. But there is one thing for sure that we do know and it's glaringly obvious by your blog.
God had a specific intent for the picture. That's exactly the picture He wanted taken and at the precise moment in time. The lighting and angle were perfect, the scene set. Those depicted had precisely the right clothing on, were wearing it meticulously correct, and in the most communicative poses. All of this was accomplished - even the sacrifice of the woman and her child - so that you and other sheepdogs like you would see it and know. So that you would warn others about the depths to which humanity can and does sink in the blink of an eye. So that the sheep can be told and taught and trained to cry out to the Living God that these things should never happen again. You may not see this from your perspective, but you and others like you are the reason that wasn't me and my mom in 1972. Atrocity and barbarism stand at the threshold of our existence even now, but that's darkness. Darkness cannot encroach the light, right? As long as the light remains, darkness is powerless. But let the light go out - even for a split-second - and darkness prevails. That's what happened in Germany in the mid 30's. It also happened in Cambodia in the 60's and Iraq up to five years ago. It's happening or about to happen somewhere else right now.
Why doesn't God do something about it? He is. It's the same thing he did in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. He sent Lot and his family to see and know and cry out. Last week, he sent you.
That's what I think.
Hoyt
I appreciate your honesty about struggling to love people who can blow off the horrors of history. I'm glad I have a kindred spirit in that. I imagine myself to have been the plump, red from tears person telling off the self-absorbed. I'd really have trouble keeping my mouth shut.
Good stuff.
Cool deal man. I share your emotion on the subject. When we went to Scotland there were several pictures like that. The world is a cruel place. Good thing we have God's grace to offer.
Jason Lowe
I am also touched by your struggle with this image, which I'm sure anyone with a true conscience would struggle with. As I racked my mind about your question "Why does God put up with us?", the only theory I can come up with is this: Even though we sin, it is in our sin that the ultimate love is proven, and sin itself can be a beautiful thing! Now I'm not saying go and sin, what I am saying is that in our sin, God triumphs. It is in the sin of the excutioner that the pain of the mother and child would be felt no more, for they our with our heavenly Father. It is in the sin of the photographer taking that exact image and not doing anything to stop this atrocity, that we will never forget, never forget all those who lost their lives for no good reason. It is in the sin of the self absorbed woman that led you to write this article and get dialogue started on the subject of hatred and love.
"And we know that all things work together 32 for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose," Romans 8:28
And that what I think:
Chrystal
I can sympathize on the topic of hate and love. We deal with it in our everyday life and struggles. But there was a reason that the plump, red faced woman was put there. It seems to me that you learned a lesson from the experience, though you may not know what that lesson is at this time. But I am stumped with the question "Why does God put up with us?"
The black and white picture shows us that time has not changed. Perhaps it has gotten worse as the years rolled by. The object of the picture show us that the Germans are in control. That picture is a fragment, a picture that is frozen in time. We really don't know what happen. She could have been directed to go somewhere else or her and the child faced death that day. Who knows, but there is one person that knows. That would be GOD! I know that the world is mean and cruel that is an understatment! But, however the case maybe, GOD is taking care of both of them now. I wish that we all can get along. That will never happen by no means. We all have to pray and be blessed with what we have. Hope that we will all be with GOD soon!
I empathized with the women in the picture as well, being a mother of 2 girls, I could not imagine walking around somewhere and this happening suddenly. Talk about full if anger, questions, disbelief, sorrow. Why on earth could soemthing like this happen. And the question is who in their right mind would stand there and take such a picture? Who was the person behind the lense? At this point you can only ask, but the reality of it is, that person suffered more than that women and her baby. Could you imagine the nightmares, the sweats, the images in your mind that came to you while you ate your dinner with your family, you don't think this person just forgot, and how many more were there, God is not going to just clear the minds of these evil people,I believe he wouldkeep reminding them in some way of what they done, they may have killed thousands, but they had to endure the pain of what they had done for much longer than the victims. And can you imagine the price they will pay at their time of reckoning?
What we know is that this photo was meant to be taken at that moment for whatever reason so many years ago. Hopefully others that see this picture can take away what we all can take away from this-
Thank you God for sending your son to die on the cross for me and my sin-
The very sad thing is that this is going on in our very city, neighborhoods, grocery stores,malls, and schools. People,kids are being executed for what? And what are we doing about it?
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