Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14
Humans have a tendency to deal with unpleasant memories by repressing the memory or bottling it up inside. Regrettably that way of thinking has a propensity of coming back and biting us in the rear end. Rather than choosing to follow human nature, Eva Mozes Kor made the decision to forgive, and that choice has set her free.
Mozes Kor and identical twin sister Miriam Mozes survived the Auschwitz death camp, under the control of Dr. Josef Mengele, the “Auschwitz Angel of Death.” Mengele ordered that all twins be brought to him for use in his barbaric medical experiments. Eva willed herself to live, despite being injected with a lethal dose of bacteria. She knew that her death would result in Miriam’s murder so simultaneous autopsies could be performed.
In January of 1945 the Soviet Red Army liberated the survivors of Auschwitz. Eva and Miriam were among the few twins remaining. Having lost their entire family to the gas chamber, the Romanian born twins immigrated to Israel. Eva would later leave her sister behind to start a family of her own in the United States.
It was revealed that Miriam too had received an injection from Mengele. Her kidneys never grew. In a second attempt to save her sister, Eva donated one of her own kidneys. Nevertheless, the disease overcame Miriam and she died in 1993 in Israel.
Eva’s healing began with a trip to Germany where she met with Dr. Hans Münch who worked alongside Mengele. Unlike his colleagues, Münch wasn’t found guilty of any war crimes as it was determined he didn’t perform any experiments on his patients.
Dr. Münch admitted being present during the gassings; a fact that lead to a lifetime of depression and nightmares. Eva expected to find a monster, but instead found a likeable human being. As a result of the visit, Eva decided to write Dr. Münch a letter in which she forgave him.
In January 1995, Eva invited Dr. Münch to join her at the 50th anniversary celebration of the liberation of Auschwitz. He gladly joined her. Kor read a confession of guilt from Münch to the gathered press. She then said, “In my own name, I forgive all Nazis.”
Kor’s decision hasn’t been met with throngs of Jews wanting to join in her rally cry of forgiveness. Quite to the contrary, Kor has been maligned, with some stating that her choice to forgive, absolves the murderers and torturers who ran the camps.
Even though Kor’s decision wasn’t popular or even common, she is sure she did the right thing. “I felt as though an incredibly heavy weight of suffering had been lifted. I never thought I could be so strong.” By forgiving those who wronged her, Kor has freed herself from her victim status. She always says, however, that to forgive does not mean to forget.
I’m not suggesting that Jewish people should forgive the Nazis for the atrocities inflicted on them. If it were my decision to make, I don’t know that I could be as strong as Eva Kor. What I’m saying is that when we decide to ignore confrontation, we inhibit God’s ability to bless us through our trials. To choose reconciliation and forgiveness is to act in accordance with God’s word and God’s will for our lives. What about you? Is there a broken relationship you’ve been ignoring? Take some advice from Eva Kor—face it, forgive, and be free.
(Roman Heflik, 2005-A Holocaust Survivor’s Path To Peace, www.spiegel.de/international/)
Humans have a tendency to deal with unpleasant memories by repressing the memory or bottling it up inside. Regrettably that way of thinking has a propensity of coming back and biting us in the rear end. Rather than choosing to follow human nature, Eva Mozes Kor made the decision to forgive, and that choice has set her free.
Mozes Kor and identical twin sister Miriam Mozes survived the Auschwitz death camp, under the control of Dr. Josef Mengele, the “Auschwitz Angel of Death.” Mengele ordered that all twins be brought to him for use in his barbaric medical experiments. Eva willed herself to live, despite being injected with a lethal dose of bacteria. She knew that her death would result in Miriam’s murder so simultaneous autopsies could be performed.
In January of 1945 the Soviet Red Army liberated the survivors of Auschwitz. Eva and Miriam were among the few twins remaining. Having lost their entire family to the gas chamber, the Romanian born twins immigrated to Israel. Eva would later leave her sister behind to start a family of her own in the United States.
It was revealed that Miriam too had received an injection from Mengele. Her kidneys never grew. In a second attempt to save her sister, Eva donated one of her own kidneys. Nevertheless, the disease overcame Miriam and she died in 1993 in Israel.
Eva’s healing began with a trip to Germany where she met with Dr. Hans Münch who worked alongside Mengele. Unlike his colleagues, Münch wasn’t found guilty of any war crimes as it was determined he didn’t perform any experiments on his patients.
Dr. Münch admitted being present during the gassings; a fact that lead to a lifetime of depression and nightmares. Eva expected to find a monster, but instead found a likeable human being. As a result of the visit, Eva decided to write Dr. Münch a letter in which she forgave him.
In January 1995, Eva invited Dr. Münch to join her at the 50th anniversary celebration of the liberation of Auschwitz. He gladly joined her. Kor read a confession of guilt from Münch to the gathered press. She then said, “In my own name, I forgive all Nazis.”
Kor’s decision hasn’t been met with throngs of Jews wanting to join in her rally cry of forgiveness. Quite to the contrary, Kor has been maligned, with some stating that her choice to forgive, absolves the murderers and torturers who ran the camps.
Even though Kor’s decision wasn’t popular or even common, she is sure she did the right thing. “I felt as though an incredibly heavy weight of suffering had been lifted. I never thought I could be so strong.” By forgiving those who wronged her, Kor has freed herself from her victim status. She always says, however, that to forgive does not mean to forget.
I’m not suggesting that Jewish people should forgive the Nazis for the atrocities inflicted on them. If it were my decision to make, I don’t know that I could be as strong as Eva Kor. What I’m saying is that when we decide to ignore confrontation, we inhibit God’s ability to bless us through our trials. To choose reconciliation and forgiveness is to act in accordance with God’s word and God’s will for our lives. What about you? Is there a broken relationship you’ve been ignoring? Take some advice from Eva Kor—face it, forgive, and be free.
(Roman Heflik, 2005-A Holocaust Survivor’s Path To Peace, www.spiegel.de/international/)
No comments:
Post a Comment