Forgiveness of the Greatest Kind
- Steve Clark
- Apr 5, 2020
- 2 min read
Oskar Groening - The Accountant of Auschwitz
Dubbed the “bookkeeper of death”, 93-year-old Groening was tried in Germany on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder for sorting and storing the money of prisoners at the Auschwitz death camp.
He testified that he knew Jews were not expected to leave the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, and admitted on the first day of his trial to sharing in “moral guilt”
Notably Oskar was one of the few former SS members who did not hold back on the truth of what happened, thereby eradicating any claims made by Holocaust deniers.
"For me there is no question that I am morally guilty."
"I ask for forgiveness."
"Whether I am criminally responsible you must decide."
For I acknowledge my transgressions:
and my sin is ever before me. Psalms 51:3
Eva Mozes Kor - Survivor of Auschwitz
Eva was a survivor of Auschwitz & Medical experiments performed on her by Dr Josef Mengele. Eva was one of a set of twins - the only survivor.
The pair were victims of torture at the hands of the notorious Josef Mengele, who tortured more than 1,000 twins and other Auschwitz prisoners.
He injected Ms Kor and her sister with germs and chemicals while taking large amounts of their blood.
As a result, Ms Kor developed a high fever and was given two weeks to live but against the odds she recovered.
Eva lost her mother during life & death selection process by the Nazi's along with many of her relatives.
She went to Germany to give evidence at the trial of Oskar Gröning, who worked at Auschwitz.
She could have gone with bitterness, sorrow & unforgiveness.....
“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Job 7:11
I wanted to know how he would feel if I approached him. I wanted to thank him for having some human decency in accepting responsibility for what he has done.
We were two old people reaching out, although I never expected him to hug me and kiss me — absolutely not. In my testimony, I told him I forgave him.
"I have forgiven all the Nazis. I could not have imagined doing this 22 years ago. Back then, I was a very good victim. I was angry with the world and I hated everybody. I yelled a lot. I was very unhappy.”
Eva did face much backlash from the Holocaust Survivors community but she endured.
If Eva can forgive so much ? How is it that we still struggle to forgive for so little?
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
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