Mr. Steele is right. Modern Germany is doing a good educational job in trying to unveil the secret code of the Holocaust. He is also right in claiming the job is not yet done.
But they are on the right track. Especially so under the helm of Chancellor Merkel.
The Germans understand that understanding the Holocaust implies not only the unearthing of the atrocities perpetrated by their older generations, but also shedding light on the formidable stories of the heroes, the saviours. Those who confronted evil without flinching. Dietrich Bonhoffer, Alfred Delp, August Wiegand, all belonged to a cadre of decent human beings who risked their own lives to save others. Bonhoffer and Delp indeed had paid with their lives. The latter, was even offered his life in exchange of his commitment to abandon the Jesuits and his anti-Nazi activities. He preferred to die with dignity. The Nazis had his ashes scattered in a waste landfill. Killing him was not enough.
Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish giant, had saved 100,000 Hungarian Jews, and quite ironically, he ended-up abducted by the Soviets, never to be seen again.
We, at the International Raoul Wallenberg foundation feel that the free world owes a huge debt to these unsung heroes. The lessons of the Holocaust cannot be properly understood without deepening our knowledge about their feats. We all owe them eternal gratitude for they have saved much more than human lives. They have saved human dignity. That’s their legacy.
Danny Rainer
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
Casa Argentina en Israel – Tierra Santa
February 7, 2008
