Past Events: So What?

Books like Boy In Striped Pajamas by John Boyne and Rose Blanche by Robert Innocenti and Ian McKewan are set in the Holocaust, one of the darkest times in history. They both have child protagonists, each still innocent and tender in the midst of the nightmare spreading across Europe. Both children are from German families, so are not targeted so long as their parents do not speak up against the injustice of the Nazi beliefs. Yet, they manage to stumble upon a Jew concentration camp, disturbingly near to their homes. The protagonists, Bruno from The Boy in Striped Pajamas and Rose Blanche from Rose Blanche, both decide, of their own accord to befriend and help these people from the other side of the fence, as Bruno calls them. These fences, these boundaries, are everywhere, though some are less visible then others.

Unfortunately, these boundaries will never completely disappear, because it is a human habit to put people into little boxes with labels and preconceive ideas about them. However, we COULD erase those boundaries until they are barely visible, not a barrier but rather a passageway. That was only one of the lessons the Holocaust taught people in that era, but now we are forgetting it. We learn our mistakes from the past, from what happened to others and how they reacted. We could learn something from Bruno, whose inquisitive nature brought him closer to the truth than anyone not involved in the operation could. He wanted to know what was happening, even though he sometimes dreaded the possible truth.

We could also learn something from all the resistance groups that sprouted up, although we could only dream of the courage they found to fight against the oppressive cloud of Nazi forces. For example, the White Rose Movement was formed by a group of young students studying in the University of Munich. Their founders were medical student Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl, Christoph Probst, Willi Graf, and Alexander Schmorell. Together they wrote leaflets which they transported and mailed. German army’s defeat in Stalingrad on January 1943 led White Rose members handed out pamphlets encouraging the students to rebel. Unfortunately, a janitor saw them with the pamphlets and betrayed them to Hitler’s secret police. February 22, 1943 saw the execution of Hans and Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst.

Another brave stand against the mass Jew killing was the joint effort of the villagers of Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon. 5000 Protestant Christians sheltered and provided food, work, education, and most importantly a refuge with a sense of peace and affection. Their leader was André Trocmé, the spiritual leader of the congregation. He and his wife, Magda Trocmé, urge their villagers to help these ‘people of the Bible’. André’s wife Magda played an important role in many Jews’ escape to neutral Switzerland. She lend Jews, mostly children across the secret mountain passes to Switzerland. She also found villagers who could take in Jews and prepared nearby schools for ‘increased enrolment’. This joint effort was eventually noticed by the officials, who ordered Trocmé to stop his ‘illegal’ activities. Trocmé responded that these people came here to find shelter, so they would give them shelter. Later Trocmé was forced to go underground but his fellow villagers never ceased their taking in of Jews and continue with a will.

These lesson of human rights and courage and will are timeless; we should never be without them, no matter what time period. These traits are what makes a loving, peaceful community that is the dream of every human being in the world. We should be reminded of these traits and what the lack of them could mean for humanity. Hopefully, most of us will learn something through study of the Holocaust and refrain from ‘repeating history’ in the here and now.