Even before reading Survival in Auschwitz and watching the documentary, I had heard about the atrocities done towards the Jews by the Nazis. I had heard how the Jews were forced to be sent to concentration camps, and how they were forced to work in harsh conditions. I had heard of how women and children were fooled into taking "showers" upon their arrival to these camps, but were in fact going to their deaths as they painfully inhaled poisonous gases that made all their organs bleed. I thought I knew pretty much all that there was to know about concentration camps...
A few weeks ago, I happened to watch the Count of Monte Cristo on TV. Although I had watched the movie many times, to me, it was one of those movies that never got boring. The story is about a man who was wrongly framed for committing treason by his best friend. In his thirteen years of being sent to prison, he meets a priest who gives him a map to hidden treasure in the island of Monte Cristo. With the help of the priest, the man escapes prison and finds the treasure. When he returns to his hometown, with his treasure, he decides to plan revenge toward everyone who destroyed his life. In the end, he is able to regain more than what he lost. As I watched this, I once again thought about how God always knows the truth, and that he will bring justice.
However, when I watched the video, I was deeply angered, if that's the right word to use, about how only 10% of the SS guards were ever prosecuted for their actions. During the Holocaust, they had committed more sins than the "friend" in the Count of Monte Cristo, yet, not even half of them were punished. I kept thinking to myself, "How could God let this happen? I thought he was supposed to be fair..." I didn't blame the group of men who decided to take matters into their own hands and chase after SS guards themselves. I didn't blame the Jews for losing faith in God in Auschwitz. How could a God be so cruel and allow this to happen? In some ways, I found myself agreeing with them...
