“Can the past be forgiven? Can people who have been traumatized live with memory and each other again? What do they need to be healed?” (Marrus 27). In a world growing smaller each day, people cannot afford to hold onto the traumas and wrongs that have been committed unto them. At the same time, how can the world ask people who have been tortured, abused, systematically raped, and their lives forever changed to live with their aggressors once again? Can these people forgive their transgressors and come to a place of reconciliation? The steps taken by the Germany after the Second World War give one example of how to acknowledge atrocities. The Holocaust is an example of horrors on a global scale, but despite the scale or length of these terrible actions that were committed by the Nazis, coupled by the lack of actions the rest of the world chose to not employ, the first step towards repentance must be taken. Acknowledgement is the first step in working towards reconciliation. After a people have been broken down emotionally and physically, just having their suffering recognized is often more important than revenge. People often seek revenge so that their transgressors will admit to their wrongs, but how do you acknowledge doing wrong to a entire people? Is one apology enough? What does it take to acknowledge a peoples suffering? These are questions that need to be addressed when approaching reconciliation. After violence has ended, what steps can be taken to achieve reconciliation? Since the 1990’s, civil conflicts have increased and intervention into conflicts has become more complex. Peacekeeping forces now take on a greater range of tasks than just ceasing violent conflict. One field that has been emerging is c... ... middle of paper ... ... a global context, the past must be used as a both a guide and a warning. The Truth and Reconciliation Commissions of Germany and Chile helped to influence the creation the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and that, in turn, will influence future commissions. These commissions addressed the different areas outlined by Michael Marrus in Dilemmas of Reconciliation: Political, Legal, Material, and Cultural to varying degrees, but showed the possibility for reconciliation to take place. Perhaps people can forgive the past, overcome the atrocities done to them, and come to a point where they can once again live with the people hurt them. Although this seems an arbitrary goal, peaceful solutions have already been accomplished for many conflicts. As long as humans continue to learn from these success stories, reconciliation will remain a possible goal.
Simon Wiesenthal’s book The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness spoke to me about the question of forgiveness and repentance. Simon Wiesenthal was a Holocaust prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. He experienced many brutal and uneasy experiences that no human being should experience in their lifetime and bear to live with it. Death, suffering, and despair were common to Simon Wiesenthal that he questioned his own religious faith because he asks why would his God allow the Holocaust happen to his people to be slaughter and not do anything to save them. During Simon Wiesenthal time as a Jewish Holocaust, Simon was invited to a military hospital where a dying Nazi SS officer wanted to have a conversation. The Nazi SS officer told Simon his story of his life and confesses to Simon of his horrific war crimes. Ultimately, the SS officer wanted forgiveness for what he done to Simon’s Jewish people. Simon Wiesenthal could not respond to his request, because he did not know what to do with a war criminal that participate in mass genocide to Simon’s people. Simon Wiesenthal lives throughout his life on asking the same crucial question, “What would I have done?” (Wiesenthal 98). If the readers would be on the exact situation as Simon was
"Peacekeeping and Peacemaking." Reading and Remembrance . N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. . (tags: none | edit tags)
Despite the overwhelming use in political rhetoric, it is difficult to establish the Government of Canada’s precise definition of reconciliation. It is equally unclear as to what reconciliation entails substantively— as either a process or an outcome —in reconceiving the colonial relationship between Indigenous peoples, Settlers, and the Canadian government. For my Reconciliation Essay, I intend to problematize the very term of reconciliation as used in Canadian politics by drawing primarily on its use in the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s 2008 Residential Schools Apology. I will argue that the concept reconciliation as exercised in the political discourse of federal government is neither a meaningful gesture, nor consistent with Indigenous conceptions of same term. In fact, reconciliation as presented by the Government of Canada serves only as a tool to recolonize Indigenous peoples, in that its connotations leave the colonial relationship largely
... had no remorse for their actions during the time of the Holocaust. Still today, the Nazis’ actions cannot be forgiven by those who were mistreated and killed. There has been justice served for the Jewish survivors and their stories will always be a reminder of the harshest time within their life along with millions of other people.
Stewart, M. (2011). The space between the steps: reckoning in an area of reconciliation. Contemporary Justice Review, 14(1), 43-63. Retrieved from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/10282580.2011.541076
At some moments justice and forgiveness are different also but for the most part they are
The position to choose between forgiving one’s evil oppressor and letting him die in unrest is unlike any other. The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal explores the possibilities and limitations of forgiveness through the story of one Jew in Nazi Germany. In the book, Wiesenthal details his life in the concentration camp, and the particular circumstance in which a dying Nazi asks him for forgiveness for all the heinous acts committed against Jews while under the Nazi regime. Wiesenthal responds to this request by leaving the room without giving forgiveness. The story closes with Wiesenthal posing the question, “What would you have done?” Had I been put in the position that Wiesenthal was in, I would ultimately choose to forgive the Nazi on the basis
The essay "Forgiveness," written by June Callwood, explores the concept of forgiving and how it influences people's lives for the better. Her work describes many components of forgiveness, such as how difficult it can be to come to terms with, why it is such a crucial part of humanity, and how it affects all people. Her essay aims to prove that forgiveness is the key to living peacefully and explains specific examples of people who have encountered extremely difficult situations in their lives- all of whom found it within themselves to forgive. To clearly portray this message in her writing, Callwood uses several strategies. She includes fear inducing statistics, makes many references to famous events and leaders, and uses a serious convincing tone, all of which are very effective.
In its broadest sense ‘Reconciliation’ is the Australian term that refers to the unity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. To support reconciliation means working to overcome the separation and inequality between all Australians (Australia, n.d.). In 1992, then Prime Minister Paul Keating, delivered the Redfern Park speech that publically acknowledged European soldiers were responsible for many crimes against Indigenous communities, "We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice (Government, 1992)." Since 1993, Reconciliation Week is a national event that celebrates a positive and respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It enables all Australians to close the gaps, and to achieve a shared sense of fairness and justice. The ultimate goal of the week is to build a strong and trusting relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and other Australians, as a foundation for success and to enhance national wellbeing (Australia, n.d.). However, this advocacy for Indigenous rights and recognition was advanced be civil right activists in the 1950’s and 1960’s. One significant activist from this period and until her death in 1993 was Oodgeroo Noonuccal. Oodgeroo Noonuccal has significantly contributed to the civil rights of the Indigenous people in Australia due to her tireless campaigning to educate non-Indigenous Australians and enact political change that would not only recognize Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander people within the census but further understand their rich and diverse culture. Noonuccal’s contribution can be seen through her significa...
"Rwanda Genocide 20 Years On: 'We Live with Those Who Killed Our Families. We Are Told They're Sorry, but Are They?'" The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2013.
... the Holocaust itself, as devastating as it was, may have happened for the Jewish people to acquire a larger capacity than others for forgiveness and understanding. This idea rings true for every other human being in the world as well, because once again, “We shall never let the victims be forgotten, for if we do, we will forget that the perpetrator can be in all of us.”
In today’s world, it is of the utmost importance to learn from mistakes of the past. Certain events, especially tragedies that could have been avoided, hold within them the lessons and wisdom that should be used to prevent similar disasters. The 1994 Rwandan genocide resulted in over 800, 000 deaths of the Tutsi people, at the hands of the Hutu; the genocide, and the international response to it, is a lesson about the humanitarian responsibilities, successes, and shortcomings of the United Nations.
... and standards, the society has resulted into the victimization of not only individuals not directly linked to an act, but also to generations of people. A good example is the treatment accorded to Muslims not just in America, but in the world over after the 9/11 incident. Years on, and the Muslim community still bears the burden of guilt of that particular act. The acts of pointing fingers of blame in a way shift the attention from the real problems and issues, and this may be the reason societies still do that. An effective way of dealing with historical injustices is through peace and reconciliation; a method that is yet to be fully exploited. The world should move away from the culture of profiling people on the basis of their origin, religion and such characteristics aimed at placing people within certain psychological categories that lead to discrimination.
The atrocities of the Belgian Congo and the Holocaust are two of the main events in history that have been responsible for the mass murdering of millions of people. Although these events significantly changed the course of humanity, and the story behind each one is very different, there are significant factors that make them alike as well as different. Many would agree that comparing two atrocities that affected the lives of so many people and gave a 180-degree turn to each of their countries would be something very difficult to achieve. However, by comparing the behavior of both the perpetrators and the victims of both cases we might be able to further understand the lack of morality and the inspiration that led to these awful events. The perpetrators in both atrocities tended to have a similar pattern of behavior when it came to the way they saw their victims. But, they also acted in ways where you can draw the conclusion that one set of events was not inspired by the other. These two sets of atrocities were reported to have a very similar number of victims. However, the Holocaust is one of the most reminded events in history as a period of shame, tragedy and sadness, while many still ignore the atrocities in the Belgian Congo.
Now, we can better understand why we must always learn from our mistakes and about the Holocaust. There are many reasons why, such as the fact that mass genocide is never worth it. Look what happened to Hitler. However, all that aside, we must remember and learn from the terrible events from our past so that we do not repeat them in the future. If we do this, the world will become a better place.