It is eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 1945. Faced with around 9,000 emaciated prisoners in the collection of several camps, the liberating Soviet solders were shocked and horrified. Soon the wider world joined them in that horror.
More than one million people died in the camp, adding to the total of some six million destroyed in the Nazi Holocaust. Most were Jews, but gypsies, the physically or mentally disabled, those who opposed the regime or who were seen as Jewish sympathisers also found themselves incarcerated there.
Christians who took a stand
Probably the best known Christian to be imprisoned was the theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, remembered for his leadership role in the Confessing Church. He was hanged by the Nazis on April 6, 1945 after spending two years in various concentration camps.
Among his many wise sayings he wrote, “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.”
Another is Corrie ten Boom who, with her family, helped some 800 Jews escape the Holocaust until they themselves were betrayed by a Dutch neighbour. Her book The Hiding Place and subsequent mission of forgiveness made a significant impact. How can you forgive those SS guards who caused so much suffering and the death of her sister?
A personal story
There are many stories to tell.
One such story came unexpectedly several years ago when I was interviewing Pastor Ryszard Jankowski. At the time he was president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Poland. He was telling me the remarkable story of how the church was able to acquire a beautiful camp ground even during the communist era. Suddenly he diverted to talk about his family and his faith.
I kept the camera rolling and learnt how his grandmother’s entire family had been rounded up and imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrook because of their faith. His grandmother died there but instilled such faith in her daughters that her influence spread down through the following generations. Eighty years on there is living testimony to her faith. Watch his short interview here:
Ryszard is a kindly, gentle man. If he is passionate about one thing it is that God is love and has a purpose for each one of us. His burning desire is for as many people as possible to know that God – even in difficult times.
I do not know his favourite Bible verse, but perhaps it could be this:
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? [Micah 6:8 NKJV]
[First published in TED News. Used by permission. Cover photo by Mark de Jong on Unsplash]
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