No matter the reason for joining: a Nazi is still a Nazi.
There was a meme going around with words that said basically this, in a theme of “no excuses, you were wrong.”
We like to judge. We like to feel like we know what is right and wrong and when the time comes, we’d do the right thing. We like to feel safe in our perfectly drawn boundaries and clear distinctions. Good vs Evil: a clear divider.
Our inability to handle the nuances of living, to handle the gray areas of morality, to allow grace to fill in the gaps- this is our own spiritual and moral immaturity.
Ironically, our inability to see nuance creates a world in which there is no right and wrong. Instead of thinking critically, we have left the choices to our lizard brains, who are not always wrong and not always right. Our lizard brain is always on the side of survival. It sees black and white with robotic efficiency. There’s no grey area or compassionate negotiation when our fight, flight, or freeze mind is engaged. When we fail to give time and space to discern and rather jump straight to conclusions like our life depends on it, we create a culture where everyone is the author, judge, and executioner of their own moral code based on their own lizard brain. It’s problematic.
Our evolved humanity has the potential to be about something a little more. Will we let it?
Back to the Nazis. We LOVE to use the German descent into horror as our moral litmus test. (Unless of course we’re carrying a torch in Charlottesville or campaigning to keep a symbol of oppression on a stone horse in the middle of town.) In general, the Nazi test has been a helpful tool for many who want to be right. The history of Germany is treated almost like a biblical tome: verses taken out of context, examples twisted and stretched to fit our narrative and agenda.
Let me tell you a story about some Germans.
There was a family, they were Quakers. They hadn’t always been Quakers. The father was in the first world war, a decorated war hero, well respected by his fellow countrymen. What he saw he could not unsee. He had a transformation, a calling to pacifism. He became a Quaker and spread the word of peace. War was no answer, he had seen its attempts at solutions.
That man and his wife had four children: two girls and two boys. They grew up in the Quaker tradition, loving peace and fighting for justice. They participated in feeding the poor and hungry after the war and world-wide devastating market crash. They did not distinguish between the deserving and undeserving. They fed whoever came to be fed, with no questions about faith or national and political alliance. The Catholics fed the Catholics, the Protestants fed the Protestants, and the Jews fed the Jews. The Quakers fed everyone.
Then another war came. The war veteran did everything he could to convince his friends and neighbors that war was not the answer. That war would only bring pain and suffering. He had spoken out against the agent of war before the war even came, but still it came. The man put himself and his family at risk for speaking out, but his position as a decorated war veteran protected them for a time. He and his wife continued to help the poor and hungry. They were leaders in the Quaker group and welcomed political deviants, people of different races and religion, and tried to help them all. They were constantly watched by the police. The more they helped, the more they were questioned. Their children were interrogated. The man stood his ground, refusing to return to the military and banking on his reputation to save him.
Then his son was old enough. His son was drafted. His son, who had been part of this family of pacifist Quakers, helping the poor and persecuted, he was faced with an impossible choice. Serve, or die. He did not have the same protection his father had.
They tried everything: they procrastinated, they did everything they could to delay the inevitable. But finally the son had no choice, and with the blessing of his father, he chose to live, and join the Nazi military. He picked the longest training program, the hardest route, in hopes that by the time he saw actual service that he would be meaningless to the war effort and maybe even that the war would be over. The war was not over, and he was deployed.
He served in the Navy, undersea in a U boat, where he survived.
That same family saved hundreds of lives. Including my grandfather’s. They tried to save my great-grandmother.
Were they Nazis? Was the son? Would you send your son to death? Would you send yourself? What choices did they have?
We don’t get to be on our moral high horse when the hardest moral decisions we’ve had to make is to not steal, cheat, or lie. And we fail even at those.
I’m not saying that I think Nazis were “nice people” who all had a perfectly acceptable reason for their actions. I’m saying that we better watch out how we judge. We need to give ourselves space to discern, rather than make all or nothing statements. No matter what political persuasion you are, if you’ve lived in the United States, you know what it’s like to live under leadership that does not reflect your personal opinions and politics. For most people, these differences have not resulted in a refusal to pay taxes or serve in the military (and being willing to suffer the consequences), much less face the death penalty.
If you’ve ever seen the TV show, The Good Place (minor spoiler alert), you’ll remember that part of the premise of what was “wrong” with the afterlife was that the “point” system did not account for the complexity and nuance of life on earth. The argument was that in simpler times, someone could bring their grandmother flowers and get points for that… but now, they could do the same kind act and face negative points because the supplier was corrupt, the computer or phone they ordered from was made with slave labor, and so on. It was an excellent point about the complex mine field that is today’s moral landscape. However, I’d like to go a step further and say that morality, good and evil, these have been complex for a very long time. There are no “good ol days” when it comes to simplicity in the human experience. If you think there is, you were probably in power. Power does not equal right.
Being strong and courageous in the face of danger has always been hard. That’s why power and money packs such a punch. It’s far easier being powerful and rich. We make heroes out of strong and courageous people, but often our hero is the ultimate winner. We ask ourselves and others to be heroes when we have the hindsight to know how everything turns out. Would we rise to the occasion if we didn’t know how it would turn out? Do we always believe that “good” wins? What do we do with that?
I’m going to be perfectly honest, I am not strong and courageous. Not in the heroics way. I don’t think I would have had the moral courage to march into Selma, to openly protest the Nazis, to overthrow the British government, or any of the other amazing feats of history. I’m not that confident in myself. I WISH I had that kind of courage, but I have shirked under less pressure. I have to be humble about my own weakness and face THAT if I am going to make any difference in this world.
Maybe I don’t have what it takes to be a hero, but I can be good and kind. I can work on things that a “hero” needs like faith and optimism. I can do my best with what I have and keep trying to do better. I can figure out a way to care more about others. Heroes are often created by forces that give them no other option: serve or die. Interesting… that’s how villains are often made.
What does it mean if we acknowledge that not every Nazi was there voluntarily? Or that we might have made the same impossible choice? How would it change our tactics for change? How does it change our own understanding of our own roles in change? These are honest questions. I think there is something here to explore. I am not saying we should stop fighting for what is right or stop holding those who do wrong accountable. I am saying that we should at least have some humility and hold space for the grey areas. Maybe it’ll give us time and space to find some solutions before any of us need to become heroes or villains. I don’t know, the world is complicated and the predominate way we’ve been doing things… isn’t working.
