A Dangerous Act of Kindness

by L.P. Fergusson

But you chose to co-operate. You see, Lukas, I spend my days organising prisoners, reading transcripts, listening to their stories and they sadden me, often they sicken me but every now and then I come across a glimmer of hope, a flash of human decency and I wonder if our salvation lies not in politics, or treaties, but in individual acts of kindness, which are as inexplicable as the violence our country has unleashed upon the world.’

I enjoy books about this time period, and I felt as if the theme of this story touched on some unique aspects. I had not considered the thoughts of German soldiers as the atrocities of places like Auschwitz were uncovered. Of course, not all soldiers were Nazis, and the author helped me to understand the national pride that they experienced as being part of a new vision, and the conflicts they felt upon discovering the cruelty inflicted upon so many in order to make this vision a reality. The dividing line between compassion and collaboration was not as well defined as many believed, and I sympathized with Millie as she pondered this. In our current era of "everyone and everything is either this OR that," I appreciated the idea that acts of kindness and compassion can overcome violence and negativity.