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February 1 - February 1, 2023
A nation that put children in harm’s way while its leaders cowered in bunkers had already lost; it just wouldn’t admit it.
Wolves were cunning; wolves were strong. Many Germans spoke lovingly of the wolf, even though it was the wolf that carried off their sheep and chickens and sometimes even killed the family dog when it tried to protect them. How could so many of his countrymen not see the wolf for what it was?
You want to go out and make a lot of noise and beat your chest to prove to yourself that you’re a man. But going out to hunt for Allies is going to put us all in danger. It’s a mistake.”
Yet it had been fairy tales that led Germany into war, the Nazis wanting everyone to believe Aryans were descended from mythic god-men and that they could regain godlike powers if their blood were pure enough.
despite what his wife wanted, he was starting to believe it was better to stand with those in power than to stand alone.
but it left Uwe unsettled. This kind of behavior always made him uncomfortable. Why did men always have to turn into schoolchildren when they got together? What do you expect from boys? That was what people said. Was that what it meant to be a boy? Was that the way boys were supposed to act?
there are two kinds of men in the world. One kind takes responsibility for the things he’s done, both the good and—more importantly—the bad. The other kind always blames his misfortune on someone else. It’s never his fault when his crops fail or his wife leaves him.”
But it’s dangerous to lie to yourself. Before long, you can’t tell lies from the truth.”
A simple thing can turn you into a monster.
He was an observer, not a participant,
They cheered and hooted as they put on their clothing, giddy with victory, acting as though they had won a sports match instead of killing those soldiers.
When they were wolves, they didn’t need to worry about feeding their families or not having enough money or finding work. They didn’t have to wonder if they would be taken to a prisoner of war camp, their families left to fend for themselves. They didn’t have to worry about what their neighbor or spouse or father-in-law thought of them, that maybe they had grown too hotheaded or unreasonable or had become strangely violent. There was nothing wrong with them when they were wolves . . . and soon, everyone in Scharweg would learn of the sacrifice they had made. Everyone would recognize them for
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There were times when he knew he would gladly destroy anyone who opposed him, who dared to treat him with disrespect. The wolf was strong, and the man was weak and ashamed of his weakness.
Even though he had not killed anyone, he had partaken of the feast afterward. He preferred to think that he’d had to: Hans had been watching, after all, and if Uwe hadn’t eaten a share, it would’ve been noticed. In the privacy of his own thoughts, he could admit that he would have done so even if Hans hadn’t been watching, because the wolf in him demanded its share. Of blood. Of victory.
It was more than masculine ritual. It was their birthright as well as their duty.
The Devil made Uwe feel strong and powerful and accepted by his fellow man, and there was a goodness there. When had God ever made Uwe feel good? To the contrary, his every encounter with the pastor and the church made him feel guilty, unworthy, or unclean. The church always demanded more: You’re not tithing enough. You should do more for your mother. Whereas the Devil granted favors. Obviously, if the Devil could make your life easier than God could, then God just chose not to. Maybe the Devil was the good one. Maybe it was a fairer fight than church people would have you believe, a lie
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Surrounded by the American soldiers, Uwe felt strangely calm. He was aiding the enemy, yes, and as a German he should feel ashamed. But it felt correct because his own people had ceased to do the right thing. The pack had become a law unto itself with no regard for what he’d thought they all believed in. His neighbors would damn him for being a collaborator. But he didn’t care. He would never set foot in Scharweg again.
One thing I learned from that experience was that no one involved in this kind of violence believed they were wrong. They always felt justified—until, like Uwe in this story, they were forced to confront the consequences of their actions.
We believed in democracy. Then January 6, 2021, happened.
the main lesson history has to teach us is that it’s easy to slip the skin of humanity and become a monster.