Obituary for an awakened former-SS officer from Auschwitz - and our one-time correspondence
(Translated from my own German rendering of events, publsihed here prior to this.)
* 10 Jun 1921 +09 Mar 2018
On March 9, 2018, a man died whose kind acquaintance I'd made 13 years ago. Alone on the occasion of his passing, would I share this very personal exchange so publicly.In
January 2005, when I was about to dispose of a "BILD" tabloid-newspaper in
a patient's room, I'd glanced at the front page - and stood stock
still: I'd read in large print: "Just don't let anyone say he didn't know
anything -
I WAS AN SS-MAN IN AUSCHWITZ "- and there under his picture from that period, in uniform as administrator of confiscated personal effects, now in interview at age 83 was: Mr. Oskar Gröning.
I'd immediately read with astonishment how he'd spoken, clearly and authentically, about his life and his remorse - and more interestingly, his determination to talk openly about it, to testify against deniers, and about the threat calls he'd received, letters threatening his life, and public pressure from Old-Nazi associations, Nazi-admirers, and real right-wing deniers. He'd wished, once in his lifetime, to meet once again with a Jew face to face, asking for forgiveness or pardon, to extend hands with him. I think I was weeping. As often happens to me, I had much to say, directly and exclusively to Gröning himself..
I'd immediately read with astonishment how he'd spoken, clearly and authentically, about his life and his remorse - and more interestingly, his determination to talk openly about it, to testify against deniers, and about the threat calls he'd received, letters threatening his life, and public pressure from Old-Nazi associations, Nazi-admirers, and real right-wing deniers. He'd wished, once in his lifetime, to meet once again with a Jew face to face, asking for forgiveness or pardon, to extend hands with him. I think I was weeping. As often happens to me, I had much to say, directly and exclusively to Gröning himself..
That same day, I wrote my letter to him, called up the "BILD" office, explained what it was about, why I was sending this to their editorial address, and they assured me they'd forward the letter to him.
I wrote in about two handwritten pages, a bit about myself - Jewish American, stationed in Berlin from '88 to '94, etc., and that I'd occupied myself since decades concerning the Nazi years and the Holocaust and how urgently important it was for me, that the onus of all that be lifted from the shoulders and psyches of the post-war generations. I told him how deeply his interview had affected me. I literally told him: that I had never considered a day ever in my lifetime when I'd be confronted with a former Nazi standing before me, asking for "forgiveness", of all things - since a Nazi would never know remorse anyway. Until now, until Oskar Gröning showed up, and I - whose interest has been in real, objective healing - found myself confronted here with a bit of a miracle.
I wrote, "You may be the Nazi I've been waiting for for over 16 years!" I made it clear to him how impressed I was, how sincerely authentic I found him - and that even though it was not my place to even pardon him, much less forgive, since I was not one of the victims and had lost no family - however, in just this, it was within my power and within my responsibility, to share with him my understanding and support, to reach out and offer my shoulder, as authentic a statement as was his own.
I wrote in about two handwritten pages, a bit about myself - Jewish American, stationed in Berlin from '88 to '94, etc., and that I'd occupied myself since decades concerning the Nazi years and the Holocaust and how urgently important it was for me, that the onus of all that be lifted from the shoulders and psyches of the post-war generations. I told him how deeply his interview had affected me. I literally told him: that I had never considered a day ever in my lifetime when I'd be confronted with a former Nazi standing before me, asking for "forgiveness", of all things - since a Nazi would never know remorse anyway. Until now, until Oskar Gröning showed up, and I - whose interest has been in real, objective healing - found myself confronted here with a bit of a miracle.
I wrote, "You may be the Nazi I've been waiting for for over 16 years!" I made it clear to him how impressed I was, how sincerely authentic I found him - and that even though it was not my place to even pardon him, much less forgive, since I was not one of the victims and had lost no family - however, in just this, it was within my power and within my responsibility, to share with him my understanding and support, to reach out and offer my shoulder, as authentic a statement as was his own.
Although my habit was to photocopy an outgoing letter, this time happened to be an exception, as I'd expected nothing
more and wanted to get it out in the mail as soon as possible, since at 85 and so harrassed as he was, who could say how long he'd hold out.
I'd written many people in high positions, and gotten some answers - all of which I still have in original - I once wrote the Pope, got an answer; wrote then German President Weizsäcker - got an answer. Well, shortly after this dispatch I got an answer from Oskar Gröning. The original, with envelope, I have on file.
I'd written many people in high positions, and gotten some answers - all of which I still have in original - I once wrote the Pope, got an answer; wrote then German President Weizsäcker - got an answer. Well, shortly after this dispatch I got an answer from Oskar Gröning. The original, with envelope, I have on file.
So, here is the full content of that letter, dated March 15th, 2005. rendered in English and complete as it is - including his additional handwritten notations:
(by) Oskar Gröning
Dear Mr. Inayat-Chisti! (this greeting first computer-typed, like the body of the letter itself, then crossed out and rewritten by hand)
I received your letter of 6 February of this year. I would like to thank you for your lines, as they stand out clearly from the contents of other letters I have received on this subject in the last twenty years. It was not always enjoyable!
For the first time I went public with my statements in the BILD interview, but in 1985 I had an unpleasant contact with neo-Nazis. An acquaintance I had met at a gathering of stamp collectors, doubted the truth of the Holocaust and gave me as his proof a brochure "The Auschwitz Lie" by a German-Dane named Christophersen. I read the booklet at home and gave it back to the man by writing comprehensiv notes into this pamphlet, page by page, with no date, no signature, and so on. He should learn a thing or two from it. - Weeks later, I learned that this man had sent the author (Christophersen) this comment as a "letter to the editor" from me, who in turn published it in his NeoNazi monthly "The Peasantry" with my phone number as provided by the sender. I then had telephone terror for weeks. That was publicity enough. - In addition, I had to appear three times as a witness before regional courts to give testimony concerning Auschwitz. That too was not easy.
Dear Mr. Inayat-Chisti! (this greeting first computer-typed, like the body of the letter itself, then crossed out and rewritten by hand)
I received your letter of 6 February of this year. I would like to thank you for your lines, as they stand out clearly from the contents of other letters I have received on this subject in the last twenty years. It was not always enjoyable!
For the first time I went public with my statements in the BILD interview, but in 1985 I had an unpleasant contact with neo-Nazis. An acquaintance I had met at a gathering of stamp collectors, doubted the truth of the Holocaust and gave me as his proof a brochure "The Auschwitz Lie" by a German-Dane named Christophersen. I read the booklet at home and gave it back to the man by writing comprehensiv notes into this pamphlet, page by page, with no date, no signature, and so on. He should learn a thing or two from it. - Weeks later, I learned that this man had sent the author (Christophersen) this comment as a "letter to the editor" from me, who in turn published it in his NeoNazi monthly "The Peasantry" with my phone number as provided by the sender. I then had telephone terror for weeks. That was publicity enough. - In addition, I had to appear three times as a witness before regional courts to give testimony concerning Auschwitz. That too was not easy.
Concerning myself: I grew up (born 1921) in a household that was national (not National Socialist). My father had served in the First World War and was severely wounded in 1915. He lost an eye through shrapnel from a hand grenade. Our
family (mother died in 1924, I still had a brother who was fatally
wounded in Russia (Stalingrad) at the age of 22) was not wealthy
and so I had a youth - although with good education (banking) - that was not rosy. When Hitler came to power in 1933, five million unemployed were on the street. He gave them work (in a work service for road construction and moorland cultivation), that made an impression. The
other measures were also well received by the population, because
having work, bread and a little money is always good for the mood of the
people.
The only bad thing known to the average person was that Hitler simply imprisoned people who were against him (concentration camps). We hadn't known where that would lead! In the "Hitler Youth" we hiked, sang songs and celebrated at the campfire. We could hike with little money throughout Germany, or on a bike. Overnight it for 35 pfennigs in a youth hostel. It was a nice time for us. When
the war came (we were told that the bad guys started this war because
they were envious), we were ready to defend what we had achieved. With weapon in hand. So I entered Waffen-SS with a kind of exultation, because that was an elite group (like the "leather necks" in the US). Who didn't want to be there ?! - And one day I got an order (to the front, in Russia?), No. I found myself one morning in October 1942 in Auschwitz. This is my story - you will ask whether we hadn't rebelled against the concentration camps and the synagogue fires? The
Jews, according to our indoctrination, were the bad guys who had started the First World
War, were responsible for the Treaty of Versailles which debts resulted in massive starvation and unemployment, and so on. That in a small town on the Weser the desecration
of a synagogue did not attract much attention, was the result of indoctrination, in which everything German was good and everything foreign was bad. (There was still no radio, no television, and only newspapers, all controlled by Hitler (Goebbels), from where should we know the truth?)
I first awoke from those dreams my youth in Auschwitz, and started to think critically.
(Let it be noted: Gröning had put in three times for transfer outof there, trnasfer to anywhere, even the Front - especially the Front - this is on record. All three requests: denied.)
Dear Mr. Inayat-Chisti, thank you for your letter. The content touched me so emotionally that I cried the first time I read it. How can I find understanding and even assistance from a person whose people have been persecuted as cruelly as I have experienced (witnessing)? I have always imagined that one day I would be able to shake hands with a citizen of your people. Without words, just as a gesture. With your letter, this has come true, that which I have wished for. Thank you, thank you very much!
(Let it be noted: Gröning had put in three times for transfer outof there, trnasfer to anywhere, even the Front - especially the Front - this is on record. All three requests: denied.)
Dear Mr. Inayat-Chisti, thank you for your letter. The content touched me so emotionally that I cried the first time I read it. How can I find understanding and even assistance from a person whose people have been persecuted as cruelly as I have experienced (witnessing)? I have always imagined that one day I would be able to shake hands with a citizen of your people. Without words, just as a gesture. With your letter, this has come true, that which I have wished for. Thank you, thank you very much!
I am very much tormented by the thought of finding forgiveness. I have come to the conclusion that ultimately only our Lord God can take away my remorse and pardon me and forgive me. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know that one is not alone with one's thoughts and feelings. That someone who introduces himself comes and says: I believe you and I am ready to shake your hand. I am not guilty in the sense of a committed crime and yet I am guilty
or have become guilty of others who have seduced me and let me share in the guilt
against a people, against human beings, against women and children.
Dear Mr. Inayat-Chisti! You extend your hand to me and pray with me in the request of forgiveness. You take my hand and comfort me by pardoning me on your own account. For others of your people you cannot speak. It is still good to know that there is one person in the world who supports me in my thoughts even though he is a Jew.
Dear Mr. Inayat-Chisti! You extend your hand to me and pray with me in the request of forgiveness. You take my hand and comfort me by pardoning me on your own account. For others of your people you cannot speak. It is still good to know that there is one person in the world who supports me in my thoughts even though he is a Jew.
There is still a difficult time ahead of me. Two years ago, I allowed a Berlin historian to visit me and ask me questions about the Holocaust. It
turned out that he acted on behalf of the British BBC, which wanted to
make a documentary of a different kind about the Holocaust. They were looking for witnesses of the time, eyewitnesses, of whom there are always fewer with the passing of time.
It is my concern to take action against the deniers of the Holocaust, of whom there are more and more, such as are seduced by the neo-Nazis. That's why I volunteered to tell the truth on camera. Unvarnished, as cruel as it really was. The taping was completed in 2004. The six-part film is showing currently in the UK, in France and in the US.
It is my concern to take action against the deniers of the Holocaust, of whom there are more and more, such as are seduced by the neo-Nazis. That's why I volunteered to tell the truth on camera. Unvarnished, as cruel as it really was. The taping was completed in 2004. The six-part film is showing currently in the UK, in France and in the US.
That was also the occasion for my interview in the BILD. At
the beginning of the series broadcast on "BBC-2" in England, three
pages of "Guardian" and "Daily Express" were reported on me. Since
I had not been warned that the releases could have consequences for me
in Germany, newspaper reporters came in droves to get an interview. (In
Germany, this series will probably be broadcast in April / May!) With agreement from the BBC, I then decided to grant BILD an (!) Interview,
because with this tabloid sheet you reach the NeoNazis. Insofar, it was correct to take a position against the deniers, just so. Meanwhile I have interview offers from all over Germany and Europe. But I've stated once all that I have to say, and stand by that. However, I do not want to be passed around like a circus monkey and "become famous". For reasons of principle, this also applies to the many written questions. It is just too much!
Dear Mr. Inayat-Chisti, it was and is very important for me to have received your letter. The BILD editors recognized that, and therefore just forwarded your letter to me. I bow to your offer to assist me. That sounded as honest as I myself have reported. Nevertheless, I, an old man, who still gets, at most, ten lines of writing without trembling, cannot satisfy my own urge to keep in touch with you. Your letter will not end up in the bin but will be kept by me. I will read it again and again! Especially when I feel down. I will also show it to my children (I assume that I may?) They are already 60 and 55 years old.
Dear Mr. Inayat-Chisti, it was and is very important for me to have received your letter. The BILD editors recognized that, and therefore just forwarded your letter to me. I bow to your offer to assist me. That sounded as honest as I myself have reported. Nevertheless, I, an old man, who still gets, at most, ten lines of writing without trembling, cannot satisfy my own urge to keep in touch with you. Your letter will not end up in the bin but will be kept by me. I will read it again and again! Especially when I feel down. I will also show it to my children (I assume that I may?) They are already 60 and 55 years old.
(The rest is handwritten):
Let us embrace you in warmth. I am pleased to have been in contact with you. Your letter is more valuable to me than many eulogies. I hold you tightly to my heart and I am
Your Oskar Gröning
Let us embrace you in warmth. I am pleased to have been in contact with you. Your letter is more valuable to me than many eulogies. I hold you tightly to my heart and I am
Your Oskar Gröning
In
April 2015, he was pulled again in his lifetime, now nearing 95, into the
new "Auschwitz Trial" - but now according to the dictates of Merkel and Justice-Inquisitor Maas, where he
was sentenced to four years imprisonment. During
this trial I - now with my Ramona - did not abandon my one time correspondent. We wrote him together, two letters sent to him via his lawyer, with mine, with our support - not as any kind of SS-admirers, but as a private couple: an American Jew, and a Berliner (whose grandparents and their pastor and deacon were
active in the Resistance, and had sacrificed more than all the deniers of
today and all the Leftist-Socialists or the "Anti"fa would ever have the spine to put on the line).
(To hang a collective guilt on him for murder and condemn him for that is an imposition of the judicial order of a constitutional state, and an absurdity.) In all previous trials of Auschwitz, or other concentration camp or death camp matters, it has always been about individual guilt. It speaks volumes about the Merkel-State, with Maas as Federal Minister of Justice, and the promotion of Stasi staff under (former Stasi-IM) Merkel, that nothing adheres any longer to the Basic Law, their red-green communist zeal leading to tossing everything into one heap before the "last chance" for their self-edifying "fight against Nazis" escapes them - a mere Left-instrumentalization of today's Banana Republic of Germany.
(To hang a collective guilt on him for murder and condemn him for that is an imposition of the judicial order of a constitutional state, and an absurdity.) In all previous trials of Auschwitz, or other concentration camp or death camp matters, it has always been about individual guilt. It speaks volumes about the Merkel-State, with Maas as Federal Minister of Justice, and the promotion of Stasi staff under (former Stasi-IM) Merkel, that nothing adheres any longer to the Basic Law, their red-green communist zeal leading to tossing everything into one heap before the "last chance" for their self-edifying "fight against Nazis" escapes them - a mere Left-instrumentalization of today's Banana Republic of Germany.
Moreover, precisely under Merkel and her red-green climate of group-think dictatorship a mass, well functioning lemming-mentality is firmly in place. Which means: One has so little spine, moral courage, to stand today against a third German-socialist dictatorship - as little as at the end of the Weimar period against the brown socialists or against the red socialists. Because today we see a "Fourth Reich spirit" looming pervasively and clearly before us.)
(Eva Mozes Kor, one of the survivors witnessing for he prosecution, spoke of her willingness to regard him as a human being and forgave him during the trial: "but I did not relieve him of his responsibility, he still has to assume that himself.")
Under his then current health - and legal - circumstances, no further word from him would be expected, and so it remained - he had probably received our letters through his lawyer. And that had sufficed.
Also present - as observer - was a notriously celebrated Holocaust denier, an 89 year old woman named Haverbeck, who toward the end of the trial had been asked on camera what she thought of his testimony. "Well," she replied with a cynical smirk, "he's an oldman, his memory is failing him." When approached shortly after by a reporter and told of her comment, Hr. Gröning looked over his shoulder with a long-weary expression and a shaking of his head, and answered merely, "Some poeple just cannot be helped."
Neither the Haverbecks nor the the so-called Social Justice Warriors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j88O64Fp24&feature=youtu.be
http://samuelinayatchisti.blogspot.de/2018/03/nachruf-des-wohl-unwahrscheinlichste.html
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