Villains, Heroes or Bystanders?

    Years after a moment in time becomes history, those of us who know its story hold it in judgment, forcing this history into explainable categories. History is very rarely remembered fondly. It is the times of war, atrocities, destitution and destruction that are foremost in our minds. Baffled with the need to make it all right again, we seek to explain, justify and villify a certain part of the history. We apply a pattern to historical thought with three categories: 1) the Villain, 2) the Hero and 3) the Bystanders. These simple labels we place on historical events for our own peace of mind find themselves thrust on the people who lived in those times. We are determined to decide who falls into these categories. We feel exultant when we have succeeded in doing so. It makes all events and everyone who witnessed/participated in them acceptable, manageable in our minds.

     There were villains, there were heroes and there were bystanders. There had to be for the cycle of history; people with the abilities and the knowledge to change life completely and permanently for their own betterment and people who refused to follow suit. A large portion of these people fall yet another group. They are in between the villain and the hero. They are those who initially wanted the promised change only to later discover the villain at work, playing with their lives and dreams and they became caught up with basic survival.

    Once these categories are filled, we have our answers of ‘why’ or ‘how.’ The bad parts of history happened because of the Villains, until the Hero arrives to turn back to clock or to save society. The Bystanders are simply that. Those who allowed time and history to pass them by. It seems we are all geared for the experience of a happily ever after and we want histories to end on a good note. History cannot be glossed over in this fashion. Not everyone can be a villain and not everyone is a hero, and many times, there is no happy ending. The historical event may have ceased, but those who experienced it did not just pick up where life left off. The repercussions last a life time and effect the generations after. Our simple categories are a disservice to those who continue to come to grips with their pasts.

    We look upon the past and judge it with the standards we know and experience For those who have only known what it’s like to live in a democratic republic, it is unfathomable to understand how any other government could exist or for a society to choose something different from that. The governments of many European nations have fluctuated, many at a rapid pace. The 20^th century saw the most activity in the rise and fall of governments, particularly that of Germany. This week, November 8-12, marks the anniversary of several unfortunate events in German history.

    By the end of the 19^th century, Germany was on the fast track of industrialization and modernization. Germans harbored a deep-seated spirit of competition and envy with the British and French. While other nations were at the peak of their greatness, Germany had floundered. They desired an identity they could be proud of, one that reflected the achievement of Imperial greatness. A hero emerged in Otto von Bismarck. With his Prussian military abilities, he pushed Germany in the direction it most desired to go. The German spirit soared, exuberant in the achievement of the unification of its smaller kingdoms and the tangible desire to take a place among the nations. It became a thing of honor to be German.  They had the makings of a national identity.

    Heaving a deep sigh of satisfaction, the German breath was snuffed out in November 11, 1918. Their identity was now in the rubble of their great cities and lying dead in the trenches of foreign fields and unmarked graves. Destitution was now the common identity among Germans. Denied a place among nations, the German people let history decide their future, their thoughts on the more urgent needs of food, clothing and shelter and not on the doings of an obsolete government.  The individual became responsible for the care of their own families. Unemployment was rampant.  Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, leaving the nation to sue for peace with the Allies on its own. The fledgling Weimar Republic was the first attempt at democratic rule, but it appeared doomed even at the start because of the Treaty of Versailles. The first leaders of this new government later became known as the “November Criminals” because they accepted full responsibility for the war and reparations on behalf of the German people. Reeling with the loss of their nation and unable to put food on their own tables, Germans were made to bear the brunt of shame and they faced the prospect of war reparations. This was the beginning of the ‘stabbed in the back’ mantra and it also kindled a hatred of the Allies.

    By 1920, the Weimar Republic no longer kept up with inflation, more concerned with staying afloat. The returning troops from the front were dismal. They had fought in trenches for four years to come home only to find the decimation of their families, towns and government. They had fought for the dream of a great German nation, but came home to the opposite. Lines were drawn by the younger generation, freely doling out their disdain of the past and bitter with the lack of a future. Hundreds of political parties sprang up, vying for recognition and claiming to be the answer to getting past the war years. The Weimar Republic barely functioned in a sea of party politics.

  Frustration and anger spilled out onto the streets by 1923 and violence became common, the people taking no notice. Slowly, however, the Republic was able to somewhat alleviate the economic stress of post war Germany. After ten long years, it appeared that Germany could bounce back. Whisperings of a promising future began to take the place of the political rants against the Republic. Prosperity became attainable.  Another sigh of satisfaction and then another blow to their efforts. October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, sent its demobilizing effects around the world. The support of other nations that Germany had grudgingly depended on disappeared, signaling global economic failure. The younger Germans had been given a tantalizing taste of prosperity. The old bitterness returned, overshadowing the progress that had been made. Once again the parties drew tighter lines, rocking the Weimar Republic and escalating the violence.

  The previous generation was categorized. The villains were those who caused the downfall of the German nation: the November Criminals, the Allies, and those not of pure German blood. The heroes, of course, were the soldiers, true Germans who fought and sacrificed everything for the Fatherland. The Treaty of Versailles was considered the ultimate betrayal of Germany. Too many years of bitterness and living on the edge of desperation, the German population was presented with this ideology and the promises of employment and a return of a national identity. Germans felt the ideals of the Nazi Party offered them real unification and a real sense of identity. But more than that, the NSDAP promised real food on the table.

    The year of 1934 saw a surge in employment and the basic needs of the German people finally appeared to be met. Adolf Hitler had been the Führer of this new government, the Third Reich, for a year. Economic stabilization made Germans loathe to argue about Nazi fundamentals. Another sigh of relief was heaved, not as deep or as contented as the others, but there was still hope for the ‘German.’  Blind eyes were turned from the methods of the Nazi Party. Hadn’t they already witnessed that kind of daily violence in society for the last twenty years? Prosperity has a way of clouding the picture of political health. It soon became clear that any complaints from the people about Nazi activities could mean jail or death. Their sighs of relief became forced, deemed necessary by the Nazis and the total control of the German people. Fear replaced contentment; paranoia filled their stomachs and not the food the Führer had provided.

    The world struggles to this day to decipher who the villains are for those who lived in the Third Reich. Hitler, Goebbels, Goring, Himmler… these are obvious. The obvious heroes are the men and women involved in resistance, those who helped save the ‘untermensch,’ those who were considered ‘sub-human’ like Bonhoeffer and Schindler, and eventually the Allies. The question remains about the majority of Germans. Did belonging to the Party in name mark them as villains? Did watching their neighbors and Jews carted off to camps make them villains? If it is difficult to decipher what makes a villain, then how can they determine what makes a hero or simply a bystander? How can one dream again or feel good about contentment when so many suffered because of their activity or passivity?

    It’s an ever present, largely unspoken shame to realize many were bystanders. Now they wished to have had the foresight to see the direction in which they were headed. Indifference and passivity allow things to happen. There is no active role, just the hope that one day it will all end. That better times will come after the violence, after employment, after food is on the table, after the new government (Nazi government) stabilizes, after the war, after Hitler is gone… The false hopes mounted, but by the time most were moved to action, it was too late. Total control meant any sign of resistance was stamped out. It became necessary for the bystanders to take a part in the villainy, to ensure a collective responsibility for the government’s actions and to ensure the continuation of their own lives during the madness. Those who were bystanders saw the easier course was to deny that such events occurred or to have known they were taking place, but the world refuses to move on, demanding a daily accounting of how and why.  The need for a national identity has been replaced with a basic need to know who the villains, the heroes and the bystanders are. There are no concise descriptions for these labels. The collective sighs of the past brought promises that ended in eternal nightmares.

    The Third Reich was an event that demands our attention, willing us to consider what we are comfortable in accepting and to not place history in a nice, tidy box on a hidden shelf of the mind. For some the name “German” has inherently become evil. For others, it’s the term “Nazi.” The stigma persists. Both have contained elements of evil, but both had elements of profound good. Many, more than likely, upon reading this, will question the good that could have come out of the Third Reich. If the Third Reich had not produced positive aspects in the beginning, it would not hardly have been able to achieve its atrocities. Its first duty was to buy the people. It succeeded in a very short time, and gained momentum with the people.

    One of the more debatable matters among historians is how much Germans actually knew about the Jewish genocide known as the Holocaust. Most say they had to have known what was taking place beyond the gates inscribed “Arbeit Macht Frei.” For others, the conclusions point to a well-oiled propaganda machine that did its best to censor all information regarding camps and their occupants. What other reason than to say “Work makes you free” at the entrance? Yes, many had to have known, but in a totalitarian state built on fear and paranoia, there would be very few to speak out against the onslaught of genocide. Those that did were quickly silenced.

    When the government controls all sources of information, they can control most of what people know. For many, the personal demands on life far outweighed the need to keep up with vacillating scenes of government.  Like any of us, time passes without too much knowledge of current events. It’s feasible for some to have been unaware until the truth was staring them in the face and they were labeled guilty by association or passivity. So consider what can be learned from the history. When viewed objectively there is more to be learned than the far reaching stigmas. Be aware of the promises and be aware of what those promises can require of the future. Determine what motivates the promises. Do not be indifferent or ignorant of the choices your government makes. It’s important to know the histories to at least realize the mistakes and make sure that the pattern is not repeated. What would you choose to be? The villain, the hero or the bystander?

Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others, we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as ourselves.
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer - The Cost of Discipleship (1937, 1948 in English)

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer