The Archway

Issue date: 12/4/09 Section: Opinion

Elie Wiesel (MCTCampus)

It is not often that you get to witness two sides of one story unfolding before your eyes. In the case of the Holocaust, we at Bryant have experienced something special. In the same week that Elie Wiesel, the author of the book Night, comes to campus, a man by the name of John Demjanjuk is waiting to sit on trial for his alleged actions as a facilitator of the deaths of more than 27,000 Jewish people.

As our history moves farther and farther from the Holocaust we see it as a fading glimmer of what was past. Not to say that we ignore it more as time goes on, but that there is less of a connection to that part of history to us today. Many of us may have relatives that are or were survivors of that time, though many of them are no longer living, sadly.

Being able to listen to Mr. Wiesel is something of a privilege especially for our generation. People can always learn from the past through text books, but it is different when you feel as though you are experiencing it through the trials and tribulations that a person had to endure themself. Having a face and a voice to put to Mr. Wiesel's book, Night, only provides more truth to the reality of what was a dark point in history. It may be decades later, but there is still a means of actually announcing those wrongs and rectifying them through legal processes.

Mr. Demjanjuk is an 89 year old man suffering from a bone marrow disease along with other ailments that makes his life not long in years. Whether putting this man on trial and possibly sentencing him to death accomplishes anything seems beyond the point as he will likely die before the penalty in enforced. But the point is not to make what is left of this man's life more miserable, but to achieve a level of justice that time will only allow for a trifle longer.

The reason this case is important is because it stands as possibly one of the last attempts to right the wrongs of past injustices. Though it is commonly accepted that the actions during the Holocaust were far beyond unthinkable and despicable, there is a sentiment that just because acceptance of those actions as wrongful is common those responsible are still due their just deserts. I have to agree with this. If Mr. Demjanjuk is in fact the individual that he is claimed to be, then his punishment for those actions is not beyond the scope of necessity.

There is only so much that can be done nowadays with respect to the Holocaust and its perpetrators. Few are left living and posthumously condemning those who are gone serves no purpose but to remind us of the number of people involved in such egregious actions. What we do gain out of even attempting to prosecute is the ability to portray a global awareness of the issues involving human rights and how society has developed a view that is patently opposed to the genocide of any peoples.

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