It would be an understatement if we said that Jews were treated badly by the Nazis. They were rounded up, tortured, shot, worked to death in concentration camps and the escapees were hunted like animals.
No wonder it is one of the ugliest chapters of human history. You would expect the Jews to still hate every Nazi who lives, or at least harbour intense dislike for anything related to it.
That’s why Ben Stern is something of a saint. Why? Because he allowed a granddaughter of a Nazi to live in his own home. What’s more, he enjoys her company a lot and they make good roommates!
Lea Heitfeld’s grandparents were loyal Nazi party members. But she was brought up to question the Nazi beliefs and taught to respect people without judgment.
Ben Stern is a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor, who survived 9 concentration camps and 2 death marches. For a man who survived so much horror, he has shown immense compassion by taking Lea into his home.
“I’m open-minded to get along with people. I want to prove it that it can be done.”
It is very mature of him to do this because he was thrown out of his home by the same people who were fraternizing with Leia’s grandparents. It is incredible that they have no hate for each other!
Both of them have dinner almost every night together. They go on long walks and have long conversations about history.
They have become steadfast friends – something that would have shocked people 2 generations ago.
And this duo can teach us everything good about humanity. They teach us that we can put our past behind us and make friends with anyone. Even the ones who gassed millions of our people to death.