Why have survivors of the Holocaust forgiven Hitler and the Nazis?
…I do not know a single one who has forgiven Hitler or the Nazis. By the way, my family includes some Holocaust survivors…and, unfortunately, many victims. There were many millions of victims of the Nazis–many Jews and non-Jews. Within Judaism, Jews seek forgiveness every year on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) for sins they have committed against God. But, to achieve repentence for sins committed against other people, one has to ask forgiveness of the person whom one has sinned against. E.g., if I strike you in anger, I am not absolved of that sin by praying my heart out on Yom Kippur. I can only achieve repentance by asking you for forgiveness directly. In this instance, you have the power to forgive me. You also have the power not to forgive me. As I have pointed out in the past in Askville, this becomes problematic in the case of murder or killing. If I commit a sin by murdering a man, only the victim can forgive me, or not as s/he so chooses. But, in the case of murder, it
