"Can You Learn Anything from a Void?"

In such scenarios as that of Macbeth and the Holocaust, innocent lives were lost out of greed and hatred.  For some of the malevolent murderers, remorse and guilt could not be further from their minds.  In the article “Can You Learn Anything from a Void,” written by Adam Kirsch, Kirsch uses information and references from The Druggist of Auschwitz: A Documentary Novel, written by Dieter Schlesak and Reluctant Accomplice: A Wehrmacht Soldier’s Letters from the Eastern Front, written by Konrad Jarausch, to investigate the different attitudes of those people who are accomplices to evil.  Kirsch wrote about a doctor named Victor Capesius, who was a personal and professional friend to many Jewish citizens, and yet, he betrayed them when he began working for the German Nazis.  His greatest fault when he was on trial was his lack of emotion towards his wrongdoing.  He did not seem to feel upset or guilty by his actions during the Holocaust.  This lack of feeling is said to be the “void” by which a person lacks the capability to see a situation from another’s point of view.  Victor Capesius obviously lacked the sense to see his mistakes.  In such a scenario, Capesius was a bystander and onlooker of the Nazi cruelty during the Holocaust.  His responsibility should have been to stand against such cruelties and injustices.  Instead, he disregarded his humane duties and kept quiet.  In Macbeth, the three murderers who killed Banquo were simply assets in Macbeth’s plan to become king.  Their consciences should have prevented them from fulfilling such a treacherous act; however, they ignored their morals and carried out the malicious deed.  They are as guilty of murder as Macbeth.  These murderers, and those of the Holocaust, are as guilty of the crimes committed, as those who actually planned the crimes.  They could have declined their leaders and accepted the consequences instead of denying what they knew as moral.  In the article, Kirsch wrote about one man’s defiance of the “Nazi tide.”  Konrad Jarausch was a gentleman in Hitler’s army who did not agree with the views and decisions made by the men and leaders of his country.  He was able to escape this point of view due to the fact that he retained the ability to feel compassionate towards others, such as the Jews.  This compassion for others is the key to fight against the ascendance of evil.  Without such convictions and compassion, the world would be a pitiless and dark place.  It is important to always feel compassion and to step into the shoes of others to experience their point of view.