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Forgiving Dr. Mengele -- Writer's Poke #120

For Writers:

Eva Kor decided that she couldn't live with hate any longer; she forgave the human beings that experimented on her and her twin sister; she forgave people involved in a great evil.

She forgave people, not the evil. Somehow, she recognized that forgiving the former was possible without also forgiving the latter.

People hated her for her willingness to forgive, claiming that she had no right to forgive. But Eva's point was this: forgiveness is the only way to move on. It is the only real path forward. And it's an individual choice. She didn't need anyone to ask for her forgiveness. Forgiveness is something freely offered.

Forgiveness is power. Forgiveness is liberation.

To forgive is not to forget. How could the Holocaust ever be forgotten? But what purpose is gained by holding on to hate?

In what ways have you allowed hate to control you?

"You cannot hate other people without hating yourself." -- Oprah Winfrey

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