Auschwitz – a Place of Cruelty and Hope
Evi Gemmon Ketterer wrote these lines after her Bearing Witness retreat in Auschwitz Birkenau with the Zen Peacemakers in 2013. It was published later in the book „Pearls of Ash and Awe“. The book includes some testimonies and reflections from other retreat participants and gives some background. This is in appreciation of the 20 years of Bearing Witness in Auschwitz with Bernie Glassman and Zen Peacemakers.
Auschwitz – a Place of Cruelty and Hope
by Evi Gemmon Ketterer
In 1942
none had the vision
that in the gas chamber at Auschwitz
a German Zen Buddhist woman
would take an American male Rabbi
in her arms
till he stops crying and comes back to life.
In 1944
none had the vision
that an American male Rabbi
and a German Zen Buddhist woman
would sit behind the fence together
both sobbing and bearing witness
to those inside the fence
exposed to the new victims arriving
seen as prisoners while they knew the destiny
of those walking on the road of death.
In 1945
none had the vision
that an American male Rabbi
would comfort a German Zen Buddhist Woman
in her heartbreak about those liberated
who had to find a way back to life
by telling her stories of his family history
and their mastery of survival.
In 2013
it happend.
Let´s not deny the evil and cruelty of this place
nor the good and love that arises here.
We would deny humanity.
(2013)
More about Evi Gemmon Ketterer see on her website
https://www.brunnenhofzendo.ch
The book „Pearls of Ash & Awe“ is published by Edition Steinrich
