By COLlive reporter
Chief Rabbi of Dnepr Jewish community and Shliach Shmuel Kaminezki, along with his wife Chana Kaminezki, welcomed a special delegation from Germany that came to pay a special tribute to the victims of the Holocaust who were killed in the Igren hospital during World War II.
Heartbreaking evidence from recently discovered archive documents, as well personal testimonies, restored a terrible picture of genocide and inhumane suffering of the captives of the hospital camp.
Rabbi and Mrs. Kaminezki, together with other members of the community, heard the story of Mrs. Lilo Bhatia, the daughter of the German officer responsible for this bloodshed, who personally murdered the Rebbe’s brother Dov Ber Schneerson.
Mrs. Bhatia came to ask for forgiveness for her father. She visited the mass grave and Dov Ber Schneerson memorial on the premises of the hospital and met with the leadership of the Jewish community.
Rabbi Kaminezki told the guests the story of the Rebbe and his role in reviving the Jewish community after the Holocaust and was deeply touched by sincere words of repentance and great sorrow from the descendant.
The visit was escorted by the director of the Tkuma Holocaust and Jewish History Museum Dr. Igor Schupak.
I’d like to see her go above and beyond by speaking in Germany, or making an organization to raise awareness & consciousness for the decendents and neos to address and hopefully come out of their hatered.
it is not a matter of forgiving or not forgiving her. it is just amazing that she had the courage to come to us and apologize on behalf of her father. that takes a lot of courage. and for her to do that and to realize what a terrible thing her father did is very admirable. i am not saying we should admire her, – after all she is the daughter of a rasha – but i am just saying that that is a very good lesson to learn.
The Torah seems to make two contradictory statements: “Remember what Amalek did” and “you shall destroy and memory of Amalek”. If the goal is never to forgive and forget then we are preserving a memory of them. If the goal is to destroy any memory of them, then why are we told to remember? Perhaps the goal is this: As long as there is evil in the world, as long as the baseless hatred of others and defiance to Hashem’s Will which is personified by Amalek, has not been eradicated, we cannot forget. When the daughter of a Nazi acknowledges… Read more »
Pause.We should fforgive becouse then we did a mitzva of forgiving.my daughter is in 8th grade and the yehadus book says it ls another avaira….Shes fealling sorry lets forgive her!
Can’t see the inscription.
Yes the daughter is remorseful, definately not following in the Nazis yemach shmam’s ways.
It was very brave and probably painful to disavow herself from her father, and we should acknowledge that.
But forgiveness for her father and the myriad demons like him, they just need to root in hell.
The world is recognizing the mistakes of the past and although we are not in the position to forgive them, the goyim are ready to accept a new era of life which will bring unity and peace among nations. We won’t forget and therefore we are paveing a new way!
With all the will in the world: She CANNOT ask for forgiveness for a crime she did not commit; She CANNOT ask for forgiveness from people against whom the crime was not committed; They CANNOT offer forgiveness for a crime that was not committed against them; They CANNOT offer forgiveness to a perpetrator of a crime via someone who did not commit a crime Even Hashem says he CANNOT forgive someone for a crime committed against a fellow human, if the human does not forgive. To entertain anything of the sort demonstrates a staggering degree of self delusion and is… Read more »
I visited Germany and the descendants of the Nazis are devastated and distraught by the actions of their ancestors and it’s something they live with every day
Years ago I had the son of a Nazi kneel before me and asked for forgivmess on his father’s behalf. I told him I was not the one he needed to apologize to. I told hom to come to shul on Shabbas morming the following day and apologize to the survivors and their families. He never came. Did I mention he was drunk at the time? Anyways, this one women displayed shame, a conscious and definite remorse. She did go. She did make an effort. That merits recognition
If she is asking forgiveness that would imply her father is a human being who can be forgiven. You would need to round up all the men woman and children he killed the fathers the mothers and the children who watched them being murdered. ask them to forgive we have no right its an insult to the Holy Kedoshim and their families. Nor is she in a place to ask on his behalf are you sure he would regret it??
ALL SHE SAID WAS THAT SHE’S SORRY…
Tell me: is she “allowed” to feel sorry??
Very nice of you to go to this hospital were the terrible
tragedy too place.
I cannot speak for others, but as a Jew, ‘kohaine’ and
believer in ‘The 7 Noahide Laws,’ I will never forgive
the murderers who did this.
May they suffer eternally.
‘May their names be erased from memory,’ of all
who believe in G-d Alm-ty and fear Him.
Boruch N. Hoffinger
This is still a tremendous act. She did not commit a crime, but still feels that she carries the burden of her father’s crimes. She acknowledges his wrong doings, there is no need to take a negative tone directly to her.
She is not guilty because she is her father’s daughter. But likewise she cannot ask forgiveness for her father’s actions
ונקתי דמם לא נקתי
yes i agree,she may apologize and feel ashamed etc etc this makes sense but to ask forgiveness for father does not make sense
and should not be blamed for what he did
Hashem will decide who is forgiven for these unspeakable acts, not human beings
6 Million were brutally and cruelly murdered.
Millions were orphaned, left homeless, etc.
The Rebbe cried numerous times after the loss of his family i.e. his brother.
The Rebbe and other great Rebbes claimed the holocaust to be the worst suffering in our history.
The daughter is most probably a great individual. However, to post so cold bloodedly that she asks forgiveness giving the impression that that’s it he ימ”ש is forgiven.
Picture the millions who have perished seeing this.
Sorry, this article is completely lack of sensitivity etc. etc. etc.
WoW that’s pretty crazy if you ask me I mean like I never heard of such a thing before for the kid of a natzi should ask for forgiveness!!
to the comments, yes we are not the ones who can grant forgiveness for such a horrendous act, however we must recognize that this woman does feel ashamed about what happened! we mustn’t forget, but we must welcome her with open arms. let’s also not forget, it was her father who committed the crime, not she. she is sorry on his behalf and that’s pretty amazing of her.
She asked – who said anyone forgave her?!
We are not in position to forgive
That’s ridiculous
we won’t forgive nor forget what those animals did to my / our families !
still suffering as a result!
amazing thing to ask forgiveness!