Apologies & Our Moral Compass

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema attends a ceremony at the Portuguese Synagogue marking the opening of the new National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sunday, March 10, 2024. (Bart Maat/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Yesterday the mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, apologized for the role the Dutch capital played in the persecution of its Jewish citizens during World War II, saying the government at the time “let its Jewish residents down terribly.” This apology came at an event marking Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

Of the estimated 80,000 Jews who lived in Amsterdam at the outbreak of World War II, only 20,000 survived.  During the time of the Nazi occupation they were aided by a number of  city officials to track Jews down and arrest them. Some of the people complicit in this atrocity turned in neighbours. Among those deported was teenage diarist Anne Frank and her family.

Back in January the names of around 425,000 people suspected of collaborating with the Nazis during the German occupation of the Netherlands were published online for the first time.The names represent individuals who were investigated through a special legal system established towards the end of World War II. More than 150,000 faced some form of punishment while a signficant number were exonerated. The list also contained files on war criminals, the approximately 20,000 Dutch people who enlisted in the German armed forces, and alleged members of the National Socialist Movement (NSB) - the Dutch Nazi party.

We know that many courageous citizens helped Jews to escape or gave them shelter, often at considerable risk to their own lives. Some did so because of their Christian convictions such as the family of Corrie Ten Boom. Others had a strong moral compass that wasn't necessarily motivated by religious faith. I wrote a while ago about Miep Gies, the young woman who worked for Otto  Frank and was instrumental in protecting them for over two years until someone betrayed them. The drama series A Small Light told this story so well. 

While this apology is important, and understanding the history of the Netherlands during the war is as well, I am mindful of the prevalence of anti-Judaism now, including here in Canada. I also see that with the rise of fascist ideology in the United States there are people who are taking risks to protect neighbours being sought out for imprisonment and deportation. 

Always we need to search our consciences about how we would respond if we witnessed injustice or persecution. Would we speak and act according to our morals and would the light of Christ guide us?