Nazis is my family?

Question

I found out recently I had some SS officers in my family that fled to Uruguay, Paraguay and Switzerland at the end of WW2. Would you have a tough time living with that knowledge? I'm ashamed of where I came from now. Why would God do this?

Answer 1

Why would you feel shame ? What did you do ? Why would god hold that against you .
We may be punished for our sins but why should we be punished for the sins of others?

What did god do to you ??
Why blame god ???

Answer 2

Kristy, GOD didn't do this... your stupid relatives did. But you have to opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Do some research on other parts of your family, if it would help you. You might find abolitionists or someone else who worked to further human rights... something you could be proud of. But here's the thing: you are you, not these idiots who share some DNA with you. You can't answer for what they did. Just live your life in a manner that makes you comfortable with YOUR actions. Don't be ashamed of where you come from. I'm sure that there are 10 good people for every a.h. in all of our family trees. Good luck!

Answer 3

Why would you be ashamed? They were soldiers only doing as ordered. Of course they must know what they did was wrong. Think about it for a second, why would this effect you. You were not alive in the 40's were you? What they did was just a part of history, who they were on the inside is what makes them family. Remember also, God can not influence free will, something that had to be used for what they committed.

Answer 4

YOU have nothing to be ashamed of...were you a Nazi? No. God gives us free will, and unfortunately, you had relatives who took advantage of that. Being human, we all have things we have to overcome, and this is one thing you must get through. I traced my genealogy, and it's starting to look like I may have had quite a few slave owners in my past. In fact, my family still held racist mentalities even when I was little. Then I was born. I am of Asian and Caucasian origin.
Do I feel guilty or ashamed of my ancestors' actions? No. I had to realize that I can't change the mistakes of those who came before me. It taught me to bear responsibility for my own mistakes, but more importantly, it taught me NOT to take responsibility for others'. I'm in no way proud of their actions, but it shows me to work harder at making sure MY decisions are the right ones; to make sure that I end prejudices in MY family with ME.
God doesn't "do" things like this to us. We have a final permanant judgement, so he doesn't rain them down on us throughout life. And God certainly never intended for you to see this as some great scarlett letter.
But it does leave you open for a decision of your own. Will you take this knowledge now and use it? You know better than most people now that humans do have the capacity of committing horrible atrocities. You can use this to see those wrongs done today, and at very least, have a greater realization of them.
You are not your ancestors and you certainly are not expected to bear their burdens. If anything, you are to be applauded by helping to END their ideas. You do not ascribe to the twisted ideas of some of your own family members, and that is amazing. You should be PROUD of yourself that you are not like that.
Have you thought that maybe this is not some curse for you, but a blessing to others? Because to me, to see the Nazis come to a descendant who opposes their views is beautiful. You are intentional. You show the world that we choose our own ideas and beliefs. You show that even out of something ugly comes something beautiful.

Answer 5

be aware that there are good and bad in everyone, because your relatives were nazis doesnt mean your evil, similary not all german soldiers were evil, oscar schindler a nazi saved around 1500 jews, people can have a mentality to obey orders even to the extreme of killing dogs, people even themselfs if a person makes them or gains their trust, even if they think it was wrong. a study made people give electric shocks to dogs for dissobediance. a anti-septic gas put the dog to sleep and so it appeared he was dead and the psychologists said the shocks must continue, which the majority did, even though they were crying, another is milgrams electric shock study where 75% went on to give a leathal shock just because they were told to. but i would hate knowing i had people like that in my family but im a good person as im sure you are, though it should never be forgotten it is past and it doesnt make you evil or a bad peron which should be remembered

Answer 6

Why would God do what? Give you family members that were less than perfect? My best friend always says, "Friends are God's way of making up for giving us our family". You did not wear the SS uniform. You did not commit the crimes. You have nothing to be ashamed about at all. This has NO reflection on you whatsoever.....unless of course you just LOOK for stuff to be unhappy about.

Answer 7

With all your spirituality you might. But honestly there is nothing to be ashamed of. Try helping the survivors of holocast or the atomic bomb droppings. Try and atone for the sins of your ancestors and then may be your mind will be at rest. And I agree God has nothing to do with it. Even if he does exist to maintain the continuity of species he must allow people to be born to sinners!!! Otherwise the entire world would be barren!!! Think about it...

Answer 8

Why are you ashamed? At the time these people were doing what they needed to do to survive or at least get by without being persecuted them self. As long as you are a good person and do your best to be fair then no problem.

Answer 9

I would have a tough time living with that knowledge, but I wouldn't let it control my life. I'm sure that if we all dug deep enough, we'd all find things we're ashamed of about our ancestry... Did they own slaves? HORRIBLE! Did they rape and murder and burn villages in some ancient war? DISGUSTING!

But we have to remember: "you are not your ancestors." You can choose for yourself who to be. And what better thing to do for your lineage than to make things better while you're alive instead of just feeling bad about what happened before.

Also, don't blame God for human decisions. God did not cause people to be Nazi's, they chose to be. This is not God's fault, and it's not yours either.

Answer 10

No big deal.

I guess I've been lucky in that every one that I know of fought on the side that I would have picked. But a family is a big thing and we are all related to Hitler himself if you go back far enough. Heck, I'm half German from both parents. Probably wouldn't have to back that far.

Answer 11

You might take some comfort in knowing that the rise of National Socialism in Germany was the result of a surge of conservative religious sentiment that swept Hitler into power. Fascism and fundamentalist Christianity are essentially the same cult phenomenon, the main difference being whether the charismatic leader was a living Adolph Hitler or a dead Jesus Christ. Both organizations ruthlessly exterminated their political enemies and both achieved great power by enforcing mandatory uniformity of opinion among their members. Perhaps your own religious zeal might be attributed to a genetic predisposition toward authoritarian extremism which runs in your family and is commonly found among those of Aryan descent and/or Germanic culture?

During World War II, my father served in the Pacific. He was a sniper and a scout and hid for months in the jungles of Okinawa before the Marines eventually landed. When I was young I thought of Dad as a war hero, but after hearing his war stories dozens of times, I came to realize he actually enjoyed killing human beings. "People hunting," he use to say, "is the greatest sport on Earth." Dad claimed to have killed more than a dozen "Japs" and there was a time when I despised him for openly enjoying murder so much, regardless of the risk to himself. Eventually, I matured enough to realize that Dad was simply a victim of history. He was merely fulfilling the role fate had bequeathed him. During his last hours of consciousness he was completely delirious and returned to the most exciting and meaningful experience of his life -- combat.

I'm back to thinking of Dad as a war hero and I think you might do the same for the members of your family who were SS. Regardless of how you may see them, using historical hindsight, remember that those men did not enjoy the luxery of choosing their own fate. However misguided history may deem their actions, in the final analysis your male relatives were doing their best to fulfill their obligation to their country. It's easy for modern folks to condemn all SS as war criminals, but to the people who knew and loved them, those men were heros doing their jobs.

You asked why God would do this and I can only say that there is a huge difference between faith and truth. People of faith, not God Himself, elevated Hitler and his Nazis to absolute power and thus share in the responsibility for the evil deeds committed. God didn't create National Socialism, but people who believed in God did. ...and that's the truth.