Holocaust & Japans War Crime
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize-winning writer and Holocaust survivor, said: "Anyone who listens to a witness today will himself become a witness."
So Martin Doerry, the deputy editor-in-chief of Der Spiegel, a German weekly magazine, came to Korea last week to relay what he witnessed.
His testimony came in two forms - a book and an exhibition.
Doerry is an author of a book titled "My Wounded Heart." The book tells the story of Lilly Jahn, Doerry's grandmother, and her family's life under the Nazi oppression.
Lilly was separated from her children and deported to Auschwitz, one of concentration camps.
The book now available in Korean revealed letters exchanged between Lilly and her children, which paint a vivid picture of life in the concentration camps; what went through in Lilly's mind; and how the rest of the family outside the concentration camp lived.
The author read out selected chapters from the book for guests at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center in Seoul, last Wednesday.
He also brought photos of 24 Holocaust survivors, whom he had interviewed 25 years ago, for an exhibition.
The journalist was straightforward about why he came to Korea.
"This story should be told to more people, and that's why I came to Korea," Doerry told The Korea Times at the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition.
Jews in Europe during World War II were segregated and sent to concentration camps scattered throughout in Europe, where they were forced to work and killed.
Doerry's trip to Korea reflects the feelings of many Germans today to the atrocities.
Forty years after it happened, the German government issued official apologies; offered compensations; and made efforts to raise awareness among the public.
Recognizing the 65th year of the closing of Auschwitz, a symbol of the Holocaust, German President Horst Koehler has earlier this year met with his Israeli counterpart to discuss and apologize for what had happened.
"I guess it's the German mentality," the journalist said as to how Germans could be so open about the Holocaust.
Japan's War Crimes
In contrast, war crimes (as classified by the United Nations after the war) committed by Japan during World War II against people in this region are not often openly discussed in Japan.
On the issue, Doerry said, "I don't know. I'd also like to ask Japan (about that)."
During the war the imperial army used countless civilians as tools in their effort to win the war.
One scientific and military division dubbed "Unit 731" devoted to developing weapons of mass destruction ran a comprehensive biological warfare program.
Nearly 10,000 Chinese, Koreans and Russians were used in the research to breed biological weapons. Recent testimony revealed that among the victims were also war prisoners from Britain and the United States.
In fact, the number of Korean victims at the biological warfare program was comparatively small.
However, this remains a very volatile issue for Koreans because of other war atrocities such as forcing women to work in military brothels for Japanese soldiers.
The research data was later given to the United States in exchange for immunity from prosecution for war crimes, and has been locked in U.S. military archives.
One diplomat now living in Tokyo said that most people in Japan prefer to avoid talking about the past, especially when it's negative.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, she said, "In Japan, they tend to cover up things (they have committed)."
"Maybe it has to do with their culture," she said during a phone interview with The Korea Times.
The event, organized by the Goethe Institute in Seoul and the Korea Foundation, comes at an interesting moment, as this year marks the 100th anniversary of Japan's annexation of Korea.
The event welcomed a special guest.
Israeli Ambassador to Seoul Tuvia Israeli is the son of Holocaust survivors. His mother and father, Serena and Issac Kremer, were separated and sent to concentration camps during the war.
The book reading and the exhibition didn't seem to get him emotional.
"I am used to these stories," he said after Doerry's reading.
Yet, the ambassador told the audience, "This event and others alike are essential to guaranteeing that the Holocaust is remembered and that the lesson has been learned."
Then, he urged Korea to use every means possible - historians, artists and filmmakers - to pass its history to the next generations.
"That's very important."
The author brought with him a collection of Der Spiegel's cover illustrations. Copies of nearly 100 illustrations are on display. One illustration depicts North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in a dark green suit with a bomb explosion behind him.
Both exhibitions - the photos of Holocaust survivors and Der Spiegel cover illustrations - will continue until March 25.
For more information, visit www.goethe.de/ins/kr/seo/koindex.htm or www.kfcenter.or.kr