4 ms·

I know what you mean, OP. On the other hand, your great-grandfather was just a man, and he lived under very difficult circumstances. I'd like to think that I wo

I know what you mean, OP. On the other hand, your great-grandfather was just a man, and he lived under very difficult circumstances. I'd like to think that I would have risked my life and resisted in his shoes; but I have no idea. Best case scenario is that his diary humanizes him to you and to others. (Speaking as a Jewish American with no SSS relatives but many who perished in the Holocaust, FWIW)

meowface 5y ago
>Best case scenario is that his diary humanizes him to you and to others. And the worst case scenario is that his diary demonizes him. Given the stories they mention and the potential SS division they hint at (perhaps one of the mobile death squad or extermination camp divisions), it seems quite possible. But, especially so long after he's died, it might be better to know who he really was, whichever way it turns out. If I had a relative who potentially did and expressed terrible things, even though it'd hurt, I think I'd want to know the truth. Or, as another commenter said, they could ask someone else to read it and give a vague but honest summary. If the contents are bad, they can learn that fact without the additional serious emotional impact of reading the lurid details.