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Employment Opportunities
Forgiveness
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AUGUST 21, 2010: EXPLORING THE IDEA OF 'TIKKUN OLAM' IN GERMANY A Gathering Across Generations Join our open event VISIT http://www.repair-the-future.org/FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS EVENT! For the German-language version, visit http://www.heile-das-zerbrochene.de/ Forgiveness Information Eva Kor's Forgiveness ideas I believe with every fiber of my being that every person has the human right to live with or without the pain of the past, and that it is a personal choice. My question is, "How many people would choose to live with pain, when they could heal from it?" I do believe that this healing is possible through the act of FORGIVENESS. and I believe in FORGIVENESS as the ultimate act of self healing, and self-empowerment. once a person decides to forgive, there is a tremendous feeling of wholeness in thought, spirit and action all moving in the same direction creating a powerful force for healing and freedom. My forgiving the Nazis is a gift of freedom I gave myself, a gift of peace for myself, it is also a gift of peace for everybody who wants it. Both peace and war begin in the heart and mind of one person. Pain and anger are the SEEDS for WAR. FORGIVENESS is the SEED for PEACE! A documentary about my forgiveness has been released this year, it is called "FORGIVING DR. MENGELE" produced by Bob Hercules and Cheri Pugh distributed by First Run Features. FORGIVING DR. MENGELE Film Link
A Definition of Forgiveness The following is a letter sent to CANDLES by Dorothy Davidson of Portland, Oregon: Dear Eva, In watching the DVD Forgiving Dr. Mengele and seeing the inability of some to understand and accept what you have experienced in forgiving, I believe, is because there is no clear definition of the term "forgiving." I struggled with this issue. My fellow Christians flip off "I forgive you" with such rapidity there seems to be no substance to the term. Dictionaries, preachers, and psychologists are contradictory and offer confusing concepts of forgiveness. The very word "forgiveness" can cause violent reactions. People don't want the pain, but they want to have a grievance. To hang onto a complaint allows someone to have a "gotchu" attitude or grudge toward the offender. It is an illogical concept of getting even. It is as simple as that. A negative choice, but a choice. First there has to be a grievance, a complaint that is causing mental and/or physical pain. The quality and quantity of the pain is as endless and varied as are the complaints. They are events over which one did not have control. Therefore, forgiving is the choice and decision to give up a grievance to which one is entitled. I wish you could have given the group in Palestine this definition of forgiveness because I think they truly want peace both inner and outer. Listening to another's grievance is of no help and you were right in not wanting to hear the particulars. The particulars, no matter how painful, are irrelevant. Sympathy only validates the grievance. Only the courage and determination of the individual to give up a grievance and exercise forgiveness is relevant. I am thankful that God has put in every individual a success mechanism. We can have joy and peace beyond suffering and pain. I can't help what happens to me, but I can choose how much influence to give it in my life. Thank you for allowing me to share. Thank you for your example. Sincerely, Dorothy Davidson Forgiving Dr. Mengele On DVD The controversial and award-winning film Forgiving Dr. Mengele (2006) is available on DVD. Directed by Bob Hercules and Cheri Pugh, the film documents Auschwitz survivor Eva Kor's struggle with the pain of victimization and her controversial decision to forgive Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, the man who orchestrated infamous experiments on Jewish twins during the Holocaust. Hercules and Pugh followed Kor for four years in an effort to capture the mindset behind her self-empowering decision, as well as hostile reactions to this decision from other Holocaust survivors. The film received accolades after screenings in New York and Chicago and won the Crystal Heart Award at the 2006 Heartland Film Festival. DVD is available from First Run Features. Click on the following links for a preview and some reviews of the film. Reviews of Forgiving Dr. Mengele Comments about the film Forgiving Dr. Mengele Articles Dealing with Forgiveness/Healing, ... Here are some articles dealing with forgiveness/healing, predjudice and issues related to Nazi's, perpetrators and survivors. (Some of this material includes Eva's lectures and statements) Article on Hans Munch Eva's Speech on Healing from Auschwitz and Mengele's Experiments Comments about the film Forgiving Dr. Mengele German Research Society Apologizes to Victims of Nazis Try It For Yourself...
Photo taken by Alex Kor in Washington, DC. Click on the "Forgiveness" button to the left to learn more about Eva Kor's journey to Forgiveness and some thoughts from others on its healing ability. |
