Editorial: Remembering World War II

Abstract

On April 21, 1945 the Russians took control of Berlin. Nine days later, on April 30, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker. On May 7 at 2:41 in the morning in Reims, France, General Alfred Jodl signed an unconditional surrender of all German forces. The surrender would take effect the following day, bringing war to an end in Europe. But while soldiers and civilians from Allied countries celebrated, the war with Japan continued to claim lives. It would take almost four more months before the Japanese surrendered on August 25, a surrender that was officially recognized on September 2, marking the end of the war with Japan and, finally, the end of World War II itself. Six years of World War would not come to an end abruptly or easily for the nations or the individuals involved. And for some, the war—or at least the effects of war—never ended. Of the veterans who survived battle, some managed to restart their lives at home in spite of the horrors they had experienced, but others who had suffered acute trauma to their bodies or who suffered what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found it extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible, to resume their daily lives. Today approximately one million US veterans of World War II are still living. It is estimated that all will have died by 2035—a long way off, to be sure, but a reminder that as time goes on, eyewitness accounts by veterans of World War II will only exist in writing or in film. But, of course, veterans from other wars—Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and the war in Iraq—have already begun to take their place, and others will, no doubt, return home from wars not yet foreseen. As we celebrate V-E day on May 8 (some will celebrate on May 7), remembering the lives of soldiers and civilians and of victims and perpetrators who were lost in the war, the church has an opportunity to consider its identity and mission in light of wars past and present. The following briefly considers the church and war, nationalism, Judaism, forgiveness, and courage.