Springing from an unprecedented meeting between the sons and daughters of the Holocaust and the children of the Third Reich, Justice Matters: Legacies of the Holocaust and World War II takes readers on an unparalleled journey of hatred and ethnic resentments.
Although more than half a century has passed, recollections of the Holocaust and WWII still sear the lives of survivors, their children and grandchildren.
Weissmark's book shows how the cycle of ethnic and religious strife is kept alive generation after generation through story-telling, with each side recounting the injustice it suffered and the valor it showed in avenging its own group. Describing how these stories or "legacies" transmit moral values, beliefs and emotions and thus preserve the past, Weissmark writes: "Unjust acts that have not been reconciled are stored in legacies as if packed in ice."
The lessons of Justice Matters speak to a world reeling from unhealed wounds, providing insights into myriad conflicts ranging from centuries old disputes in Northern Ireland and the Middle East, to racial strife in America's ghettos.
Weissmark presents an inspiring recipe for reconciliation, asserting that it is not enough for the antagonist to agree to talk. Each side also must agree to moderate their own emotions and dispense with the notion that they are the most aggrieved.
Justice Matters is about hearing the other side, seeing the other view. The story of how children of the Holocaust and children of the Nazi's struggled to come to terms with their past has universal applications for any people, and culture, riven with a legacy of resentment.
http://www.weissmark.com
Hi, there!
I'm workin' on James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in relation to the author's life. Could anyone help?