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Kevin Prabhakar
Mrs. Passalacqua
Holocaust Literature
4/12/14
My Religion is Kindness

In 2013, the country of Myanmar became formally complicit in the ethnic cleansing and
displacing of more than 330,000 Rohingya Muslims led by monks within Burma. The monks,
who follow the religious teachings of the Dalai Lama, claim to follow the religion of Buddhism
but use their religion as a means to commit acts of violence. However, the Dalai Lama himself
disagrees with the monks on the question of what religion they actually follow. When posed with
the question of where his faith lies, the Dalai Lama replied, My religion is very simple. My
religion is kindness (Dalai Lama, Brainyquote). In response to acts of mass violence, one of the
most prominent spiritual leaders fights with weapons of kindness when his own people commit
acts of murder. Through troubling times of genocide and ethnic cleansing, kindness has always
been a tool used by the oppressed people to keep hope and faith in humanity. For example, the
memoir All But My Life recounts the tragedy that Gerda Weissman Klein, a holocaust survivor,
faced during the Shoah. Although thrust into a situation of horror and despair, Gerda retains her
most human qualities due the kind decisions people extend toward her, as well as the kindness
she extends to others. This indicates that even in times of tragedy, kindness can be utilized to
invoke feelings of hope and change lives. This concept is best historically demonstrated through
the Underground Railroad.
Gerda retains her most human qualities because of the direct, purposeful kindness of the
people in her direct vicinity. For example, upon noticing a young girl without food, Gerda says,
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I took my food to the end of the line near the fence, where one of the sick girls sat on the
ground, scraping her empty bowl with an aluminum spoon. Do you want mine? I asked,
offering her the bowl (Part 2, ch. 2). Through confronting acts of violence and unkindness,
Gerda allows herself to develop and protect her most human qualities during a time of
devestation by projecting those qualities onto other people. By locating the desperation of the
young girl scraping an empty bowl for food and offering her own food to her, even while it could
mean death, Gerda practices compassion towards her fellow human beings which allows her to
remain human in a time of inhumanity. Additionally, as Gerda contemplates suicide as a
potential option for escape, she thinks, Then I felt Papas hand on my shoulderHe looked at
me steadily and then answered my thoughts. Whatever you are thinking now is wrong. It is
cowardly. Promise me that no matter what happens you will never do it. I promise you,
Papa, and in the years to come, when death seemed the only solution, I remembered that
promise as my most sacred vow (Part 1, ch. 5). Gerdas faith in humanity is restored when she
recognizes that she cannot commit suicide because she still has ties to the earth through the
people who love her. Her fathers kindness allows her to maintain the physical manifestation of
her humanity for years to come by reassuring her that there were still things to live for despite
the tragedy into which she was born. Finally, when about to wash herself, she witnesses, Come
child, she said after a while, you must eat something and get some rest. I am responsible for
her and must be with her all the time, the Militz man insisted. Let her wash, Paula said firmly.
Her voice had a melodious quality. I will stay with you as hostage, if necessary (Part 2, ch. 2).
Paula represents the epitome of kindness towards Gerda as she offers herself as potential
sacrifice to the SS just so that Gerda can clean herself. By placing herself as hostage in the hands
of the SS, Paula allows Gerda to return her life to a certain extent of normalcy by engaging in
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acts that would otherwise be banned in the holocaust. Thus, although the direct acts of kindness
in Gerdas vicinity enable her to retain her humanity, she also maintains humanity because of
other forms of kindness that people around her show.
Gerda retains her most human qualities because of the indirect, subtler kindness of the
people around her. Firstly, upon learning of the death of her father, Gerda inquires, She looked
at the picture a while and then she put it back into my hand. Look at the picture, Gerda, she
commanded, for your father is dead. Cry, Gerda, Mrs. Berger persisted. Cry for your dead
father (Part 2, ch. 5). Although harsh, Mrs. Bergers persistence to acknowledge the death of
her father presents Gerda the opportunity to accept loss and gain closure for her fathers death.
Mrs. Bergers forceful nature thrusts Gerda out of a dangerous state of uncertainty and allows her
to move on with her life, ensuring that she does not get bogged down with the losses in her life.
Secondly, on her birthday, Gerda notices, A few days laterI woke up with Papa and Mama
kissing me and saying Happy Birthday. Mama pressed something into my hand. An orange! I
hadnt seen one in almost three years. Where did you get it, Mama? But Mama would not tell.
She smiled with the old merry twinkle in her sad eyes (Part 1, ch. 12). The kind gesture of
Gerdas mother allows Gerda to take extreme joy in something so simple by not placing
emphasis on what extent Gerdas mother had to go through to get the orange, but rather, the
obtaining of the orange itself. The old merry twinkle in her sad eyes shows Gerda that other
people still are in control of their humanity by the kindness and emotion they can show to others,
which prompts Gerda to practice such things in her life. Thirdly, after she is rescued by Kurt,
Gerda reminisces, Kurt removed his jacket and put it around my shoulders. You are dressed
much too lightly, he remarked, pretending not to know why I was trembling. I felt the strength
and protection of his arm around me and smiled at him (Part 3, ch. 4). Although he doesnt
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directly address the reason why Gerda was trembling, Kurt still aided her in reacting to the
problems around her by letting her know that she was not alone in her struggles. Kurt removing
his jacket and putting it around Gerdas shoulders is not only a gesture symbolic of their
developing relationship but also of Kurts willingness to face all of Gerdas problems with her,
which allows her to share her humanity with someone else. The kindness in Gerdas life allows
her (to some extent) to recreate the normalcy she had before the Holocaust.
Gerda retained her humanity through the different effects that kindness had on her life.
Initially, when confronted with true kindness from her peers, Gerda thinks, Love is great, love
is the foundation of nobility, it conquers obstacles and is a deep well of truth and strength (Part
1, ch. 12). The power of love enables Gerda to change the world around her and retain her
humanity by finding her strength in the people around her who share the same feelings and
emotions that kindness evokes. Instead of facing problems by herself, Gerda relies on her strong
support system of friends and peers to move her through difficult times, which indicates that
kindness is among the main contributing factors to the retention of humanity. In purpose, after
the Jews had assembled in the camp courtyard, Gerda thinks, We had all assembled. Why? Why
did we walk like meek sheep to the slaughterhouse? What had we to lose?...Because we had faith
in humanity (Part 1, ch. 12). The kindness Gerda receieves from other people has a temporary
blinding effect on Gerda because it convinces her that people are not able to commit such crimes
against humanity. Gerda, being sheltered by her parents for her entire life, cannot handle the
abrupt transition away from immense kindness and thus, walks blindly like meek sheep to the
slaughterhouse, showing that sudden transitions away from humanity were detrimental to
Gerdas well-being.
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Gerda, although thrust into a situation of horror and despair, retains her most human
qualities due the kind decisions people extend toward her, as well as the kindness she extends to
others. This indicates that even in times of tragedy, kindness can be utilized to invoke feelings of
hope and change lives. Gerdas ability to retain her humanity was only refined through the
juxtaposition of extreme kindness against the backdrop of the Holocaust. This concept is best
historically demonstrated through the Underground Railroad. Abolitionist leaders such as Harriet
Tubman were at the pinnacle of kindness as they willingly risked their lives and reputations in an
effort to help slaves escape to freedom. The Underground Railroad offers us a comparative
model by which to analyze kindness against the larger system of oppression. In order to truly
make sure that such a devastating event does not occur again, society must be able to truly
convert to the religion of kindness.


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Works Cited
"Dalai Lama." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2014. 12 April 2014.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/dalailama108820.html

Klein, Gerda Weissman. All But My Life. New York: Hill and Wang, 1995. Kindle AZW File.