The Horrors Of War

On Monday night I watched a one hour documentary on TMC titled "From D-Day to Berlin". The movie featured rarely seen color movies of the allied march into Berlin during World War II. The movies were shot by professional photographer George Stevens who was part of the allied team chosen to film the war in black and white. However, he also had his personal camera and took his own "home movies" throughout his time there. These undeveloped films were found by his son many years after his death and were used to create this stirring, one of a kind, documentary. (Incidentally the dvd is available for purchase through Amazon). The film followed the American troops from D-Day in June of 1944 until they stood in Berlin in May 1945. I saw the horrors of the war in a way which I have never been able to see or realize before. The film showed dead people lying along the roads, dead people in the concentration-camps, dead Wehrmacht-troops, dead civilians, dead Americans, and all the pain which was present during the war. Highlights included the Battle of the Bulge, refugees, crossing the Rhine, the largest underground factory at Nordhausen that made the V-1, the largest surrender of German soldiers, meeting the Russians at the Elbe, Dauchau concentration camp April 29, 1945, liberated POWs, Bertchesgarten in Bavaria, and ruins of Berlin. Despite all this horror, the film also showed the real joy of the people who were liberated from the Nazi-regime. You could almost rejoice with them as you watched them celebrate their liberation. As I watched this film several thoughts went through my mind. First, I thought of my uncles who were there and were so hesitant to even talk about the events which they experienced. They could probably never forget the horror they viewed in person. My Uncle John did tell me how he recited "The Charge of the Light Brigade" to his buddies as they prepared to storm the beach. Many of these men never came back. I was astonished to see the devastation of the country. But I was shook emotionally as I viewed the prisoners at Dauchau and the piles of human, nude bodies. That was a sight one can never forget. And as I watched, many age old questions flooded my mind. How could the world have allowed this evil to exist? How could one doubt that evil does exist? How can one believe that man is basically good? And to answer these questions, all we need to do is look around the world today. See what is happening in places like Iran and North Korea and the Sudan. Look at terrorism all around us. See how Christians are being killed and persecuted in many parts of the world today. And see how most of the world does nothing, except to try to negotiate with evil. Yes World War II was real and yes the world is no better today. The Bible reminds us that the human heart is desperately wicked. And our only hope is to know the Lord Jesus as our personal savior and to walk daily with Him. And while our road ahead may be filled with trouble, true believers know how it will end. And that is our hope.