"This dying man looked on me as a representative, as a symbol of other Jews whom he could no longer reach or talk to. And moreover he showed his repentance entirely of his own accord. Obviously he was not born a murderer nor did he want to be a murderer. It was the Nazis who made him kill defenseless people."
When Simon sat and listened to the soldiers experiences and plea for forgiveness, he was emotionless and didn't feel any misery for him. Later on that day, Simon got into an arguement with Josek about the dying soldier. He tried to explain to Josek what he himself could not understand and accept; the dying man knew what he had done to all the men, women, and children was wrong. Since the people he has hurt were obviously no longer alive, he wanted to share and repent to a Jew currently stuck in the living hell. Simon then goes on about how he was once innocent and pure, and he had grown up under the influence of Christianity until he joined the military. He then was swept up by Hitler's lies, which invaded and numbed his conscious, and words that were twisted to appear the proper solution. Simon not only defended the soldier, but he unknowingly forgave the S.S. soldier while backing up his explaination during the conflict.
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