The issue of turning over the Nazi war criminals responsible for the atrocities committed to Jews, Gypsies, Christians, gays, and other groups during the Holocaust seems clear cut to most of us. Criminals must be tried for their crimes and, if found guilty, brought to justice.
But what happens when the criminal saved your daughter? What happens if you only discover the person's criminal past after decades of friendship? What if you married the love of your life, only to discover 30 years down the line that he was the former director of a concentration camp? Many Latin Americans have come to experience these conflicts within themselves as individual connections come to affect the systemic relations between Israel and Latin American countries.
It is difficult to do what is just when such strong bonds have been formed with people who we can be sure, should we decide to turn them over to the Israeli government, will be found guilty and executed for the things they have done. My grandfather, who was once one of the wealthiest men in the district of La Belleza in the province of Santander del Sur in Colombia, would have been faced with this very situation after Nazi refugees came to his small town, performed needed medical services for the townspeople, and saved his daughter's life not once but twice.
The moral question is easier to answer than it is to practice. Perhaps it is evil to harbor Nazi war criminals, but I can't say with any degree of certainty that I wouldn't do it if the criminal had become not only my friend, but my extended family. To a Latin American, there is no stronger bond.
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Wow. This is quite a story. Although I have my own thoughts on how I would handle such a situation, I don't think I could put myself in a position to judge someone for going in either direction. For me, though, what is thought-provoking in this case is to consider how such a personal situation can have some kind of repercussion and influence in how nation-states will approach each other. Another such issue, though not exactly the same, that comes to my mind was the Chilean Government's reaction to Spain's efforts to bring Pinochet to trial for war crimes when he was in Britain receiving medical treatment. Even though Chileans have pushed forward their own process of trying Pinochet on charges of human rights violations, they were very clear that the rest of the world didn't have the right to do likewise with a Chilean national. Good, gripping post. I'm curious to hear how others will respond.
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