The following quote is displayed at the United States Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C.:
I believe in the sun,
Even when it is not shining.
I believe in love,
Even when I do not feel it.
I believe in God,
Though He is silent.
- Author Unknown
The first known printed version of this quote originated in a Swiss newspaper which published a “special correspondence “on June 26, 1945 by an unnamed reporter from Cologne (Köln), Germany, who wrote that this quote was found on a cellar wall where Jews had hidden from the Gestapo.
Cologne had a Catholic community that resisted the Nazis and what they stood for. Priests, nuns, and laypeople sheltered Jews in church buildings or cellars, where the quote “I believe in the Sun…” was said to be found. The church risked their lives to provide food, false documents, and underground shelters.
Cologne had a strong Nazi presence that was heavily policed, with a large Gestapo headquarters and because the city was heavily patrolled by Nazis, it was especially dangerous. Catholic laypeople who hid Jews in Cologne were arrested by the Gestapo. Some were executed locally, some imprisoned, and others deported to concentration camps.
Hiding Jews would have taken extraordinary courage.
I think about myself and whether I would have the courage to do what all of these everyday hero’s set out to do in Cologne. Would I be a chicken or would I be brave? I don’t think that risking my life would matter as much to me but it would be a tough choice to make if I knew that the people I loved the most would also suffer. I think I may not have been brave enough to hide fugitives but I do think I would have been brave enough to send food to a family in hiding, or maybe even visit a Jewish friend that had been outcasted. I want to believe that my compassion for others would outweigh my fear.
We all have it in us to be brave. The question to ask ourselves is whether or not we would put our lives on the line so that others would be able to live out their own. #Heroes