"There can be no beauty if it is paid for by human injustice, nor truth that passes over injustice in silence, nor moral virtue that condones it." ("The Short Stories" by T. Borowski) -  Can you allow yourself to  lose your humanity? Does the the will to survive justify an evil act?

Agnieszka Grochowska - 13.11.2018 @ 17:05

I have read Tadeusz Borowski's wartime stories and as a reference to them tried to answer a question "Can you allow yourself to lose your humanity? Does the the will to survive justify an evil act?"

At any cost!
by Gabriela Siodłak, VIII LO Cracow/Poland

The young, 21. century generation often ask themselves, how is it possible that people during World War Two have completely lost their humanity in such a short time? Why love and respect for others were replaced with hatred? Tadeusz Borowski’s wartime stories depict the problems of the everyday life and the way war influenced people’s morality. And here appears the question, where humanity ends, when humans step against each other and how much can be justified by war, a will to survive, a sense of injustice or a search for justice?

The tales’ characters are of varied age, gender, social status and occupation. But there’s one thing that they all have in common– a great desire to live. Some of them go with the flow and accept their destiny. Others stay with restrain, while other ones do everything to survive. They fight, steal, murder and justify their behavior with extreme condition, they find themselves in. I think circumstances might be considered an extenuating or even acquitting factor sometimes. However murder, violence or theft, while human life is threatened, can be justified in neither case. Where would we have gone, if we had accepted such crimes and hadn’t punished people who committed them?

In one of the stories the protagonist describes the situation in Auschwitz concentration camp.

 “There is no beauty if it is justified by human injustice, no truth that closes people’s minds to injustice, no moral virtue that approves on it.” – he says bitterly, emphasizing the tragedy of war. For this camp prisoners it was an everyday life, they struggled for life, loved and hated at the same time. They wanted to understand the world they were living in and human beings they were encountering. They searched for justification of their pain and at least a bit of joy in their lives. But there is no place for good or beauty, where human suffers.

It’s not easy to judge others especially those whose life was threatened. Indifference to the lost of fundamental principles of humanity is not the solution for me. Moreover, being involved in the process of building one’s life upon other’s injustice is even worse. So just like no circumstances justify a crime, we should not allow ourselves to forget about humanity in any case.

Gabrysia Siodłak - 20.11.2018 @ 18:42

First I’d like to say that your article is very good and it really made me think!

Especially two fragments of sentences from your text are really noteworthy: “justified by human injustice” and “we should not allow ourselves to forget about humanity in any case”. The first one made me stop reading and start thinking and the second one is very strong.

In my class we talked about the questions you brought up, a few days ago, but we did not come to a solution. We discussed about if it’s justified to steal medicaments from a chemist, if your very ill mother needs it and you don’t have money to buy it. Deep inside we knew that it’s not justified. But should we let our mother die just because maybe the chemist’s live is destroyed after the theft?

With my circumstances I totally agree you, but I really don’t know what I would do, if I would have to guard the ones I love. (That’s also an opinion my class agreed on.)

So if we have to make such a decision one day: we should carefully think about the consequences! After thinking and rethinking, after illuminating every aspect we should make our decision. And then we should carry all the consequences!

Finally I don’t have a satisfying answer, but it was interesting to deal with this question/topic and I also will read a book by Tadeusz Borowski.

Victoria Zawadil - 04.12.2018 @ 16:16

Hello!

Also in my opinion this is a very good article, and it inspired me very much. So my class discussed a very similar dilemma and one point we spoke about is the question if it isn't it our highest bid to safe the life of another human. And our best answer was to make a compromise, but the thought that popped up in my head while reading your text was what we should do, if it isn't possible to make a good middle ground. If the consequences are so heavy, that there is no return, no excuse and no apology.

Also for me it's the most important thing to protect the people and things I love and which define me. And it is always easy to talk if you aren't in this situation, but I would be very overstrained with a setting like this. Let's hope we'll never get into such a position.

Marie Naschberger - 09.12.2018 @ 17:05

Hi Gabrysia!

This topic which you discuss is quite difficult and really extensive. I think that many factors influence such actions of people. Despite millions of years of evolution, humans, in the face of extreme situations like for example danger to life, follow very deep, we can say, animal instincts. It’s inter alia the necessity to live at any cost. We do not always know how we could behave in these extreme situations like war. It is important to remember, that we are the third generation after the times described in the Borowskis stories. I think for us - the people who do not face such terrible situations and choices in which sometimes there is no good option, it is difficult to judge others, because we don't know how we would act  if we were them. Now we can speculate, but in reality, fear or other emotions can take control of our human’s minds.

Alicja Danielak - 01.02.2019 @ 22:22