A former Nazi soldier who was hanged for his role in the Holocaust is raising questions about the fate of the Jewish men and women who died in the Nazi death camps.
A group of former soldiers is preparing a book which will tell the story of their lives and the role of Jews in the extermination camps, the Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.
A veteran of the Auschwitz death camp, Gerd Hütter, will pen the book in the wake of the March 13 mass execution of a group of Jewish men by Nazis in the eastern city of Lodz.
The former SS soldier said he has seen a change in attitudes toward Jews in recent years.
He added that he believes it is only natural for Jews to feel a sense of guilt over the deaths of the Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe.
“It is very clear that Jews were the victims of the Nazis, not only the perpetrators,” Hüter said.
“But in general, they are not the ones to bear the responsibility.”
Hütters book, which will be published in Hebrew, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese, is being produced by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Institute.
It will be distributed to Jews around the world, and will be available to buy at bookstores and online.
“A book like this is a good way for Jews who are feeling guilty, or who are trying to make amends, to feel good about themselves,” Hötter said in a telephone interview.
“They will be able to make a statement to the world that they are willing to be more honest with each other and to understand the suffering of the victims and their plight.”
“A great burden has been lifted from our shoulders.
This book will not only help Jews to understand their situation but also to put a good face on the subject,” he added.
Hüter is known as the “father of the Holocaust” in Germany, where he is the founder of the Yad Dasher Holocaust Memorial Foundation.
Hötters father was a prisoner of war in the camp and served in a concentration camp in Poland.
Hetters father, who was born in the former Soviet Union and was forced to flee the country after World War II, said that he felt the need to write the book as a “warning to the rest of the world.”
He said he was inspired to write it after the death of his son, a survivor of the camp, who died a few years ago.
“He was the one who took the initiative to write and publish it.
I didn’t know about it.
It took me a long time to understand it,” Hets father said.