"....Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom....In the first month, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Haman caused Pur, that is, lots, to be cast before him day after day [to find a lucky day for his venture], month after month, until the twelfth, the month of Adar.... And letters were sent by special messengers to all the king's provinces-- to destroy, to slay, and to do away with all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar...." (Esther 3:6b, 7, 12-AB)
There have been two instances in human history of state sponsored genocide against the Jews. The Feast of Purim celebrates the victory over the first. I know of none celebrating the victory over the second, the end of World War Two. Someone might point out that no Jews were killed during the first one, and over 6,000,000 were killed during the second one. Yet, had WW II not ended, had the German won, and history reveals just how close he came to winning, there would have been no Jews left in Europe, and ultimately the world.
At the Wannsee Konferenz, held in a villa on the southern outskirts of Berlin, January 20, 1942, fifteen German officials met to officially "decide" on the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question," to finish what Haman had "started." The discussion had been going on for some time, innuendos and vagaries had been stated, but the longer the discussion went on the more it became evident to those present that something was about to be decreed which no one had up to that time put into an official statement. As it was apparent that some in the room were not getting the idea as to where this meeting was headed, SS General Reinhard Heydrich, who chaired the meeting, finally, with a cold as steel voice, declared the fate of the Jews: "From Lapland to Libya, from Vladivostok to Belfast, no Jews , not one."
Below is the list of the Jewish population in Europe (even of that which the German did not yet occupy) which was presented to the attendees at that conference---------------------------- that cold, snowy Tuesday in 1942.
- Old Reich [Germany proper]: 131,800
- Ostmark [region of the former Austria, incorporated in the Reich]: 43,700
- Eastern Territories [Polish areas annexed by the Reich]: 420,000
- General Government [occupied Polish lands]: 2,284,000
- Bialystok [district in eastern Poland, under German civil administration]: 400,000
- Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia: 74,200
- Estonia: free of Jews
- Latvia: 3,500
- Lithuania: 34,000
- Belgium: 43,000
- Denmark: 5,600
- France/occupied territory: 165,000
- Greece: 69,600
- Netherlands: 160,800
- Norway: 1,300
[List] B.
- Bulgaria: 48,000
- England [i.e. United Kingdom]: 330,000
- Finland: 2,300
- Ireland: 4,000
- Italy including Sardinia: 58,000
- Albania: 200
- Croatia: 40,000
- Portugal: 3,000
- Romania including Bessarabia: 342,000
- Sweden: 8,000
- Switzerland: 18,000
- Serbia: 10,000
- Slovakia: 88,000
- Spain: 6,000
- Turkey (European portion): 55,500
- Hungary: 742,800
- USSR: 5,000,000 [including subtotals for:]
"Total: over 11,000,000"
I have sat and stood and prayed in the very room where that statement was made. It is never pleasant. But the reality is that while Germany had known, all Germany, the intent of Adolph Hitler, while laws had been passed and terrible measures had already been implemented against the Jews, it was at this meeting, in this beautiful lakeside setting, that "The Final Solution of the Jewish Question" was sealed. Of course we know that in both declarations King Jesus prevailed. And, in both instances, the Lord God used people, people just like you and me, to intervene on behalf of the Jews.
One of my personal favorites of the Bible is Mordecai. This man raised and discipled Esther. The whole Book of Esther is an example of the prophetic insight and unshakable will of one man. Mordecai was responsible for getting Esther into the very inner circle of the king. Mordecai was the one who told Esther about the king's decree of "The Final Solution to the Jewish Question." And, when Esther, fearing for her life, said that she could do nothing, it was Mordecai who uttered that most famous statement-- "Don't think for a moment that you will escape there in the palace when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. What's more, who can say but that you have been elevated to the palace for just such a time as this."
This is a sobering celebration time for Jews, and all of life should be for us as Followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus shed His Blood, died and rose from the dead that all humanity might be delivered from Satan's genocidal plan. Yet I leave you with this very sobering note. What Mordecai and Esther did during the first state sponsored genocide, what the Bonhoeffers, Niemollers and others did during the second, should always be remembered and celebrated. But,-------------------------------- another is yet to come.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that I am in the heritage of such great Covenantal People as, Mordecai, Esther, and Bonhoeffer. May I be as faithful. Amen.
****************************************************
When 18 year old Peter Torjesen "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
