Pope wasn’t the culprit

Most of the people who can be blamed for the Holocaust are now in their graves. It’s logical that the people most affected, as well as their descendants, are still grieving.

Many of us still have mental pain over events of our own lives as well as lives of our ancestors.

However, Pope Benedict XVI wasn’t born until 1927, five years after I was. He was very, very young when Adolf Hitler took over politically in Germany. When he was drafted into that country’s military, he was still very young, having no say over events. Hitler grabbed boys at a young age and everyone had to obey orders.

When we heard about the concentration camps, even Franklin D. Roosevelt had trouble believing it. I was in high school, and our history teacher had trouble explaining it in our current events class.

It’s understandable that young people in the Hitler army would not have known about these camps. I don’t think there was any freedom of the press in Germany.

I’m a Protestant but have no complaints about Catholicism or Judaism, but I hope the popes will cease being blamed for the Holocaust.

Also, when a peacemaker shows up, we should all listen.

Lillian O. Forster

Spokane