Reflections on VJ Day

On this date 60 years ago, almost four months after the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich in Germany, the Japanese Empire also surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, thus finally concluding the bloodiest and most widespread war in the history of our planet. The human toll of this titanic struggle numbered literally in the millions upon millions in terms of lives either lost or displaced. And that does not take into account the millions killed during the six years preceding the official beginning of the war on 1 September 1939, marked by the German invasion of Poland. Whether or not by choice, nations participating in World War II were either destroyed or irrevocably changed.

Associated with this war are names that will live in infamy, especially in the hearts of the "Greatest Generation": places such as Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, Shanghai, Nanking, Dunkirk, Compiegne, Vichy, Pearl Harbor, Corregidor, Bataan; people such as Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Heydrich, Eichmann, Goebbels, Goering, Yamamoto. The onslaught of the Axis Powers of Germany, Japan, and Italy continued unabated until the Allies finally won major victories at El Alamein (1942), Midway (1942), Stalingrad (1943), Kursk (1943), and Normandy (1944), which finally turned the tide of the war in both European and Pacific theatres of operations.

As the Axis powers refused to fold without a serious fight, it was not until Germany was fire-bombed and completely overrun and not until Japan was bombed with atomic weapons that the monumental life-and-death struggle was concluded. In the years following 1945 the world learned of the stories of martyrs such as Anne Frank, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Maximilian Kolbe (to name only a few) which became part of the post facto ethical reflections and justifications for the thorough-going destruction of the Nazi and Japanese regimes and war machines.

The awful realization that the Nazi and Japanese war machines could have otherwise overrun and enslaved the world and eradicated millions more inspires me to give thanks for the sacrifices of those who fought in defense of loved ones and of freedom from tyranny, oppression, and genocide. Many American families, mine included, can recall the memories of relatives who either died at or survived the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor or the service of relatives who participated in campaigns in Africa, Australia, Europe, and Asia in 1941-45. Against such a background of reflection, holidays such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day have deep meaning.

While one could argue, using a just-war analysis, that World War II may have been the closest thing to a just war, the post-war post- (or de-) christianization of Europe, following upon the major devastations wreaked by the Hundred Years War, the religious warfare following the Reformation, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and finally World War II itself, points to a cynicism and depravity of spirit that fueled World War II as a moral catastrophe of epic proportions. I believe that western civilization has never recovered from this malaise. While previous wars have been brutal and costly, never before have human beings slaughtered one another on such a scale or to such a callous extent. And now the current war is being waged against unborn children.... When will the slaughter end?

My whole point in recalling this time in history is (1) to help us to remain grateful for the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in order that we might realize the blessings of liberty, which is costly and should never be taken for granted; (2) to remember that those who are ignorant of history are likely doomed to repeat its mistakes; (3) to help us resolve ever more fully not to resort quickly and readily to warfare as a means of resolving disputes between nations; (4) to pray that the human race might learn to rely on God's grace and deliverance, not on weapons of mass destruction; and (5) to pray that human beings learn to practice ways in which to end violence among individuals without resorting to violence, which tends to beget more violence.

Jesus seemed to believe that wars and rumors of wars would precede his return in glory (cf. Mark 13:7), suggesting that perhaps humanity will entertain the scourge of war as a constant companion. However, such a suggestion does not dismiss us to capitulate to violence, nor does it absolve us from the effort to live as we pray (cf. Matthew 6:10): "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." If our respective corners of the world know the presence of the risen Jesus and realize the fruits of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22-23), then God will reveal his kingdom to and transfigure the hearts of those whom the Spirit incites to hunger for the peace that the world cannot give. Shall we share what we have seen with the eyes of faith, hope, and love?