Seventy years ago, on a cold January day in Poland, young Elie Wiesel was liberated from Auschwitz concentration camp. This past interim a class of Calvin students wrestled with the anniversary of the liberation by studying Wiesel’s writings on his experience in the death camp and how to live in the aftermath of the holocaust.
“It’s hard to say that I’ve enjoyed this class,” sophomore English major Carolyn Muyskens observed. “Wiesel asks all the hard questions without being cliché. He doesn’t give answers, but in a way that’s a good thing because he doesn’t trivialize the things that he had to deal with in life.”
Religion professor T.R. Thompson said that he has always enjoyed teaching this interim class. “I’m always encouraged by how Wiesel processed his experience that continues to affirm faith in God and human society,” he said.
Every January Calvin students have a break in the semester routine. The interim term is a time for students to focus on a subject by taking only one course for three weeks, or some students take advantage of the time by traveling to a country to learn about the culture.
“It’s a nice break. It’s a chance to do something different than I normally would,” said Muyskens who participated in the religion class entitled “Wiesel, Holocaust and Theodicy.”
The intentional focus of an interim schedule made a great space for students to wrestle with the problem of evil and how God is thought of in that light. It gave the students a time to think deeply about evil and discuss what to do with it. “The Jewish piety of chutzpa freely wrestles with God to the point of anger with God. It’s a passionate spirituality that’s been lost. We tend to race to totalizing answers that don’t admit to the struggle,” said Thompson.
With such a dark topic, it was sometimes difficult to keep up moral in class, according to Thompson. “I try to maintain some intensity but not go off into the abyss,” he said. Students spent most class time discussing Wiesel’s writings, including excerpts from his memoirs in class. They also viewed movies such as Schindler’s List, and even were able to incorporate one of Calvin’s January Series’ speakers Auschwitz survivor Tova Friedman into class.
The students in the class found value in tackling difficult questions. “I really think it’s the most accurate to say that we’ll always have to wrestle,” said Muyskens. Though Wiesel had no straight answers for the students, Thompson talked about the struggle that comes with trying to reconcile an all-powerful, loving God and such great evil in the same space.
Muyskens noted that Wiesel did not end his works bleakly, and gave somewhat of a call to action. “We’re still waiting for the fullness of the kingdom, but in the meantime we’re hunkering down,” said Thompson.
Thompson also emphasized that even in the space of waiting on a seemingly silent God, there is hope: “There is twilight on the horizon and ultimately a new day dawning.”
