英文自修132：宽恕，通向未来的桥梁（20140730）

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Thought for the Day 20140730 Rhidian Brook

As we remember a terrible World War it’s interesting to see how our former enemies are remembering it. I recently listened to Prince Philip Kiril – the great, great grandson of the Kaiser 德国皇帝 - speaking about reconciliation 和解 between England and Germany. At the end of a moving speech he apologised for what his country had done in both World Wars. Seventy years after the Second there are still Germans asking for forgiveness.

1970年，时任德国总理格兰特在华沙犹太人公墓前下跪

In 1945, when forgiving Germans was anathema 诅咒，禁忌, my grandfather Walter Brook was governor of a district outside Hamburg 汉堡（德国城市） and responsible for its reconstruction and the feeding, re-housing and de-nazification 去纳粹化（消除纳粹思潮影响力的过程） of thousands of displaced （被迫搬迁的） people. It was a formidable task. Of the zones, the British was the most devastated. It was said that ‘the American’s got the view, the French the wine, and the Brits the ruins.’ More bombs were dropped on Hamburg in a weekend than on London in the entire war.

A shortage of housing led the British to requisition 征用 what buildings remained standing to accommodate their own families. Germans were put in billets 营房，帐篷. But when my grandfather went to requisition a house for himself, he did something radical 激进的，大胆的 and unique: rather than have the family ejected 逐出 he let them stay, declaring the house big enough to share. Just one year on from the war, a British and German family lived under the same roof and continued to do so for the next five years.

My grandfather’s decision was counter 相反的 to the mood of the times. Europe was still raw 未平息的 with a desire for revenge and Germans seen as guilty and deserving of punishment. The appalling 骇人听闻的 discovery of the concentration camps only compounded 使变复杂 this. My grandfather was perceived as soft-pedalling 大事化小 not only by his fellow servicemen but, initially, by grandmother who had adopted Atlee’s directive to maintain ‘a cold and dignified aloofness 高人一等，拒人千里之外 towards Germans at all times.’

Forgiveness always costs something. It might mean accepting a personal loss, or forgetting our right to be paid back. It can also open us up to the anger of those who demand their pound of flesh （一磅肉，语出《威尼斯商人》——译注）. But, as the gospels demonstrate, reconciliation is a much riskier business than retribution 报复. Revenge brings instant results and momentary gratification; forgiveness requires faith in an outcome we can’t always see. Yet as much of history and present strife prove, we are trapped in an endless cycle of destruction without it. It’s right to remember those lost in war but let’s not forget those who’ve helped build a lasting peace.

《威尼斯商人》剧照

Two years ago, I went back to Germany with my father to see the house and meet the German brother and sister he’d shared it with. He was unusually nervous, worried that they wouldn’t remember things with the same benevolence 宽仁之心. Within minutes of the reunion his fears lifted. Their fondness towards him was obvious. Later that evening they told us how grateful they had been to stay in the house. They even had a nickname for my grandfather. They called him ‘Dei Brucke.’ In German, the surname Brook means bridge.

想起可怕的世界大战，看看我们当时的敌人记忆中的大战就很有意思。最近我听了菲利普·基里尔王子（德国皇帝的玄孙）说起英德两国的和解。在动人的演说最后，他为自己的国家在两次大战中的所作所为致歉。二次大战结束七十年后还有德国人在请求宽恕。

1945年，宽恕德国人仍是一种禁忌。我祖父沃尔特·布鲁克是汉堡城郊英军占领区的长官，负责该地重建与数千名安置到此的德国人的食宿、去纳粹化的艰巨工作。各占领区中，英国区破坏最严重。据说，“美区有景，法区有酒，英区有渣。”一个周末投在汉堡市的炸弹都有整个二战投在伦敦的那么多。

由于缺乏住房，英军不得不征用残存的建筑物来给家人居住。德国人被安置在营舍里。但当祖父去征用一所房子自住时，他做了一件很激进、很特别的事：他没有让那家人搬走，而是让他们留了下来，他说房子够大，一起住就是了。战争刚结束一年后，英德两国的两家人就住在同一屋檐下，并且继续住了五年。

祖父的决定违反了当时的普遍情绪。欧洲国家还有着强烈的复仇之心，德国人被看作罪人，应该受到惩罚。集中营的发现骇人听闻，也加重了这种心理。认为祖父想要大事化小的人不但有他的同僚，一开始还有祖母，她认同阿特利（Clement Atlee，英国首相——译注）的指示，要“对德国人”保持“冷漠、有威严的距离”。

宽恕总会有代价。可能是接受个人的损失，或放弃我们得到补偿的权利。也可能使我们成为那些要求严惩的人的怒火所向。而正如福音所示，相比报复，和解要承受的风险大得多。复仇带来的是立竿见影的效果和暂时的满足；宽恕需要我们对无法完全预见的结果有信心。正如我们历史与当前的冲突所反复证明的，没有宽恕，我们就被困在冤冤相报的循环中，破坏无穷尽。怀念那些在战争中故去的人是对的，但也别忘了那些帮助建立持久和平的人们。

两年前，我和父亲回到德国，去看看那所房子，也看看与他共住的德国兄弟姐妹。父亲特别紧张，怕他们看待事情会跟他不一样，不会心存仁爱。再相见几分钟后他的紧张就烟消云散了。他们对待他的亲爱显而易见。那一晚他们告诉我们，对于能呆在房子里不被赶走，他们是何等的感激。他们甚至还给祖父起了个外号，叫他“Dei Brucke”，德语指“桥梁”。