Everything Is Illuminated

In July of 1997 in Ukraine, Alex, Alex’s Grandfather, and Jonathan are at the restaurant after Alex’s Grandfather took a photo from the box from Lista. Alex’s Grandfather was in the photo along with Alex’s Grandmother, Anna, and Herschel. Alex’s Grandfather then explains that Herschel had been his best friend and that at the time (in the 1930s and early 1940s), neither of them had given much thought to the fact that Herschel was Jewish while Alex’s Grandfather was not. Alex’s Grandfather said he was then forced to make a choice, and he tried to choose the “smaller evil.”

Alex’s Grandfather explains that one night in 1942, German soldiers marched into Kolki with four tanks. Those soldiers rounded up everyone in town and forced them to stand in lines in the town center. A general asked all of the Jewish people to step forward, but no one moved. The general then went person by person, and, with a gun aimed at their head, asked them to identify one Jewish person. To avoid being shot, people began identifying Jewish people. The first person identified resisted when German soldiers seized him, and those soldiers then shot him.

One by one, as people identified Jewish people, the German soldiers dragged those Jewish people into the nearby synagogue. Eventually, Herschel was the last Jewish person remaining outside. Herschel was not well-known in town, though, and people didn’t seem to realize he hadn’t been identified. The German general asked the next person to identify a Jewish person. When that person said that all the Jewish people were already in the synagogue, the general shot him. The general then asked the next person the same question and shot him when he also said that all of the Jewish people in town had been identified.

The German general then came to Alex’s Grandfather. Herschel stood next to Alex’s Grandfather and lightly touched his hand. He whispered to Alex’s Grandfather, whose name is Eli, not to say anything. Alex’s Grandfather was sure that if he didn’t identify a Jewish person, he would be shot. He thought of his family and his future descendants. He then pointed to Herschel and identified him as Jewish. Herschel screamed as the German soldiers dragged him away to the synagogue and begged Alex’s Grandfather to recant what he said. Alex’s Grandfather hugged Alex’s Grandmother, who stood beside him with Alex’s Father, who was a baby at the time. After the German soldiers dragged Herschel to the synagogue, they set it on fire, killing everyone inside. Alex’s Grandfather tells Alex and Jonathan that he does not know if he can ever be forgiven for what he did.