A Different Kind of Evil

A long time ago, someone found a German soldier's diary at a flea market in New York. It was hidden among other things, but the person noticed it because they were Jewish.

The diary had photos of the soldier's life:

• Pictures of him with his family
• Pictures of him with friends
• Even a picture with his girlfriend

But there were no pictures of the terrible things he might have done during World War II.

The person who found the diary was surprised. They thought it was strange that the soldier could live a normal life while also doing horrible things. It made them think about what they were taught as a child:

"Germans were evil and that Americans were different."

But then, they read about something that happened recently. A woman was killed, and the government said she was a terrorist. But videos showed that she might not have done anything wrong. The person was shocked to see that many Americans believed the government without questioning it.

This made the person think about the German soldier again. Maybe he wasn't evil. Maybe he was just following orders and believed what he was told.

They wondered if Americans could also be led to do bad things if they were told it was the right thing to do.

They missed the days when they thought Americans were different from Germans.

Now, they're not so sure.