The One Who Saved Me is the One I Hate the Most!


Hollow tree
Hollow tree

The image is from https://www.hiteshkumar.com/culture-travel/big-tree-hollow.html

Roddick was a British prisoner of war in WWII. Like many prisoners of war, he was sent to a German concentration camp.

There were nearly a thousand prisoners of war in the camp, all British. They were forced to endure inhuman treatment and do brutally hard work.

Luckily, Roddick was a driver in the British army. The Nazi soldiers in the German concentration camp were short of drivers, so they recruited them from the prisoners of war in the concentration camp.

Of course, there were plenty of drivers among the prisoners of war, but no one wanted to drive for the Nazis. After all, the purpose of driving such vehicles was to transport the corpses of the men who had been killed by the Nazis.

Roddick, however, was enthusiastic about this idea and said that he was happy to do it.

Roddick became a Nazi chauffeur and began to treat others brutally. Not only did he yell and kick the prisoners, he even threw prisoners on the bus who had not yet died.

Obviously, the other prisoners of war hated him very much and expressed this to Roddick in various ways. Roddick ignored them. The prisoners of war scolded him and called him a traitor and a lackey.
The Nazis’ liked and trusted Roddick more and more. At first, when Roddick drove out of the camp, Nazi soldiers would escort him and monitor his movements. After a while, they allowed him to drive out alone. Roddick’s comrades also attacked him in secret, and several times he was nearly killed by his former comrades.

After a frenzied beating, Roddick lost his hand. As he was no longer able to drive, he was abandoned by the Nazis like a torn sack.

Without the protection of the Nazis, Roddick fell victim to the relentless revenge of the other prisoners of war. One rainy day, he died in a damp corner of the concentration camp, lonely and miserable.

Sixty years passed, and the people in Roddick’s hometown seem to have forgotten him. The members of his family deliberately avoided everything about him.

However, one day, a popular UK newspaper featured an article titled “The man who saved me is the man I hate the most.” It disclosed the following information:

“There was a traitor named Roddick in the concentration camp who was willing to work for the Nazis. One day, when I was very sick, he forcibly threw me into the truck and told the Nazis that he was going to bury me, even though I was still alive.

To my shock, Roddick stopped the bus on the way to the burial ground and carried me to the shelter of a big tree. He left some black bread and a pitcher of water behind, and hurriedly said to me, ‘If you live, please come and see this tree.’ Then he drove off in a hurry.”

Not long after this story was published, the newspaper began to receive many phone calls. All of the callers were World War II veterans who had been imprisoned with Roddick.

Almost all the stories told by these twelve men were ideal to the one in the newspaper: They had been left under a big tree by Roddick, thereby escaping death.

Every time, when Roddick drove away, he would say to his comrades: “If you are alive after the war, please come and see this tree.”

The man who edited and promoted this article was also a war veteran. His professional instincts for identifying a story told him that there must be something in Roddick’s tree.

The editor immediately gathered thirteen veterans to help him find the tree if it still existed. When the party arrived at their destination, they discovered that nothing about the valley and its trees had changed. An old soldier was the first to embrace the tree, sobbing. With only a bit of searching, he found a rusty iron box in the hollow of the tree.

When the box was opened, it was found to contain a damaged diary and many yellowed and moldy photographs.

They opened the diary carefully and read:

Today I rescued another comrade. This is the 28th. I hope he lives. . . We lost 20 more of our men today. . . Late last night, my comrades beat me hard again. . . But I must carry on and not tell the truth at all costs so that I can save more people. . . My dear comrades, I have only one hope. If you are alive, please come and see this tree.

The old editor’s voice became too choked to read anymore. It was only then that every man standing underneath the tree became fully aware that Roddick had saved the lives of thirty-six British prisoners of war.

It is unknown how many of the men Roddick saved are still alive, although it is probable that it is more than thirteen. The diary and photos of the prison camp he left in the tree hollow were solid evidence that he left for the world to expose the evils of the Nazis. Soon after the box was found, the editor’s newspaper began to publish more stories about Roddick.

The silent valley and one particular tree became a popular spot for visitors. Many people came there to pay tribute to Roddick, who became a national hero.

One writer who came to the valley placed a bouquet of wildflowers on the simple monument which had been erected there. He sat beneath the tree for a long time. Afterwards, he wrote a paragraph about what he had learned from Roddick in one of his books. He said that he has the responsibility to tell people that he realized that perfection requires a price. Such a price can never be paid without perseverance and tolerance.

Everyone wants perfection; they just may not be willing to undergo the trials to achieve it.

救我的人是我最恨的

罗迪克是一个英国战俘,一次他不幸被俘。

和许多战俘一样,他被押送到了一座德国集中营。

集中营里有近千名战俘,全部是英国战俘。他们被迫忍受着非人待遇,天天像牲口似的,从事着沉重的劳动。

幸运的事,罗迪克是英军一名汽车兵,德国集中营的纳粹兵里缺少汽车兵,就在集中营的战俘中招募司机。

当然,其实战俘里也有不少汽车兵,但却没人愿意为纳粹开车。因为,开车的任务是,专门运送每天被饿死或被杀害的战友。

但是,罗迪克对此却有很高的热情,他表示自己很乐意干好这件事。

罗迪克终于当了纳粹司机,然后变得粗暴残忍。不仅对战俘们吆五喝六,拳打脚踢。甚至,有的战俘明明还没死,他竟会扔他们上车。

显然其它战俘们非常憎恨他,并以各种方式警告罗迪克,罗迪克听后,依然我行我素,战俘们恶狠狠骂他:卖国贼,走狗。

此时纳粹却越来越喜欢罗迪克,罗迪克获得集中营的高度信任。一开始,罗迪克驾车出集中营的时候,纳粹兵一定会押车,监视他的举动。后来纳粹索性由他一个人出入了。罗迪克的战友也在暗地里袭击他,好几次他险些被昔日战友打死。

在一次被疯狂的殴打之后,罗迪克永远失去了一只手,同时也失去了利用价值。再也无法继续开车的他,像扔破麻袋似的,被纳粹抛弃了。

没有了纳粹的保护,罗迪克陷入了战俘们无情的报复之中。一个雨天,他在孤独凄惨的境况下,死在了集中营一个阴湿的墙角里。

六十年过去了,罗迪克家乡的人们,似乎早已不记得他了;罗迪克家族的族人,好像刻意在回避着关于他的一切。

罗迪克就这样被淹没在了岁月的尘埃里。

然而忽然一天,英国一家发行量不小的报纸,报纸显著的位置上,登载了一篇题为《救我的人,是我最恨的人》的文章:

集中营里有一个叫罗迪克的叛徒,甘愿为纳粹卖命。那天,生病的我并没有死,他却强行把我扔上卡车,对纳粹说准备把我埋掉。

可是,令我震惊的是,车到半路,罗迪克停了车,扛起奄奄一息的我,放到一棵大树的隐蔽处,并留下了几块黑面包和一壶水,急促的对我说,如果你能活着,请来看这棵树。然后,他就急匆匆开车走了。

登载这则篇幅很短的故事不久,报社陆续接到不少电话。

无一例外,打电话的人都是二战老兵,而且是曾经不幸成为战俘的老兵。

令人不可思议的是,无一例外,这十二位来电话的老兵,来自同一座集中营,那座罗迪克所在的集中营。

十二个老兵叙述的故事,几乎都是报上登载的那个故事的翻版:他们被罗迪克放在一棵大树下,然后,因此而死里逃生。

尤其令人注意的是,每当罗迪克驾车离开时,对每一个战友说的都是,如果你活着,请来看这棵树。

编写并推荐登载这篇稿子的,是一位从战争中走过来的老编辑。凭职业嗅觉,敏感的他判定,这棵被罗迪克反覆提到的树,一定大有内容。

老编辑立即组织了十三位老兵,沿着当年死里逃生的路线,去寻找那棵无法判定是否还存在的大树。当一行人来到目的地,山谷依旧,大树依旧。一个老兵率先扑进大树的怀抱,啜泣中,他在树洞里找到只早已锈蚀了的铁盒子。

当人们七手八脚取出并打开了盒子。一本破损的日记本和很多张泛黄、发霉的照片赫然呈现在大家眼前。

他们小心翼翼的翻开了日记本:

今天我又救出了一位战友,这已经是第28个了. . .但愿他能活下去. . .今天又有20位战友死去. . .昨天深夜,战友们又一次狠狠的打了我. . .可我一定要坚持下去,无论如何也不说出真相,那样,我还能救出更多的人. . .亲爱的战友们,我只有一个唯一的希望,如果你活着,请来看看这棵树。

老编辑的声音早已哽噎,老兵们的泪流早已满面。站在树下的每一个头发花白的人,直到此时才完全清楚,罗迪克一共救了三十六名英国战俘。

今天,仍然活在世界上的,也许还不止眼前的十三个。留在树洞里的关于战俘集中营的日记和照片,是他留给世界揭露控诉纳粹罪恶的铁证。与老兵们分手不久,老编辑所在的那家报纸,很快登载了他采写的罗迪克感人事迹。

那处沉寂的山谷和那棵不倒的大树周围,因为报导而热闹了起来。许多人纷纷自发的来到这里,祭奠罗迪克,表达对他的敬仰。理所当然的,罗迪克成为了一名国民英雄。

一个作家来到这座山谷,将不知名野花扎成的花束,放在了简朴的纪念碑上,并在大树下坐了许久。

后来,他在自己的一本书里写过一段话。他觉得,自己有责任告诉人们:完美需要代价,而为完美付出代价,没有坚韧不拔忍辱负重精神,绝对做不到。

渴望完美的人生,是每一个人的权力。有时,这种完美因为环境所胁迫,它的表现形式,竟会那样的相悖于最初的愿望,因此造成的误解甚至敌视,一定会形成一种强大的社会压力。

而能够为了完美的崇高使命,始终忍辱负重的人,他的名字终将成为完美的旗帜而高扬,让后人永志不忘。

 

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