by Dr. Susanna Kokkonen
On December 15, 1944, eighty years ago, interesting things were happening on the warfront.
A talented American conductor, trombone player and artist Glenn Miller flew toward France. He had already raised funds for US troops from October 1942 until December 1944. He had left his flourishing musical career and put on a uniform. His purpose with that final flight was to entertain the troops. But over the English Channel his plane just disappeared. Miller was literally never seen or heard from again. He was born in 1904, so he was just forty when he died. Until today his disappearance remains a mystery.
Also, in December 1944 Germans carried out the last gassing in Hartheim, the famous euthanasia installation. Altogether 30 000 people were murdered there. Following the las gassing, prisoners from the concentration camp of Mauthausen dismantled the facility.
More important, we need to know that throughout 1944 Nazi Germany had come closer than ever to its defeat. But that did not mean that the allied troops did not have a hard fight behind and ahead of them.
On December 16th, 1944, Germany launched a final massive offensive in the Ardennes region in France, Belgium and Luxemburg. It is known as “The Battle of The Bulge”. This was the largest attack the US army ever had to fight. The allies won a decisive victory on December 25, 1944. The sacrifices by the troops, loss of 81 000 lives, hastened the end of the Third Reich. On the German side, reportedly, 100 000 lives were lost.
True to form, during the offensive the German Waffen SS units captured Belgian prisoners and American soldiers whom they murdered in cold blood. This is known as “The Malmedy Massacre”.
Even though Nazi Germany had lost the war a long time ago, they still kept fighting until the bitter end. Men could easily be sacrificed, and civilian population was not much of a concern. The value of human life to Nazi leadership was so low that even in their loss they kept murdering others. The only reason for dismantling the murder installations was that they did not want to leave evidence in the Allied hands.
The meaning of all this should not be lost on us. In this last blog of 2024, I would like to tell you that there are times when victory is sure, but we still need to keep fighting. This is the hardest part because this is also the moment when it would be the easiest to give up.
We could never have imagined what would happen in Israel since October 7th, 2023. It was unthinkable that Israel would be fighting on more than one front for such a long time. We would not have imagined that there would still be around 100 hostages kept by Hamas in Gaza. We could not have imagined that the world would be so blind that they would want to condemn Israel’s leaders.
At this age, we cannot waver in our commitment, and we need to be ready to stand up and speak up. So as 2024 is drawing to its end, I would like to encourage you: spread the news; help us to do the work we are called to do; be counted. Do not be a bystander in these times we are living in. Be active; be present. Think about your mission for 2025!
“,,,And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:14(NIV)
