The Holocaust cannot be forgiven unless the perpetrators repent
The Argument
A person cannot be granted forgiveness by another unless they genuinely turn away from their actions and request forgiveness. According to Jewish tradition, a person that has done something wrong must perform, teshuvah, an act of genuine repentance and remorse for their actions. [1]Without performing this, the offender is in no position to request forgiveness. Therefore, any Nazi that has not shown repentance for their actions is not deserving of forgiveness.
For a person to show true repentance, they should make amends for their past actions. Due to the atrocities of the Holocaust, millions of innocent people were murdered. There is no way for the perpetrator to repay the harm and trauma that harmed generations of people. This makes it impossible for Nazis to be forgiven for the harm that they inflicted on other people. To grant a Nazi forgiveness for their actions when they are undeserving is immoral because it sets the standard that a person will be forgiven even though they are not repentant of their actions.[1]
Counter arguments
Forgiving a person does not imply that the person must ask for forgiveness first. It is more about the mental and emotional healing of the victim. In many cases, a survivor of the Holocaust may never meet any of the Nazis that harmed them after the Holocaust, so they will never observe them repenting and asking the survivor for forgiveness. Despite this, the survivor should be willing to forgive for the healing that it will bring them. While the Nazis may not deserve forgiveness, it is up to the survivors to show compassion and take control of their own healing.
Proponents
Premises
[P1] A person should not be forgiven unless they have earned it.
[P2] The Nazi's have not earned anyone's forgiveness.
[P3] Therefore, the Nazi's should not be forgiven.