Elsa Trank and the morality of the capo
Hello Rabbi,
There is a case of a Jewish girl named Elsa Trank who was a kind of kapo for the Nazis. She later immigrated to Israel and was sentenced to 7 years in prison for her actions. Do you think there is anything morally wrong with a person who helped the Nazis out of fear for their life?
Best regards,
This is a complex question. It depends on the level and immediacy of the threat, and on what she did and what the alternatives were.
In general, even if there was a direct threat to her life, then she is not allowed to kill in order to save herself, but abusing her may be permissible. Either way, if there was such a threat, I am not sure that it is appropriate to punish her. Maimonides writes that even someone who has committed the three grave sins in place of a pecuniary sin is not punished.
I don't understand what this is about at all.
The claim is that the acts of cruelty (the terrible and horrible ones) were committed by the Kapos on their own initiative, and not to serve anyone. In the case of the above-mentioned defendant, it is alleged that she beat women at any time and at any hour just like that. Because she felt like it. Not in front of the Germans, but out of sheer cruelty.
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