“My faith has been tempered in Hell. My faith has emerged from the flames of the crematoria, from the concrete of the gas chamber. I have seen that it is not man who is impotent in the struggle against evil, but the power of evil that is impotent in the struggle against man. The powerlessness of kindness, of senseless kindness, is the secret of its immortality. It can never be conquered. The more stupid, the more senseless, the more helpless it may seem, the vaster it is. Evil is impotent before it. The prophets, religious teachers, reformers, social and political leaders are impotent before it. This dumb, blind love is man's meaning. Human history is not the battle of good struggling to overcome evil. It is a battle fought by a great evil struggling to crush a small kernel of human kindness. But if what is human in human beings has not been destroyed even now, then evil will never conquer.”
Quote by Vasily Grossman
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Vasily Grossman (December 12, 1905 – September 14, 1964) was a Soviet Jewish writer and journalist, best known for his works on World War II. Born in Berdychiv, Ukraine, he initially studied chemical engineering before turning to literature. As a war correspondent for the Red Star newspaper, he witnessed the Battle of Stalingrad and documented Nazi atrocities. His masterpiece, Life and Fate, was banned by Soviet authorities for its criticism of Stalinism and only published in the 1980s. Grossman's works explore themes of war, totalitarianism, and humanity, earning him recognition as a significant voice in 20th-century Russian literature. more
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