Leonard Baker (1931–1984)

A Pulitzer Prize winner in its day. This is a second reading within a couple of years: it is just as moving as the first time. An antidote to cynicism - an interesting exploration into the nature of goodness, beyond the outer trappings. Baeck was both the highest representative of the Jewish community with the Nazis, and also a man who never stopped taking trouble on a personal level, visiting people in despair, giving of his time, his energy, his money, seemingly endlessly committed to his community.
In an early paragraph, he says to the man accompanying him out of Theresienstadt, about the experiences endured during the war: "Do not have revenge in your heart - only love and justice."… (mere)