Apology Accepted?

I recently learned something new from one of my clients at work. Apparently, since 1969 the government of Berlin has been inviting Jews who were born in Berlin and "were persecuted or forced to emigrate during the National Socialist period" to come back and visit the city as guests of the government (free trip). My client, who recently came back from the trip, said it was really amazing - the guests were treated royally and everything was extremely well planned. Some of the guests went through a tremendous amount of suffering because of the Holocaust and were actually very nervous about going back to Berlin to visit. However, it seems that most people who go end up really enjoying the experience and come back with some closure or at least a better appreciation of what the Germans are doing to rectify the past. Apparently, there is a huge memorial and historical landmarks throughout the city so that you can't miss the fact that the Holocaust happened.

I thought this was really interesting - that the government is openly apologizing for what happened in the past and doing what they can to make things better for those who were affected. They didn't have to extend these invitations, but the fact that they did shows humility and responsibility and I think that is very respectable. It also reminded me of the Biblical principle of confessing our sins. When we openly admit that we're wrong, Satan has nothing over us. He cannot accuse us of anything because we've already confessed our sins and been forgiven.

For those interested in reading more, here's an article written by someone who was invited to Berlin as a guest.

www.jewishjournal.com/wandering_jew/article/happy_birthday_from_berlin_20060901/