Peter

(I promise not to always write such longs posts. . .)

Having written about The Nazi Officer's Wife, I would be remiss in not writing about the even more amazing story of Holocaust survivor Peter Loth.

Born in a concentration camp in 1943 to a Jewish mother, Peter was allowed to live because Nazi doctors performed experiments on both him and his mother. During the liberation process at the end of the war, Peter ended up in a the care of a Polish woman, the only woman he knew as "Mama" until he was 12 or 13.

Unfortunately, post-war Poland was not a safe place for an orphaned German Jew. Peter was in and out of orphanages as his Polish mama did everything in her power to keep him safe. The details of the depravation, sexual abuse, and loss that he experienced in those years is overwhelming and heart breaking.

As a teenager, Peter was reunited with his real mother, who was married to an American GI and living in Germany. Her husband was African American, and Peter was introduced to his two half-sisters. As if his life weren't tragic enough, Peter and his new family moved back to the States - to Georgia in the late 1950s. The first people they met were the Ku Klux Klan. As Peter says, "and the beatings began again."

His story goes on, and you can go to his website for a better summary or to order a copy of his DVD. But one day he found Jesus. And through Jesus he learned to forgive. I think there is a part of human nature that likes the extreme example, and Peter's life certainly fits the bill. The Lord has helped him to walk in true forgiveness, and it is changing people around the world. He travels everywhere, but particularly places like Germany, Poland, Austria, and Israel, to share his story and the power of forgiveness. He has had former SS officers come up to him, asking for forgiveness and seen miracles happen when he does.

It is a powerful testimony, and you should really check it out for yourself if you haven't seen the DVD already. Having met him myself, I can't say enough about what an amazing man Peter is. The love that God has poured out on him has truly transformed him. You can see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. Wow. Only God can do that.