It was Christmas, 1942 as the Nazis collected by the thousands, the Jewish men, women and children they held in Poland's Warsaw Ghetto and by force, packed them into trains heading to the Treblinka death camp.
Moshe, a 65 year old college professor, and his family were among those that day who were to make that horrific one way trip.
But the Jews were organizing a revolt, when rumors spread that feared Nazi military leader Axel Schultz would be arriving.
Schultz was renown for his volatile temper and his brutality to the point many of the German soldiers feared him and kept their distance.
That morning, German soldiers rushed into the Warsaw Ghetto, with German Shepherds barking loudly, as guns at the ready, the soldiers shouted commands at the Jews, who were thrown onto trucks headed to the rail station.
Some Jews, especially older people who didn't move fast enough were executed on the spot, as the rifle fire echoed loudly.
And then all of a sudden everything stopped and aside from shrieks from those who had just lost their loved ones, it was silent.
Moshe looked and saw a large black German touring car pull up. When the man in the back seat got out, everyone knew who it was.
Standing 6 feet tall, with thick short blond hair and steely blue eyes was 40 year old Axel Schultz, his muscles rippling through his custom fit black uniform.
After surveying the situation, he shouted commands to the German soldiers and then told the Jews anyone who didn't cooperate would be instantly executed. To make his point he took out his pistol and shot a mother and her small daughter each in the head.
From then on that day, the Jews did as they were told. When Moshe's turn came to get into a truck, he turned to Schultz and shouted, "May you rot in Hell."
The next day Moshe, who was still cursing Schultz, was executed in a gas chamber. Two years later defending Berlin, Schultz died during an air raid bombing.
Several years later, Moshe was reborn in the United States as Meyer Cohen, a Jewish man with no recollection of his prior life as Moshe.
In the years that followed, Meyer and his wife had a son, whom they named David, and Moshe built a successful accounting practice in Los Angeles.
David became a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. One day 40 year old David with his parents in attendance was being presented with an award for valor.
As David stood at attention in his dark dress uniform, Meyer began to have flashbacks.
For 6 foot tall David has short thick blond hair and steely blue eyes, along with his muscular build.
Meyer knew he had seen this image somewhere before and for some reason, World War 2 came into his mind. The next day, he went to the library and while thumbing through books, came across a stark black and white full page photo.
It was Axel Schultz, and as Meyer stared in shock at the photo, he realized Axel Schultz physically looked exactly like David. They could be twins.
He then read about Schultz and got sick to his stomach. This couldn't be his beautiful son David, a devout Jew, and yet physically it was.
Meyer checked out the book, grabbed a photo of David and rushed to the synagogue to see the Rabbi.
"How could this be," he asked the Rabbi, after sharing the story with her.
"Don't you see what has happened," the Rabbi replied. "In his last life, David was Axel, and he was reborn as David to learn about Jews, people he had despised and murdered.
"Now he is a Jew, a devout one who is learning karmic lessons, including to compassionately put himself in the other person's shoes..
"He already learned as Axel, all about cruelty and the suffering he caused others. Cruelty is something today he would never do for he is far wiser.
"And you Meyer may have in a prior life known of Axel, even confronted him and swore him to Hell. Now he is your son whom you love very much.
"This means you too are learning karmic lessons.
"Our revelation is one of perspective.
"In David's prior life as Axel, ignorance led to hate which led to murder. Now he is learning first hand about the Jewish people and about other people whom he had hated and had killed.
"Meanwhile your perspective of Axel Schultz has been sharply altered as you feel love for someone you once likely despised. As your son, you educate him, you love him and you would do anything to protect him, even if in a prior life he was a monster.
"Together, you and your son are growing, which is a wonderful thing for that may help to prevent future Axel Schultzes and prevent future Holocausts committed against any people."
Dick
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