I Wish

Adolph Hitler as a child.

While Adolph Hitler wasn’t solely responsible for World War II, I think we can all agree that he was one of the instigators. Think of him as a match and Germany as a gasoline puddle. While something probably would have sparked conflict eventually, without Hitler it might not have been as devastating. The Allies realized this and took every opportunity to shoot at him.

None of the assassins were successful, and ironically Hitler’s closest encounters with death happened by chance. Both times he survived--but only because bystanders went out of their way to rescue him.

Hitler’s life was first threatened when he was a child. One day, while playing on the banks of the River Inn, he tumbled into the water and was swept off by the current. Fortunately--or unfortunately, depending upon your perspective--another boy named Johann Kuehburger dove after him. He dragged Hitler ashore, saving one life and unwittingly dooming eleven million others.*

Several years after the river incident, Hitler once again brushed shoulders with death. This time it happened during one of World War I’s final battles, in which he made the mistake of crossing into a British soldier’s line of fire. They locked eyes for a moment. But when the Englishman saw that Hitler wounded, he allowed him to flee.

My brother was incredulous when I told him these stories. “We came so close! Why couldn’t we have killed Hitler when we had the chance?”

That was my reaction too. Millions of lives might have been saved if Kuehburger hadn’t rescued him, or the Englishman had pulled the trigger. But then I realized what we were wishing for. We were wishing that Kuehburger let a little boy drown. We were wishing that the soldier committed murder. At the time, Hitler was guiltless. It would have been unjust to hurt him.

Still. I wish.

*It should be noted that the evidence supporting this particular story is ambiguous, based mostly upon the word of Kuehburger’s friend and some vague newspaper clippings.