Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

Herr Silverman, always well-dressed, shakes every student’s hand as they enter his class each period. As Leonard greets his teacher, he asks to see Herr Silverman after class. Leonard seethes as two peers complain about Herr Silverman’s daily ritual. 

Herr Silverman opens the floor for an ethical question pertinent to the Holocaust. Leonard asks, “Let’s just say that an American teenager inherited a real Nazi gun from his grandfather, who captured and executed a high-ranking Nazi officer. What should be done with the gun?” (108). As students respond, Leonard feels superior because they won’t know his question’s significance until the following day. Although convinced his peers are “übermorons” (109), Leonard fears discovery, and his thoughts spiral. 

Herr Silverman asks Leonard to end the discussion about the Nazi gun, but the narrator cannot form an opinion. Herr Silverman lectures about the double identities of Nazi officers who treated people inhumanely at concentration camps but loved their families at home. Leonard considers how his classmates double, posing as perfect students at school but misbehaving on weekends.

As Herr Silverman says goodbye to everyone in Leonard’s class, Leonard considers his teacher’s kindness: “There have been days when Herr Silverman was the only person to look me in the eye” (114).