A Schopenhauerian dialogue on the frustraions of a broken heart

In a Nazi concentration camp two Jewish captives sit, huddled together in the freezing winter snow seeming to hang tenaciously to the last remnants of their humanity. Around them are a few hovels and men in Nazi uniforms laughing and eating heartily. Once in a while a Nazi officer walks by wearing a large extravagant fur coat eating a massive turkey leg spilling it all over his shirt and looks right down at the two captives and says “I dare you to eat the crumbs.” The captives don’t move they merely huddle closer together. Upon witnessing this scene it looks almost comical in its horrific juxtaposition of happiness and human depravity; the eyes of any visitor are led directly to the massive painting of the camps leader the man to whom all owe their allegiance a huge 10 foot by 12 foot painting of the fuehrer Hitler.

Jew1: Oh how I miss my dear one.
Jew2: Yes, I know.

Jew2 slyly picks up a few crumbs from the preceding officer and shovels them greedily into his mouth.

Jew2: I think it is time you just realize where we are. We are in a concentration camp and will soon be dead, so be it.
Jew1: I don’t want to die! I want to see my wife, just one more time, I wish for life!
Jew2: Don’t you see there is no life left here; there is only death.
Jew1: OOH but…

Jew1 gets up and begins dancing and singing.

Jew1: OOH but… MYYYY “Heart, my achy breaky heart”

As he begins to sing a knife flies right next to his face and loud boos and calls to SHUT UP come from the Nazi tent next to them. Jew2 seems unperturbed by this sudden outburst and greedily picks up a bug and sticks it into his mouth.

Jew2: So you have a broken heart… Who cares, we’ll all be dead soon anyway, life doesn’t mean a thing.
Jew1: But it does! Don’t you see, as long as we have life there is a chance, ooh my friend there is a chance, we can give into our morbid desires and pass away into the ether or we can fight back! I say we fight.

A loud yell comes from the Nazi tent: “SHUT UP YOU JEW!”

Jew2: Well you won’t have much of a life soon if you don’t stop talking. I say we see if we can get more crumbs from the officers tent. They are too busy masquerading as philosophers to know what’s going on; if you would just be quiet.
Jew1: But we can’t! We might get caught and die and be killed, then what will we do?
Jew2: I have come to view life as a uselessly disturbing episode in the blissful repose of nothingness.
Jew1: What? What on earth does that mean?
Jew2: EXACTLY!
Jew1: You can do whatever you want; I’m staying right here.
Jew2: Suit yourself.

Jew2 cleverly sneaks from one post to another. Whenever an officer walks by the area he simply begins whistling a Richard Wagner tune lightheartedly and pretends to be doing some form of work. The first time he is seen he takes an officers coat and begins to dust it off; another time he grabs a pot of coffee from the Nazi tent and begins filling the cups of the nearby officers. All the while, he is slowly taking crumb after crumb from the tables and floor around the officers and slipping it into his tucked in shirt. Eventually he seems to be attaining a bit of a belly. Soon, he heads back over to Jew1.

Jew2: SEE! Mmmm. You are sitting around accomplishing nothing, while I have attained some food for myself!

Jew1 looks heartily at the food while saying this line

Jew1: how can I think of food when I haven’t seen my wife for 4 months! I miss her so much. What if she’s been forced to find another man? Or what if she’s dead? Or worse?
Jew2: Meh, all my family was killed long ago; what does it matter? Human existence must be some kind of error anyway! Its bad one day, worse the next.
Jew1: I know it seems that way, but I won’t accept that this is the norm of life. I have lived 32 years of life in relative ease and great comfort! I have seen life is benevolent. Ooh woe is me. What is happening to this world?

Jew1 begins sobbing hysterically. Just as he begins sobbing, a rather morose looking young Nazi soldier walks past them and looks down at the two Jews.

Nazi: What are you crying about Jew? Why aren’t you satisfied with what we’ve given you? You are still alive and able to serve men such as us. Quit your blubbering.
Jew2: He is sad because he has lost his love.
Nazi: AAAH. Love. What a terrible mistake is love. Your woman is probably off procreating with some man, I would not worry about that too much, Jew, you have other things to be tending to; life is miserable and we are here to help you through this misery. We will see that you’re life is no longer a waste. Look Jew, I will tell you something. Do you see that woman Jew over there? Why do you not go there and copulate with her? She is as good as any other right?

The three look over at the raggedly ugly woman stumbling into the scene.

Jew1: oh but my lovely is mine. I miss her, how can I imagine being with someone who is not my lovely?
Nazi: She is only your lovely in the past. Not anymore. Love is fleeting and only a result of your will-to-life as father Schopenhauer teaches. It is not up to you who you love. You only claim to love this woman of yours because in your subconscious mind you believe you will breed better Jews from her. Let me tell you, one Jew is as good as another.
Jew1: Oh no sir that isn’t true! I know this might seem strange to you, but we are meant for one another. I just know I will see my darling dearest again. I can see us out on the balcony of our home, which does not exist anymore, just dancing.

Jew1 gets up again and grabs the Nazi officer in a daydream like trance and begins singing and dancing with him.

Jew1: Heaven, I’m in Heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak, and I seem to find the happiness I seek, when we’re out together dancing cheek to cheek.

Once again loud shouts from the tent and a barrage of eaten turkey leg bones, plates, forks, knives come flying towards the three individuals. The Nazi soldier composes himself and pushes jew1 away; trying to play off the fact that he was dancing voluntarily.

Nazi: You are crazy.
Jew2: That’s what I’ve been telling him for months now!
Nazi: Shut up! Your opinion doesn’t matter.
Jew2: I apologize. I am simply agreeing with everything you say. This is a world in which human life must be some kind of mistake; this is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which are hard to satisfy; that their satisfaction achieves nothing but a painless condition in which he is only given over to boredom; and that boredom is a direct proof that existence is in itself valueless, for boredom is nothing other than the sensation of the emptiness of existence.[1]
Nazi: I am glad you have read father Schopenhauer. It is too bad you are only a Jew.
Jew2: yes. It is too bad.
Jew1: Wait! You haven’t helped me with my broken heart at all!
Nazi: As our father would conclude “That our Existence itself implies guilt is proved by the fact of death.”
Jew1: What does that mean? And how does that help my broken heart.
Jew2: OOH. Show him show him good sir!

Nazi systematically takes out his side arm and shoots Jew1 three times in the chest. Jew2 claps and says:

Jew2: yes he is no longer guilty. Good day to you Sir.

Nazi summarily shoots Jew2.

As Nazi holsters his sidearm and walks away Jew1 miraculously stands up and begins singing to his beloved.

Jew1: Night and day, you are the one; Only you beneath the moon or under the sun; Whether near to me, or far it’s no matter darling where you are I think of you day and night.

Once again pots, pans, knives, food, drink, even a stuffed animal comes flying at the Jew, and everyone yells together: SHUT UP!

[1] Schopenhauer, Arthur. On the Vanity of Existence. Essays and Aphorisms. s.l. : Penguin Group.