Moral Ambiguity

A story told to me by a business associate and a holocaust survivor. The year was 1942, during the height of the second world war. Sam was around 10 years old and was originally from Cracow Poland. During the round up of Jews, Sam somehow fled the city and was able to gaint refuge in a farm house in the outskirts. He was hidden in the attic of the farm house where he remained several months.
One day the farmer told him that he had received a report that the Gestapo was instituting a search of all the farm houses in the area looking for Jews. Sam was instructed to hide in the barn. When the Gestapo entered the barn, Sam jumped into a large oil barrel where he crouched down, attempting to remain as quiet as possible. He peered up only to see a Gestapo officer directing his flashlight into the Barrel. the officer then shouted in German to his comrades, “No one here”.
Being a member of the Gestapo, involved being ruthless, a dedicated Nazi and highly antisemitic. Yet with all these attributes,this one individual somehow was able to muster a sense of pity and compassion to act as he had.
This is a very good example of moral ambiguity