The image is from https://www.hiteshkumar.com/culture-travel/big-tree-hollow.html

Roddick was a British prisoner of war in WWII. Like many prisoners of war, he was sent to a German concentration camp.

There were nearly a thousand prisoners of war in the camp, all British. They were forced to endure inhuman treatment and do brutally hard work.

Luckily, Roddick was a driver in the British army. The Nazi soldiers in the German concentration camp were short of drivers, so they recruited them from the prisoners of war in the concentration camp.

Of course, there were plenty of drivers among the prisoners of war, but no one wanted to drive for the Nazis. After all, the purpose of driving such vehicles was to transport the corpses of the men who had been killed by the Nazis.

Roddick, however, was enthusiastic about this idea and said that he was happy to do it.

Roddick became a Nazi chauffeur and began to treat others brutally. Not only did he yell and kick the prisoners, he even threw prisoners on the bus who had not yet died.

Obviously, the other prisoners of war hated him very much and expressed this to Roddick in various ways. Roddick ignored them. The prisoners of war scolded him and called him a traitor and a lackey.
The Nazis’ liked and trusted Roddick more and more. At first, when Roddick drove out of the camp, Nazi soldiers would escort him and monitor his movements. After a while, they allowed him to drive out alone. Roddick’s comrades also attacked him in secret, and several times he was nearly killed by his former comrades.

After a frenzied beating, Roddick lost his hand. As he was no longer able to drive, he was abandoned by the Nazis like a torn sack.

Without the protection of the Nazis, Roddick fell victim to the relentless revenge of the other prisoners of war. One rainy day, he died in a damp corner of the concentration camp, lonely and miserable.

Sixty years passed, and the people in Roddick’s hometown seem to have forgotten him. The members of his family deliberately avoided everything about him.

However, one day, a popular UK newspaper featured an article titled “The man who saved me is the man I hate the most.” It disclosed the following information:

“There was a traitor named Roddick in the concentration camp who was willing to work for the Nazis. One day, when I was very sick, he forcibly threw me into the truck and told the Nazis that he was going to bury me, even though I was still alive.

To my shock, Roddick stopped the bus on the way to the burial ground and carried me to the shelter of a big tree. He left some black bread and a pitcher of water behind, and hurriedly said to me, ‘If you live, please come and see this tree.’ Then he drove off in a hurry.”

Not long after this story was published, the newspaper began to receive many phone calls. All of the callers were World War II veterans who had been imprisoned with Roddick.

Almost all the stories told by these twelve men were ideal to the one in the newspaper: They had been left under a big tree by Roddick, thereby escaping death.

Every time, when Roddick drove away, he would say to his comrades: “If you are alive after the war, please come and see this tree.”

The man who edited and promoted this article was also a war veteran. His professional instincts for identifying a story told him that there must be something in Roddick’s tree.

The editor immediately gathered thirteen veterans to help him find the tree if it still existed. When the party arrived at their destination, they discovered that nothing about the valley and its trees had changed. An old soldier was the first to embrace the tree, sobbing. With only a bit of searching, he found a rusty iron box in the hollow of the tree.

When the box was opened, it was found to contain a damaged diary and many yellowed and moldy photographs.

They opened the diary carefully and read:

Today I rescued another comrade. This is the 28th. I hope he lives. . . We lost 20 more of our men today. . . Late last night, my comrades beat me hard again. . . But I must carry on and not tell the truth at all costs so that I can save more people. . . My dear comrades, I have only one hope. If you are alive, please come and see this tree.

The old editor’s voice became too choked to read anymore. It was only then that every man standing underneath the tree became fully aware that Roddick had saved the lives of thirty-six British prisoners of war.

It is unknown how many of the men Roddick saved are still alive, although it is probable that it is more than thirteen. The diary and photos of the prison camp he left in the tree hollow were solid evidence that he left for the world to expose the evils of the Nazis. Soon after the box was found, the editor’s newspaper began to publish more stories about Roddick.

The silent valley and one particular tree became a popular spot for visitors. Many people came there to pay tribute to Roddick, who became a national hero.

One writer who came to the valley placed a bouquet of wildflowers on the simple monument which had been erected there. He sat beneath the tree for a long time. Afterwards, he wrote a paragraph about what he had learned from Roddick in one of his books. He said that he has the responsibility to tell people that he realized that perfection requires a price. Such a price can never be paid without perseverance and tolerance.

Everyone wants perfection; they just may not be willing to undergo the trials to achieve it.

救我的人是我最恨的

羅迪克是一個英國戰俘，一次他不幸被俘。

和許多戰俘一樣，他被押送到了一座德國集中營。

集中營裡有近千名戰俘，全部是英國戰俘。 他們被迫忍受著非人待遇，天天像牲口似的，從事著沉重的勞動。

幸運的事，羅迪克是英軍一名汽車兵，德國集中營的納粹兵裡缺少汽車兵，就在集中營的戰俘中招募司機。

當然，其實戰俘裡也有不少汽車兵，但卻沒人願意為納粹開車。因為，開車的任務是，專門運送每天被餓死或被殺害的戰友。

但是，羅迪克對此卻有很高的熱情，他表示自己很樂意幹好這件事。

羅迪克終於當了納粹司機，然後變得粗暴殘忍。不僅對戰俘們吆五喝六，拳打腳踢。甚至，有的戰俘明明還沒死，他竟會扔他們上車。

顯然其它戰俘們非常憎恨他，並以各種方式警告羅迪克，羅迪克聽後，依然我行我素，戰俘們惡狠狠罵他：賣國賊，走狗。

此時納粹卻越來越喜歡羅迪克，羅迪克獲得集中營的高度信任。一開始，羅迪克駕車出集中營的時候，納粹兵一定會押車，監視他的舉動。後來納粹索性由他一個人出入了。羅迪克的戰友也在暗地裡襲擊他，好幾次他險些被昔日戰友打死。

在一次被瘋狂的毆打之後，羅迪克永遠失去了一隻手，同時也失去了利用價值。再也無法繼續開車的他，像扔破麻袋似的，被納粹拋棄了。

沒有了納粹的保護，羅迪克陷入了戰俘們無情的報復之中。一個雨天，他在孤獨淒慘的境況下，死在了集中營一個陰濕的牆角裡。

六十年過去了，羅迪克家鄉的人們，似乎早已不記得他了；羅迪克家族的族人，好像刻意在迴避著關於他的一切。

羅迪克就這樣被淹沒在了歲月的塵埃裡。

然而忽然一天，英國一家發行量不小的報紙，報紙顯著的位置上，登載了一篇題為《救我的人，是我最恨的人》的文章：

集中營裡有一個叫羅迪克的叛徒，甘願為納粹賣命。那天，生病的我並沒有死，他卻強行把我扔上卡車，對納粹說準備把我埋掉。

可是，令我震驚的是，車到半路，羅迪克停了車，扛起奄奄一息的我，放到一棵大樹的隱蔽處，並留下了幾塊黑麵包和一壺水，急促的對我說，如果你能活著，請來看這棵樹。然後，他就急匆匆開車走了。

登載這則篇幅很短的故事不久，報社陸續接到不少電話。

無一例外，打電話的人都是二戰老兵，而且是曾經不幸成為戰俘的老兵。

令人不可思議的是，無一例外，這十二位來電話的老兵，來自同一座集中營，那座羅迪克所在的集中營。

十二個老兵敘述的故事，幾乎都是報上登載的那個故事的翻版：他們被羅迪克放在一棵大樹下，然後，因此而死裡逃生。

尤其令人注意的是，每當羅迪克駕車離開時，對每一個戰友說的都是，如果你活著，請來看這棵樹。

編寫並推薦登載這篇稿子的，是一位從戰爭中走過來的老編輯。憑職業嗅覺，敏感的他判定，這棵被羅迪克反覆提到的樹，一定大有內容。

老編輯立即組織了十三位老兵，沿著當年死裡逃生的路線，去尋找那棵無法判定是否還存在的大樹。當一行人來到目的地，山谷依舊，大樹依舊。一個老兵率先撲進大樹的懷抱，啜泣中，他在樹洞裡找到只早已鏽蝕了的鐵盒子。

當人們七手八腳取出並打開了盒子。一本破損的日記本和很多張泛黃、發霉的照片赫然呈現在大家眼前。

他們小心翼翼的翻開了日記本：

今天我又救出了一位戰友，這已經是第28個了． ． ． 但願他能活下去． ． ． 今天又有20位戰友死去． ． ． 昨天深夜，戰友們又一次狠狠的打了我． ． ． 可我一定要堅持下去，無論如何也不說出真相，那樣，我還能救出更多的人． ． ． 親愛的戰友們，我只有一個唯一的希望，如果你活著，請來看看這棵樹。

老編輯的聲音早已哽噎，老兵們的淚流早已滿面。站在樹下的每一個頭髮花白的人，直到此時才完全清楚，羅迪克一共救了三十六名英國戰俘。

今天，仍然活在世界上的，也許還不止眼前的十三個。留在樹洞裡的關於戰俘集中營的日記和照片，是他留給世界揭露控訴納粹罪惡的鐵證。與老兵們分手不久，老編輯所在的那家報紙，很快登載了他采寫的羅迪克感人事蹟。

那處沉寂的山谷和那棵不倒的大樹周圍，因為報導而熱鬧了起來。許多人紛紛自發的來到這裡，祭奠羅迪克，表達對他的敬仰。理所當然的，羅迪克成為了一名國民英雄。

一個作家來到這座山谷，將不知名野花紮成的花束，放在了簡樸的紀念碑上，並在大樹下坐了許久。

後來，他在自己的一本書裡寫過一段話。他覺得，自己有責任告訴人們：完美需要代價，而為完美付出代價，沒有堅韌不拔忍辱負重精神，絕對做不到。

渴望完美的人生，是每一個人的權力。有時，這種完美因為環境所脅迫，它的表現形式，竟會那樣的相悖於最初的願望，因此造成的誤解甚至敵視，一定會形成一種強大的社會壓力。

而能夠為了完美的崇高使命，始終忍辱負重的人，他的名字終將成為完美的旗幟而高揚，讓後人永誌不忘。