THE STAR OF DAVID

"Question with boldness even the existence of a God;
because, if there be one, he must more approve of
the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear."

-- Thomas Jefferson


His shiny black boots were laced up to his knees. Dressed in black, sporting Nazi swastikas on two arm bands, hair slicked back, Larry Trapp was a self-professed Nazi who wore the uniform daily and without apology. He boldly leaned on the wall waiting for his appointment at the University of Nebraska Dental School.

The "Nazi guy" visited so often, I assumed he had a lot of dental needs. Severe diabetes would later account for his frequent appearances. With his inability to fight off infections, he was prone to severe gum disease.

Trapp’s racist antics and hate crimes were often described in the Lincoln press. He was anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic and rumored to be Grand Dragon in the Ku Klux Klan. He preached bigotry on his own cable access channel and a criminal rap sheet reflected his hateful behavior.

In 1994, I was driving to work in Minneapolis listening to public radio and heard that a play about Larry Trapp was being performed at the local Heart of Beast Puppet and Mask Theater. The title was “Befriended by the Enemy,” a remarkable story of conversion and faith.

In 1991, Trapp had besieged a Jewish cantor Michael Weisser and his wife, Julie, with obscene phone calls in Lincoln, Nebraska. One day, the cantor responded that he’d heard Trapp had a foot amputated from diabetes. If he needed help with getting groceries, Weisser would stop by his house to get a list and go to the store. Trapp agreed and before he left, Michael told Julie that if he did not return home, to call the police.

When Weisser arrived at Trapp’s apartment, he was surprised to see how small it was. Firearms were spread throughout the room and Nazi flags were hanging on the walls. The cantor and his wife began routinely bringing groceries to Trapp, talking with him and helping him out. Somehow their kindness got through to the man. Trapp eventually begged for their forgiveness and actually converted to Judaism. In 1992, he spent the last two months of his life at home with the Weissers and their two small children.
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I waited until my twenty-fifth class reunion at the University of Nebraska to share this story with my colleagues, who remembered Trapp well from the dental school.

Before hearing the Weisser story one classmate sheepishly shared, “You know, I was working on the Nazi Guy and he needed a gold crown on his tooth. Right before cementing it, I carved the Star of David inside.”

May wonders never cease. By Patrick J Foy, DDS Jan. 2010