In Sam Wiesenthal’s novel, The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, the author puts readers into a scene of what he had experienced when he was forced into a concentration camp during the Holocaust. In this novel, Wiesenthal experiences many horrifying things in the concentration camp, especially death. In this particular scene of the novel, Wiesenthal encounters a dying Nazi soldier who asks for his forgiveness. As the dying soldier is speaking to Wiesenthal, he mutters, “ ‘I shall die, there is nobody to help me and nobody to mourn my death’ “ (Wiesenthal 27). Wiesenthal had to face a dilemma when this wounded soldier was asking him for help.
Karl, reveals to Wiesenthal his movements against Jewish people and asks him for a forgiveness by telling him that he can not die in a piece without his answer; nevertheless, after hearing the confession, the prisoner leaves the room without saying a word. I agree with Wiesenthal’s decision about leaving the room without saying a word; therefore, I think that we shouldn’t forgive them because our psychology and morality don’t let us do it. Initially, I have always believed that “Without forgetting there can be no forgiving (qtd. in Fricke 176)” because if we forgive it will be nothing but verbal forgiveness.
If I were in Simon’s place, I would not have granted Karl forgiveness. I think Simon was right not to have forgiven Karl because
The Sunflower is a memoir of Simon Wiesenthal’s experience in a Polish concentration camp and his internal conflict of whether he did the right thing by remaining silent when a dying SS man asked him for forgiveness. Wiesenthal wrestles with this choice and at the end of his memoir, he extends the question “What would you do?” to the readers. Drawing my own opinion from a number of people including “theologians, writers, human rights activists, Holocaust survivors, political leaders, and victims of attempted genocide in Bosnia, Cambodia, China, and Tibet” whom have responded to this question. I personally would have been just as conflicted as Wiesenthal was, but ultimately I would have chosen to forgive him.
Who are we to say that someone is truly forgiven for their sins? It is not our right. I do, however, believe that we should remain compassionate and kind to everyone, even the sinful. My response is that Simon Wiesenthal did the right thing by keeping his silence when the Nazi soldier asked for forgiveness. Simon could not have forgiven the Nazi for crimes and brutalities he did to other Jews.
After being asked for forgiveness by a dying SS soldier, Simon Wiesenthal poses the final question of the novel, “what would you have done?” to his readers. It rings in the ears of the global audience as they try to imagine how they may have acted in Simon’s impossible position. I’d have done exactly as Simon did. Leave without a response. Karl, the SS soldier on his deathbed who begged forgiveness of Simon, requested forgiveness from ANY Jewish person.
Historians have been debating how the spirit triumphed during the Holocaust for years. The spirit triumphed through the Holocaust through many, many distractions, nature, and the support and love of family and friends. The Nazis had killed, and enslaved so many Jewish people in concentration camps. But, the Nazis couldn’t take their spirit from them.
Unspoken Victims of The Holocaust Of the countless victims of Adolf Hitler’s brutal genocide none were persecuted more than the Jews, however, among the large death toll many others were mercilessly punished for their race, beliefs, or occupation. A major target for Hitler’s “Final Solution” was the mentally and physically disabled. In their article on the mentally and physically handicapped the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum wrote “The Law for the Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases, proclaimed July 14, 1933, forced the sterilization of all persons who suffered from diseases considered hereditary, such as mental illness (schizophrenia and manic depression), retardation (congenital feeble-mindedness), physical deformity,
The Holocaust is the most significant historical event that I have studied so far. This tragic event took place during World War II and only very few survivors lived to share their shocking experiences. I have read a few of these survivor’s stories, such as Night, by Elie Wiesel and it has personally impacted me and influenced my thinking in various ways. The Holocaust was the greatest act of hate, violence, and anti-semitism.
52). Wiesenthal believed the dying man to be remorseful; however, the question then becomes what did he believe the Jews were guilty of? Could a man who voluntarily joined the SS respectfully stand for something he did not believe or know much about? The dying man on his deathbed had once again reconnected to his childhood faith as Wiesenthal listens to his confession as Bolek an imprisoned priest had said to Wiesenthal (Wiesenthal,
situations that are way more important. On the other hand, if this situation is left undone, people will feel like nobody cares about what had happened and criminals are just left to live their lives. There will be many displeased people who just want to get justice for their forebearers or even for themselves. While it had been so long that the Holocaust occurred, it is only right that it is all left done and finalized.
Being a Jewish female in the South, I experience my beliefs differing from the majority of individuals on a daily basis. I am the only Jewish student in my school, therefore I get an abundance of questions about my religion and family. Whenever an individual finds out I am Jewish it is inevitable that I am going to be interrogated with questions that range from "So you 're going to hell when you die?" to "Are both your parents Jewish?" Of course when the question, "Did you lose family in the holocaust?" arises, I use the question as an educational experience. Generations back I did lose family members in the holocaust, therefore I try to inform people on how the Holocaust affects our daily life.
The Holocaust was a horrific tragedy which started in January of 1933 and ended in May of 1945, the Holocaust was the mass murder of millions of people. The word was derived from the Greek word that meant Sacrifice to the Gods (Steele 7), also called the Shoan which is the Hebrew word for catastrophe (Steele 7). So many countries took place in this 12-year genocide, including, “Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria, which were also known as the Axis Powers” (Steele 34). But, although there were all those countries they were all part of one larger group called the Nazis, were the ones who were killing all the different denominations of people. (Bachrach 58).
“Do you want a treat?” “Do you want to go for a walk?” “Let’s go for a ride!” Those of us with animal companions all know these phrases because they are spoken very often. The animals may bark, or purr, or tilt their head.
I have always had this odd fascination with the Holocaust. I don’t have a familial history attached to it or anything, yet I’ve still felt connected to it. My first encounter with the Holocaust was in elementary school. A Ukrainian Jew, a survivor of the Holocaust, came into my classroom and talked with the students through a translator. What I remember most clearly is when he mentioned every nationality that he met while in a concentration camp: Russians, Slovaks, Germans, Polish, the list goes on and on.
