The Sunflower By Simon Wiesenthal

Do humans have limitations on their capacity for forgiveness? Simon Wiesenthal challenges this question in his book, The Sunflower. A philosophical memoir of his experiences as a Jewish prisoner during the Holocaust, The Sunflower places the reader in a position to question their own beliefs. Set in Nazi Germany, Simon meets Karl, a former SS soldier, on his deathbed. Tortured by his conscience of being a former perpetrator of horrific actions, Karl asks Simon for his forgiveness. Simon ultimately stays silent and walks out of the room without offering it, but is left to question whether his actions were ethically sound, and poses this question to the reader. While a decision that heavily relies on the individual, Simon may find his own peace

To convince many S. S. soldiers that the atrocities commited were of righteous moral, Karl’s platoon leader shouts, “They are not people. The Jew is not a human being! The Jews are the cause of all our misfortunes! And when you shoot one of them it is not the same thing as shooting one of us—it doesn’t matter if it is a man, woman, or child, they are different from us” (Wiesenthal 49). This scene demonstrates the lengths to which people in an already vulnerable state of mind were exploited. While it is imperative not to forget the fact that Karl joined the Hitler Youth Group on his own free will, Karl was not born a murderer. That psychological change only took place after years of indoctrination and emotional torment. Even the mentally strongest individuals would struggle to keep their ideals while surrounded by people constantly condemning a marginalized group of people as the source of all their problems. While Karl is not entirely free of blame, one can not drive out the years of built-up hatred with more hostility, for that, forgiveness is

José Hobday, a Franciscan nun whose writing focuses on Native American and Catholic spirituality says, “No one, no memory, should have the power to hold us down, to deny us peace. Forgiving is the real power” (Wiesenthal 175). The truth in this sentiment is demonstrated by the verity that holding resentment carries no benefit towards any situation. Society should always seek out compassion and forgiveness for their own benefit, if not anyone else’s. However, while forgiveness requires immense strength, those who simply cannot forgive should not be considered weak; everyone processes grief in different ways, and one way of thinking is not an all-encompassing guide for every scenario. Most things are not easily forgiven, and no person is at liberty to criticize Simon for his choice of action; they will never know what they would have done had they been the person to whom these experiences happened. Still, withholding forgiveness ultimately offers more power towards the perpetrator and less peace to the victim, and a society without forgiveness is one in which hostility would