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The Sunflower By Simon Wiesenthal Analysis

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In the book “The Sunflower”, Simon Wiesenthal, who was the author, was one of the victims of the Holocaust. Within this book, Wiesenthal presents his readers with his problem of whether or not to forgive the disgraceful delinquencies of one of the dying Nazi soldiers. Wiesenthal asks, “Was my silence at the bedside of the dying Nazi right or wrong? This is a profound moral question that challenges the conscience of the reader of this episode, just as much as it once challenged my heart and mind” (Wiesenthal, 97-98).

Before the reader can answer the authors question on whether he was right or wrong, you must ask yourself what the true meaning of forgiveness is and to what extent someone should be forgiven. Can one forgive without forgetting, or vice versa? In the editor’s introduction of “The Sunflower, Bonny Fetterman wrote, “Is …show more content…

When I was younger, my parents taught me the difference between forgiving and forgetting. I believe that one can forgive without forgetting. When thinking about forgiveness, the first thing that comes to mind is the quote, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me”. Do me wrong the first time and I will forgive you, however, I will not forget what you did so that you cannot fool me again.

During the Holocaust, Eva Mozes Kor, another holocaust survivor, shared a similar experience to the one of Simon Wiesenthal. Eva Kor had a twin sister named Miriam. Her family was sent to a ghetto in Simleul Silvanei in March of 1944. They were later then sent to Auschwitz. Once Eva and her family arrive to the Auschwitz railhead railroad of Auschwitz, the mother replied with yes. At this moment Eva

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Type 4 Nora FCAs Summary Character Opinion Forgiveness “Is it possible to forgive and not forget? How can victims come to peace with their past, and hold on to their own humanity and morals in the process?” In The Sunflower, Simon Wiesenthal writes about an incident that occurs when he is imprisoned in a concentration camp. One day, when he is working in a hospital, he gets summoned to the room of a dying SS member.

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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.

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For the rest of Simon’s life he remains tormented by Karl’s apology and even asks his readers at the end of The Sunflower to ask himself: “What would I have done?” (98) When we respond to this question, we have to keep in consideration the amount of atrocities and suffering the Jewish population went through. I feel that it is not our right to deeply forgive another for their sins. To forgive by word of mouth seems to me to be so superficial. A deeper forgiveness does not come from us but from God.

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Simon Wiesenthal born on December 31, 1908, in Austria-Hungary, was a survivor of numerous Nazi concentration camps. Simon's experiences allow us to gain a deeper understanding of how the Holocaust has impacted his life. His experience profoundly impacted his mental & emotional health, the loss in his life and the influence it had on him to become a Nazi hunter. On July 6, 1941, Wiesenthal was arrested and taken to Brigidki Prison and managed to escape. After the escape he was forced to move to the ghettos and was eventually taken to the Janowska concentration camp.

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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.

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