In Simon Wiesenthal’s, The Sunflower, Wiesenthal writes about his personal struggle with forgiveness when faced with a dying Nazi asked him to grant forgiveness for his crimes. In his memory of the incident and in the face of many different perspectives, Wiesenthal expresses conflicting thoughts and new opinions on whether or not he did the right thing. This same moral quandary is posed to the reader as to what they would have done in his place. I can never be certain how I would respond because I've never been in Simon’s shoes; however, I can surely say I wouldn't have outright forgiven him in any circumstance. To understand what is really being asked in forgiveness of Holocaust crimes, I think you have to look at the bigger picture of how …show more content…
In telling his story of how he came to commit the worst crime of his life, Karl does not seem to show any genuine remorse for the actions he took that led up to the pivotal moment of wrongdoing. Someone who truly repented and regretted their actions should regret each and every step that made them a part of a larger evil. Karl only felt guilt because it led to his own demise. To follow the depiction of Karls horrific crime, he explains to Simon how it haunts him: “'In that moment I saw the burning family, the father with the child and behind them the mother--and they came to meet me. No, I cannot shoot at them a second time. The thought flashed through my mind… And then a shell exploded by my side,'” (Wiesenthal 51). This quote makes me understand more about Karls morals as a person because the atonement in his voice is clearly not one of his actions, I feel that it is borne of only regret for the result of his actions in relation to himself. He has taken time to reflect on what he did and how wrong it is only because it has placed him on his deathbed. Only now he wishes he had never done it. In order to challenge this, I have to wonder what Karl would have done if he had not been injured and like many of his