Analysis Of Simon Wiesenthal

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The idea of forgiveness resonates differently with every individual. Where do we draw the line in terms of offering up a sincere acceptance of someone’s apology? Are there any acts that we as individuals will absolutely not be able to ever excuse? In the case of Simon Wiesenthal, those questions were brought directly into his life in a way more powerful than many of us will ever experience in our lifetimes. After living through the Holocaust, Wiesenthal was confronted by one of the former SS members and asked to forgive his atrocious acts of violence against innocent Jewish people. His decision is one that Wiesenthal has been seeking validation for ever since it was made. Simon Wiesenthal was in what we would consider the prime of his life …show more content…

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. There are those who can appreciate my dilemma, and so endorse my attitude, and there are others who will be ready to condemn me for refusing to ease the last moment of a repentant murderer. (Wiesenthal 12)
This right here is the central dilemma that is proposed to the reader of the novel. Should he have really forgiven the man who committed so many crimes against his people? As it should be expected, the opinions of the people who responded to his request for answers differed greatly. Some believed that he should have forgiven the man, others believed that forgiveness is only to be granted by God, and there were some respondents who completely agreed with Wiesenthal’s decision to condemn the man in the …show more content…

In most cases when you’re being asked for forgiveness it’s for something that is relatively small in comparison to what Wiesenthal had to go through with being directly affected by the Holocaust. However, what should you do if you’re faced with something on that scale? Is it even possible to forgive someone who seems to only be apologizing because he’s on his death bed? I would find it very hard to do what both the Dalai Lama and Kushner are suggesting. Even if I was in Wiesenthal’s shoes and someone like Seidl had lived a long life filled with regret I don’t know that I would be able to truly forgive them for committing such atrocities. So forgiveness for me wouldn’t be possible unless they were forced into doing something that they were fundamentally against, which, in the case of Seidl, he wasn’t. After hearing about how he went into the effort with so much gusto, that’s where the line would be drawn. Much the same as Wiesenthal, I would have just walked away. There would be no forgiveness from me, and certainly no

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