Forgiveness In The Sunflower By Simon Weisenthal

Simon Weisenthal has composed a novel that presents readers with a difficult set of questions that leaves them thinking for hours on end. He had been trapped in a room with a repenting murderer and is begged for forgiveness. He leaves with no response, but is tortured by his conscious as he thinks whether his actions were acceptable. The Sunflower tests its readers personality as they are asked to put themselves in Mr. Weisenthal’s position in that dark, suffocating room. Forgiveness is dependent on the reader’s personal experiences, personality, and attitude towards the criminal. But most of all, forgiveness should be genuine.
In regards to the horrors of the Holocaust, the three topics of forgiving, forgetting, and remembering can be quite

challenging. Forgiveness is seen differently from person to person. Some people need it while others find it completely useless in the path of recovery. Forgiveness not only fulfills the needs of the pursuer, but it also grants the forgiver control over himself. People must understand that forgiving does not mean forgetting. Forgiving someone or something does not mean that nothing had occurred. If that period of time was forgotten, then it would seem as if it was not an important problem. Many communities turned their backs in the beginning of HItler’s reign, which then led to one of history’s worst massacres. Forgetting would, in fact, let the same series of events occur once again, though unfortunately, it already has. Once the healing process has begun, each and every person in the world must remember those who suffered, who lost, and who will never be the same. The people our society lost suffered to save millions of other people, and that can never be forgotten.
Once Simon Weisenthal left the dark room, he began experiencing second thoughts about his actions towards Karl, the SS man.

HIs silence, I believe, was the best thing Simon could have done for Karl at that moment. The silence he provided him let the SS man think about whatever he needed. It gave him time to reminisce about his life overall, not just his foolish mistakes. Many of the responders who reviewed Simon’s story stated that he was not entitled to forgiving the SS man. I agree, since Simon may not have experienced the same emotions that the little boy suffered through. Simon never met the little boy nor did he know him personally, therefore he has no idea as to whether the little boy would forgive or not. Due to Karl’s actions, the little boy will never experience the little things that make life worth living, like going to school, falling in love, and growing elderly. The people Karl affected are gone and will never have the opportunity to hear his apologetic words. In regards to every event that occurred, we must remember what every individual experienced during the Holocaust. Their sufferings and the culprit must be remembered. The hatred felt between all races must not be forgotten, for it will reoccur once again.With the circumstances that the Jewish community was given, I believe that Mr. Weisenthal should not change a single thing about his actions. He had the courage to walk away, and although these memories haunted him until his very last moment, he should

not feel guilty. He remained silent because he knew that was the appropriate thing to do. Even though he turned his back, I would like to believe that Simon ultimately forgave Karl. He gave Karl’s mother reassurance in the fact that he never did intentional crime towards anyone but himself; he kept Karl innocent and polite in his mother’s memories.
Mr. Weisenthal left his readers with a question: What would you have done? As controversial as it seems, I can not say whether or not I would have forgiven Karl. I have been given weeks to think of a conclusion, whereas Simon only received a few short minutes to conjure a decision. I feel that I would not say the words that Karl wanted to hear: “I forgive you”. There is no reasoning behind this. Even if I did forgive him, everything he had done still happened and people are still dead because of him. Honestly, there is not one thing that can be said that would make him feel better about his actions. Some people believe that he will receive repentance from God once he dies, but to me, the only person that will be left to deal with Karl’s burden is Simon. For Karl, he escaped his guilty conscience by dying, but regardless of whether he should be forgiven, I would say this. I would tell him that he was, or maybe is, a good person. I would tell him that everything happened for a reason, and that we may never understand what that reason may be. People make mistakes, but only a select few regret those mistakes and that takes courage. I would thank him, because he gave me a moment where the world was not falling into pieces and I was, finally, the one in control of everything around me.