After reading Simon Wiesenthal's book the Sunflower and the other readings within the book by various authors it made me feel somewhat of a confused opinion about forgiveness and gave me the opportunity to think about what a person would have felt after being involved in the Holocaust. Is it possible for somebody to forgive another human being for doing something so horrible to you, your family, or fellow people of the same race, gender, or ones who are disabled? Most people, included myself, would not even think about forgiving somebody who has done something so horrible to us or to our families. I believe that there are certain scenarios when one could forgive and then there are other scenarios where one wouldn't be able to forgive.
There are many different issues that people go through that they end up facing the question of whether to forgive or not to forgive. According to Irving Roth he says that he does not like the word forgiveness and that one cannot just say that they are sorry for what they have done but they must do something active to prove that they are truly sorry and then they could be forgiven. With this one may be forgiven to a certain extent. If you get into a fight or steal something from someone then you can be forgiven because you can fix what you have done or buy them something that you stole or pay for something that they need or give them money. One could tell the other person that they were honestly sorry and that they have done wrong and truly mean it. On top of that one must go above and beyond that and do something that will prove to them that you are truly sorry for what you have done and that it will not happen again and fix what happened. However when it comes to things on the level with the Holocaust then there is no way of forgiving.
After reading the Sunflower it gave me the perspective of being a Holocaust survivor and what it might possibly be like if I were in one of the Jews shoes. I can now see why most Jews will not forgive the Nazis for what they have done. When the SS soldier is asking for forgiveness from Simon, I felt some remorse but then realized that there is no way in hell I would be able to forgive him for what he had done to my family and fellow comrades. I would probably just walk away without saying a word just like Simon did himself. Within the Sunflower, I read a short response by a man named Harry Wu, who was a prisoner by the Chinese in a labor camp for nineteen years, who states this about the soldiers that murdered his fellow people, “I understand why you were a part of a horrible and vicious society. You are responsible for your own actions but everyone else in this society shares that same responsibility with you” (274). This statement makes us realize that no matter the situation everyone has a choice of what they do even if it’s following orders. In addition Wu is implying that even though one is doing the act they are all responsible as a group and if one was forgiven then you would have to forgive all the Nazis, Chinese, or the perpetrators for what they have done. So overall he is implying that forgiveness is impossible because they are responsible for their own actions. Journalist Dennis Prager is in agreement in his Sunflower essay and states, “Conversely, tolerance of murder is the characteristic of a world in decay” (Prager 226). As a society murder cannot be forgiven and it should not be either. So why would an individual?
I believe that it is not a person's responsibility to forgive somebody for what they have done, but it is a choice. For somebody to forgive, it would be tremendously difficult because with forgiving somebody it does not take away the memories of what happened and does not change the past and what they have done. Some people are able to do this like Eva Korr, Holocaust survivor and Mengele twin. But this was a choice and for her own healing not for what the Nazi had done to her. I would not be able to forgive something so horrible and there are many other survivors who would agree. If we were to get passed our losses and our memories then maybe we could come to peace with the past by basically overcoming whatever evil has happened to them. I wonder if it is possible to forgive but not forget, because we will always remember what happened or have the memories burned into our memories where it will always remain no matter how hard one tries to get rid of it. This is where it becomes more in God’s realm.
It is not a person’s responsibility to forgive wrongs on the level of the Holocaust, but it is a choice one has. But I believe that it is in God’s realm to determine if a perpetrator is to be forgiven or not. Journalist Dennis Prager states that, “God Himself does not forgive a person who has sinned against a human being unless that human being has been forgiven by his victim…God presumably can forgive a murderer, but as far as people are concerned, murder is unforgivable” (226). So for forgiveness even with God one must seek repentance and be truly sorry. In the case of the Sunflower I believe that the SS soldier was not truly sorry for what he had done. It was just because he was about to die. Is a person who is about to die able to be repentant? In Karl’s case he just said to bring him any Jew so that he could feel relief from conscience.
The Sunflower really makes me think about whether it is possible to forgive or not. The memories are always going to be there and people are still going to be upset or angry about what happened. We cannot go back in time and change what happened. As for myself and many others it is impossible to forgive instances with a degree as horrible as the Holocaust, but one needs to try and live a normal life with what happened and move on without having a hatred continuing inside them. Some people may be able to forgive but as for myself and many others we can’t because the conditions are too high. However regardless of whether one comes to forgive or not they shouldn’t be consumed by all the hatred but live out a fulfilling and successful life.