Forgiveness In The Sunflower

In the autobiography The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal, Simon, who’s the main character went through much heartache and confusion; throughout being separated from his family to being put into concentration/work camps. Simon witnessed many people brutally slaughtered, including close friends. While working one day on the line a nurse pulled Simon aside and took him to a school building that had been turned into a hospital. There he saw a man whose face was completely wrapped in bandages. This man’s name was Karl, and was an SS soldier. “I must tell you this horrible deed—tell you because you are a Jew” (Wiesenthal 30). He told Simon a story about how he came to be in the Hitler Youth and what his parents were like; his father didn't approve. Then continued to tell him a story of how they were ordered to cram Jews into houses petrol cans and shot at them with machine guns, then threw hand grenades through the windows of the houses, causing them to explode and catch on fire. When a …show more content…
Flannerg, a Judeo-Christian understood Simon’s struggle on whether or not he could forgive Karl on other Jew’s behalf. Uet Flannery feels that even though the sins weren’t committed against Simon, if Karl sincerely repents his sins everyone deserves forgiveness in name of God. “It is a cardinal principle of Judeo-Christian ethics that forgiveness must always be granted to sincerely repentant” (Flannery 136). Flannery took more of a moral and religious standpoint on this conflict. I understand where Flannery is coming from because it seemed as though Karl was sincerely apologetic and guilt ridden by what he had done to innocent people; that if he’s sincerely sorry, why should you deny this man his dying wish of forgiveness? I do agree with Flannery on the point he made suggesting that Karl shouldve made his peace with God by asking him for forgiveness, and that Simon should've uttered a prayer for the repose of Karl’s soul and the victims of his inhumane