The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness is a book on the Holocaust by Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal, in which he recounts his experience with a mortally wounded Nazi during World War II. The book describes Wiesenthal's experience in the Lemberg concentration camp near Lviv and discusses the moral ethics of the decisions he made.
The title comes from Wiesenthal's observation of a German military cemetery, where he saw a sunflower on each grave, and fearing his own placement in an unmarked mass grave. The book's second half is a symposium of answers from various people, including other Holocaust survivors, religious leaders and former Nazis. The book was originally published in German by Opera Mundi in Paris, France in 1969. The first English translation was published in 1970.
Synopsis In 1943, at the height of both World War II and the Holocaust, a group of forced labourers from the Lemberg concentration camp are sent to a converted army hospital to clear medical waste. Simon Wiesenthal is summoned from this work detail by a nurse to the bedside of a dying Nazi soldier, Karl Seidl (identified only as Karl S. in earlier editions). The soldier tells him he is seeking "a Jew's" forgiveness for a crime that has haunted Seidl since it was committed one year prior. Over a number of hours, Seidl tells Wiesenthal his life story, including joining Hitler Youth and his experiences in the SS. He then confesses to having participated in the destruction, by fire and armaments, of a house full of 300 Jews. He states that as the Jews tried to leap out of windows to escape the burning building, he and the other soldiers gunned them down.
After Seidl finishes his story, he asks Wiesenthal to forgive him. Wiesenthal then leaves the room without saying anything. The next day, the nurse informs Wiesenthal that the soldier has died. The nurse tells him that Seidl has left his belongings to him, but Wiesenthal refuses to take them, telling the nurse to have them sent to Seidl's mother. Wiesenthal ruminates on whether or not he should have forgiven Seidl through the rest of his experiences in the concentration camp system. After the war, he finds Seidl's mother, who in their conversation unintentionally confirms the details of her son's story. Seidl's mother asks him how he knew his son, but Wiesenthal lies and leaves without telling her of her late son's participation in the Holocaust. He then poses the ethical dilemma of whether or not he should have forgiven Seidl to the reader, after which a variety of responses from a diverse group of individuals is given.
Responses In the latest edition of the book, there are 53 responses given from various people, up from 10 in the original edition. Among respondents to the question are theologians, political leaders, writers, jurists, psychiatrists, human rights activists, Holocaust survivors, former Nazis and victims of attempted genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, China and Tibet. The responses vary. Some respondents write that forgiveness ought to be awarded for the victims' sake; others respond that it should be withheld. Others do not say definitively whether or not forgiveness was the right thing.
List of responses NameNationalityProfessionReligionResponseSven AlkalajBosnianDiplomat and politicianJudaismUncertainJean AméryAustrianEssayist; Holocaust survivorJudaismUncertainSmail BalićBosnian-AustrianHistorianIslamUncertainMoshe BejskiIsraeli; Polish-bornJudge; President of Yad Vashem's Righteous Among the Nations Commission; Holocaust survivorJudaismDo not forgiveAlan L. BergerProfessor of Religion and Holocaust studies; AuthorDo not forgiveRobert McAfee BrownAmericanMinister; Activist; Theologian; Professor of Theology and Ethics; AuthorChristianity (Presbyterian)UncertainHarry James CargasAmericanProfessor; Holocaust scholar; AuthorChristianity (Roman Catholic)Do not forgiveRobert ColesAmericanAuthor; Psychiatrist; ProfessorDo not forgiveThe Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso)TibetanSpiritual leader; Activist; Nobel Peace Prize laureateBuddhism (Tibetan)ForgiveEugene J. FisherCatholic Bishop; Author; Scholar of Interreligious studiesChristianity (Roman Catholic)UncertainEdward H. FlanneryAmericanCatholic Priest; Author; Activist against anti-SemitismChristianity (Roman Catholic)ForgiveEva FleischnerProfessor of Religion; AuthorCatholicDo not forgiveMatthew FoxPresident of University of Creation Spirituality; Author; PriestChristianity (Episcopalian); formerly Roman CatholicDo not forgiveRebecca GoldsteinAmericanPhilosopher; AuthorJudaism (Orthodox)Do not forgiveMary GordonAmericanProfessor of English, Barnard College; AuthorChristianity (Roman Catholic)Do not forgiveMark GouldenBritishJournalist; PublisherJudaismDo not forgiveHans HabeAustrian; Hungarian-bornAuthor; Publisher; Jewish descentChristianity (Protestant)UncertainYossi Klein HaleviIsraeli; American-bornAuthor; Journalist; Son of Holocaust survivorJudaismUncertainArthur HertzbergAmerican; Polish-bornRabbi; Author; Scholar; ActivistJudaism (Conservative)Do not forgiveTheodore M. HesburghAmericanPriest; Professor; President of University of Notre DameChristianity (Roman Catholic)ForgiveAbraham Joshua HeschelAmerican; Polish-bornRabbi; Theologian; Philosopher; Professor; AuthorJudaism (Orthodox, Conservative)Do not forgiveSusannah HeschelAmericanProfessor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College; Scholar; Daughter of Abraham Joshua HeschelJudaismDo not forgiveJosé HobdayAmericanFranciscan nun; Author; has written about Catholic and Native American spirituality; of Seneca, Iroquois and Seminole descent Christianity (Roman Catholic)ForgiveChristopher HollisBritishJournalist; Author; former Member of ParliamentChristianity (Roman Catholic)ForgiveRodger KamenetzAmericanPoet; Author; Professor of Religious Studies at Louisiana State UniversityJudaismDo not forgiveCardinal Franz KönigAustrianCardinal; Archbishop of Vienna; Theologian; ScholarChristianity (Roman Catholic)ForgiveHarold S. KushnerAmericanRabbi; AuthorJudaism (Conservative)Do not forgiveLawrence L. LangerAmericanScholar; Professor; Holocaust analyst; AuthorDo not forgivePrimo LeviItalianAuthor; Chemist; Holocaust survivorJudaismDo not forgiveDeborah E. LipstadtAmericanHistorian; Author; Professor; Holocaust scholarJudaismDo not forgiveFranklin H. LittellAmericanHolocaust scholar;Christianity (Methodist)Do not forgiveHubert G. LockeProfessor; Holocaust scholarUncertainErich H. LoewyProfessor of Bioethics, University of California DavisCan not forgiveHerbert MarcuseGerman; AmericanPhilosopher; Sociologist; Political theorist; AuthorJudaismDo not forgiveMartin E. MartyAmericanReligious scholarChristianity (Lutheran)ForgiveCynthia OzickAmericanAuthorJudaismDo not forgiveJohn T. PawlikowskiAmericanPriest; Professor of Social Ethics; Advocate for Catholic-Jewish relationsChristianity (Roman Catholic)Do not forgiveDennis PragerAmericanAuthor; TheologianJudaism (Orthodox)Do not forgiveDith PranAmerican; CambodianPhotojournalist; survivor of Cambodian genocide; subject of The Killing FieldsForgiveTerence PrittieBritishJournalist; Author; Do not forgiveMatthieu RicardFrenchAuthor; Buddhist Monk; PhD in Molecular GeneticsBuddhism (Tibetan)ForgiveJoshua RubensteinRegional director for Amnesty International USA; Fellow of Russian StudiesDo not forgiveSidney ShachnowAmerican; Lithuanian-bornMajor General, U.S. Army; Purple Heart Recipient; Green Beret; Holocaust survivorJudaismDo not forgiveDorothee SölleGermanTheologian; AuthorChristianity (Lutheran)UncertainAlbert SpeerGermanMinister of Armaments and War Production for Nazi Germany; Chief Architect to Adolf Hitler; Nazi party member; Accepted moral responsibility at the Nuremberg trials; known as the "Nazi who said sorry"Do not forgiveManès SperberAustrian-FrenchAuthor; PsychologistJudaismDo not forgiveAndré SteinProfessor; Psychotherapist; Author; Holocaust survivorJudaismDo not forgiveNechama TecAmerican; Polish-bornProfessor of Sociology; Author; Holocaust survivorJudaismDo not forgiveJoseph TelushkinAmericanRabbi; AuthorJudaismDo not forgiveTzvetan TodorovBulgarian; FrenchHistorian; Philosopher; Sociologist; AuthorDo not forgiveDesmond TutuSouth AfricanSocial rights activist; Politician; Anglican Bishop; AuthorChristianity (Anglican)ForgiveArthur WaskowAmericanRabbi; Author; Political activistJudaismDo not forgiveHarry WuAmerican; Chinese-bornAdvocate for human rights in China; survivor of 19 years in Chinese labor campsDo not forgive
References
External links Book review at academic.kellogg.edu