Table of ContentsIntroductionThe Search for Forgiveness in the SunflowerThe Importance of Forgiveness in HealingConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionWorld War II, the deadliest military conflict in history, cost lives and left behind immeasurable pain for the survivors until now. Over time, some physical wounds caused by war may have healed and left scars, but the mental pains still torment the soul every day. Some pain will be unforgettable, like the mental and physical pain caused by the cruelty the Nazis inflicted on the Jews during the Holocaust. These mental sufferings and terrors haunted the Jews for the rest of their lives. In his book The Sunflower, Simon Wiesenthal, a Jewish prisoner who survived the Nazi concentration camp in Germany during World War II, writes about his experiences in the concentration camp and the conversation with a dying SS soldier named Karl, who wanted to confess his sins in order to ask a Jew for forgiveness at his last minute. After hearing Karl's confession, Wiesenthal cannot feel free to move forward because he doubts whether his decision to leave the room without giving Karl an answer was right or not. Wiesenthal therefore asked everyone reading this book to think about what they would have done if they found themselves in this situation. Some people claim that Karl should not be forgiven because he chose to join the SS army on his own. However, from my point of view, I would forgive Karl if I were Wiesenthal, because the power of forgiveness appears as a central theme in The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal, a Jewish survivor of the Nazi concentration camp in Germany during the Second World War. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Search of Forgiveness in The Sunflower The Sunflower is a story about how Jews were mistreated and humiliated by the SS during the concentration camp. Jews were forced to work long hours without eating anything. Many Jews died from starvation and a disease called typhus. Their deaths were quickly forgotten and they didn't even have a grave. On the contrary, every SS soldier would have a sunflower on his grave that he would remember after his death. Each sunflower symbolized a dead SS man, and this seemed to be a connection between dead soldiers and living life. One day, while working in a military hospital, the former technical high school, Wiesenthal was asked to follow a nurse to see Karl, a dying SS man. During their conversation, Karl confessed the terrible experiences he did to the Jewish people for following Nazi orders and why he joined the Nazi army, then Karl begged Wiesenthal, a Jew, for mercy before he died . To respond to Karl's request for forgiveness, Wiesenthal chose to leave the room and say nothing. However, Wiesenthal was still unsure of his action towards a dying SS man, so he asked everyone's opinion as if they were faced with this situation. In my opinion, Karl deserves forgiveness because he was a good person by nature. In a conversation with Wiesenthal, Karl's mother confessed: “'He [Karl] was always ready to help without being asked. At school, he [Karl] was a truly model student” (90). This proves that Karl was a very good boy. Obviously, the one who knows how to take care of others and is always ready to help people unconditionally is of course a good-hearted person. Furthermore, Karl also admitted, “'I was not born a murderer,'” and “'I was actually a servant in the church and a special favoriteof our priest who hoped that one day I would study theology'” (31). These statements show that his personality was that of a good young man who believed in morality. Before joining the Hitler Youth, Karl was born and raised in a good, strictly religious family, where his father was a social democrat and his mother a devout Catholic (31). Therefore, Karl learned to be a good person. In his conversation with Wiesenthal, Karl confessed his crimes very honestly and all his confessions only for seeking peace of mind before leaving the world of the living. For example, Karl said: “I can't die. » . . without being honest'” (53). This shows that until the last minute, Karl's whole desire is to return to his honest nature. Why did Karl hope to see Jews before he died? Or did he want to pretend to beg for mercy? No, of course he didn't pretend to do that. Karl did everything from the bottom of his heart, and he had to ask for mercy to free himself from the feeling of guilt that tortured his mind every day. In the conversation between Wiesenthal and Bolek, another prisoner, Bolek asserted: “'I don't think he [Karl] was lying to you [Wiesenthal]. When we face death, we don't lie. On his deathbed, he seemed to have returned to the faith of his childhood” (82). Yes, it's true that Karl wasn't lying. He felt truly guilty and deeply regretted all his crimes. Karl can choose to contact his parents at the last minute, or to buy that very little precious time to do what he hasn't done yet. Importance of Forgiveness in Healing However, Karl begged a nurse to help him see a Jew and confessed. all his sins to a Jew before his death. Karl was brave when he confessed his crimes in front of Wiesenthal, because it was not easy for anyone to admit their faults. This demonstrates that Karl knew that what he did to the Jews was both cruel and downright wrong, so he hopes he can do at least the last good thing in his life before leaving. In the conversation between Wiesenthal and the Dalai Lama, the Dalai Lama “believes in forgiving the person or people who have committed atrocities against oneself and against humanity” (129). This demonstrates that people should open their hearts and forgive those who know their mistakes. In general, only those who never know they are wrong are reprehensible; otherwise, forgiving will release the burden that weighs on everyone's mind. According to the article “Between Forgiveness and Lack of Forgiveness,” Zenon Szablowinski shares his thoughts: “Forgiveness has been valuable for centuries because it has the power to heal emotional wounds, restore human relationships, and break the chain of violence ". It is true that forgiving is the best way to release hatred and revenge. What if hatred was a series of hatreds, and then it had to be resolved with revenge? If this is the case, the world will always be at war and not at peace. Forgiveness is a way to let go of grudges and help everyone find peace of mind. When one knows his mistakes, people should show him mercy. Therefore, in this case, I would give a pardon to the dying Karl. Also, I would forgive Karl because he was brainwashed by the Nazi leaders and had to follow higher orders to kill Jews. Since the Jews were foreign to Karl, all the information Karl heard about the Jews came from the Nazis. In fact, all Karl understood "about the Jews was what came out of the loudspeaker" or what the SS leaders had their soldiers read (40). Karl says: “We were told that they [the Jews] were the cause of our misfortunes. . . They were trying to take over us, they were the cause of war, of poverty, of hunger, of unemployment."(40). This shows that the Nazis brainwashed their soldiers, including Karl, and gave them false information about the Jews. SS leaders constructed misleading information about Jews to explain rational reasons for their crimes. The Nazis wanted to make their soldiers believe that killing Jews was a righteous work and to make them feel not guilty when they killed innocent people. All SS soldiers believed that the more Jews were killed, the more heroic the soldiers were called. Karl also admitted that Nazi leaders educated their soldiers: “The Jew is not a human being” (49). Therefore, for the Nazi soldiers, killing the Jews was a necessary and right thing, so they killed a large number of innocent Jews without any guilt. The leaders of Nazi Germany wanted to genocide the Jews in a just manner. In general, every soldier must comply with the orders of the leaders, which they cannot deny because the orders were their duties; above all, it was Nazi Germany, a cruel dictatorship. Karl knew nothing about the Jews, and the SS soldiers brainwashed him with false information that the Jews were very evil and inhumane, and then asked the SS soldiers to kill the innocent Jews. Nazi Germany blinded him to the truths. Karl was a soldier, in his position he had to follow the orders of the leaders without any conditions. The crimes they committed against the Jewish people were beyond Karl's control, and Karl was unaware of his actions. Although Karl killed many Jews, his action could be explained by his tendency to obey the authorities. Therefore, I believe that Karl committed his crimes unintentionally and I would forgive this dying man. The Moral Dilemma in The Sunflower Additionally, some people will say that Karl volunteered for the Hitler Youth; however, in reality, Karl was not mature enough at his age to fully understand what he was doing. Therefore, I would always give Karl a chance for forgiveness. It is true that Karl signed up to become a lone soldier. At that time, all young people his age were influenced by Nazi propaganda. They just thought joining the military was an essential thing to do. Karl was not the only member of his troop to volunteer to join the Hitler Youth, but many of his friends also joined the Hitler Youth like him "without thinking, as if they were going to a ball or an outing." (32). This shows that Karl and his peers participated in the military movement without any hesitation. However, Karl was too young at that time to make the right decision. According to Karl's mother, "'He [Karl] was sixteen at the time and part of the Hitler Youth'" (88). Yes, Karl was only sixteen, an age of impulse, risky behavior and outright rudeness, when he joined the Hitler Youth, and later the SS army. In general, at sixteen, we are still adolescents, and we are not yet adults; so it is easy to understand that they cannot make the right decision on their own. They are influenced by their friends and their environment. With a youthful spirit, Karl was trained by his friends and joined the SS army, which he later regretted. Obviously, being under the influence of the surrounding councils, Karl decided to do things that he did not completely understand, but which he fully supported. According to the article “Propaganda: Fight for the Minds of Children,” written by Dennis Behreandt, “until 1939, the Hitler Youth counted among its members as many as 63 percent of all children aged 10 to 18 in Germany. ". This proves that at that time, there was a movement of young people who followed one another to. 25-28.