The Sunflower

The Sunflower: Compassion and Forgiveness A fact which we all have to emit is that humanity existence always creates conflicts and fighting which we call "WAR". In war, people kill each others for many reasons ---- resources, personal benefits, territories, powers, revenge, etc. In war, one becomes a hero for killing human lives and eventually he gets honored and well-known in people 's heart. The Holocaust, according to Germans, was the war between Germans and Jews. Approximately six million Jews included 960,000 innocent children died during Hitler 's regime called Nazism. Unlike the "hero(s)" whom people honor, the Holocaust was a hideous crime and the participants were bloody murderers. Today people are taught about the Holocaust and learn how to avoid it. Many books written about the Holocaust have published and people read and respond. Written by Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor, The Sunflower has challenged many readers throughout the world about human responsibility, compassion, and justice with the question about forgiveness, "You are a prisoner in a concentration camp. A dying Nazi soldier asks for your forgiveness. What would you do?" I have thought about the question and seek for the answer for a long time. Finally I find myself in the position that compassion is more important than justice under such a circumstance. I would forgive the dying SS soldier because I feel like nothing is more important than his repentance. There are two other major factors that help me to decide to forgive the dying SS soldier which are peer pressure and his naiveness. I am just a normal person who does not believe in any superhuman being. However I have learned about different religions and they share the same common lesson about compassion---mercy is sometimes more important than justice. They forgive sinners who genuinely repent. I would forgive Karl because he finally showed repentance before he died. "In our religion repentance is the most important

Cited: Wiesenthal, Simon. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. Ed. Harry James and Bonny V. Fetterman. New York: Schocken Books, 1998. Print.