The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal
By: Sarah Jackson ‘12

     The Sunflower is not merely a story; it is a contemplative piece, affording readers the opportunity to form their own opinion regarding an important issue: forgiveness.

     The Sunflower is Wiesenthal’s personal story from World War II. His Jewish ancestry leads him to be one of the countless victims of persecution in Europe known as the Holocaust. He becomes a prisoner in a concentration camp, but one day he is taken aside and escorted into the hospital room of a young Nazi soldier on his deathbed. The soldier tells the story of his life and describes the atrocities he participated in as a Nazi soldier. He then asks Wiesenthal for forgiveness. Wiesenthal makes his decision and then gives the reader the ability to contemplate how they would have reacted had they been in Wiesenthal’s position.

     The second half of the novel gives the opinions of all kinds of people, such as Christians, genocide survivors, ex-Nazis, the Dalai Lama, and more. This renders the book itself all the more intriguing, as the reader gets to view the opinions of world leaders on the topic of forgiveness – a topic that is not typically discussed in the evening as people watch the world news or political debates. Forgiveness is a humane, sensitive, and controversial topic, and reading the opinions of public figures on that topic shows their humanity – something different from what we see often see in the media.

     In this story, the reader is forced to step into the shoes of both a Jew and a Nazi during the Holocaust in order to form a strong opinion. Ultimately, the novel gives the reader a tough decision to make, and the idea itself can start a boundless and vivid discussion amongst people.