Mention Books In Favor Of The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
| Original Title: | Die Sonnenblume |
| ISBN: | 0805210601 (ISBN13: 9780805210606) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Simon Wiesenthal
Paperback | Pages: 303 pages Rating: 4.1 | 7133 Users | 661 Reviews
Commentary Concering Books The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
While imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, Wiesenthal was taken one day from his work detail to the bedside of a dying SS man. Haunted by the crimes in which he'd participated, the soldier wanted to confess to--& obtain absolution from--a Jew. Faced with the choice between compassion & justice, silence & truth, Wiesenthal said nothing. But even years after the war had ended, he wondered: Had he done the right thing? What would you have done in his place? In this important book, 53 distinguished men & women respond to Wiesenthal's questions. They are theologians, political leaders, writers, jurists, psychiatrists, human rights activists, Holocaust survivors & victims of attempted genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, China & Tibet. Their responses, as varied as their experiences of the world, remind us that Wiesenthal's questions are not limited to events of the past. Often surprising, always thought provoking, The Sunflower will challenge you to define your beliefs about justice, compassion & responsibility.
Details Appertaining To Books The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
| Title | : | The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness |
| Author | : | Simon Wiesenthal |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Revised and Expanded |
| Pages | : | Pages: 303 pages |
| Published | : | 1998 by Schocken Books (NY) (first published 1969) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. World War II. Holocaust. Philosophy. History. Religion. Autobiography. Memoir |
Rating Appertaining To Books The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
Ratings: 4.1 From 7133 Users | 661 ReviewsDiscuss Appertaining To Books The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
This is an extraordinary book. Simon Wiesenthal is the Nazi hunter who spent his life since the war (WWII) identifying Nazi war criminals in order for them to be brought to trial. For this work he has been honoured by the governments of Italy, the Netherlands, Israel, and the United States. He was born in 1908 in Buczaz, a city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and he studied in Prague and Lvov. He had just begun work in an architectural office in Lvov (Poland) when the Germans invaded. From 1941The symposium section of this book was the most interesting to me I believe. I didn't know a lot of the scholars/commentators by name other than Primo Levi, Desmond Tutu, The Dalai Lama, and Jean Amery so lots of research had to be done as to who they were and why they were chosen to be included. The novella itself asks a very difficult question, one that I personally can't answer just because I am not qualified to due to my lack of unspeakable experiences that Wiesenthal and many others went
The first 80ish pages contain the main story and point of this book. The rest of the book is people trying to answer how they would have handled the conundrum the author lays out in the beginning. If a truly penitent person guilty of committing crimes against Jewish people (now dead, partially as a result of his crimes) asks for forgiveness how do you respond? I won't try to clarify the situation any more as it's a complex situation and you should read it in full context before trying to answer.
This is an analysis essay I wrote for my AP English class. It is about the power and meaning of Silence in the Sunflower. Not my best, but it'll have to do. . . The Power of Silence in The Sunflower In The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, Simon Wiesenthal asks the readers personal opinion on the act of forgiveness. Are there crimes so heinous that forgiveness cannot be granted? What must the guilty party do or feel in order to earn the forgiveness of the wronged? And
Simon Wiesenthal's story of being an inmate in a concentration camp and being asked by a dying Nazi soldier for forgiveness poses many moral issues for consideration and discussion. Was it Simon's right to grant forgiveness and were his actions just? Was the dying man truly repentant or just guilty and fearful of dying? What of his choice of joining the SS and his choice of Simon as the listener of his last confession? Should Simon have told the soldier's mother something other than what he did?
The Sunflower has been on my to read list for many years. Simon Wiesenthals recounting of his experience at the bedside of a dying SS soldier and the moral dilemma that it inflicted upon him is powerful and devastating. It has shattered all of my overwrought and trivial wisdom about forgiveness. There is no simple solution. Perhaps, Mr. Wiesenthals response silence is the only real response that could be offered in such a situation. Theologian Matthew Fox says this in his commentary on The
The Nuremberg Trials is the general name for two sets of trials of Nazis involved in war crimes committed during WWII. The first, and most famous trial, tried the most important and decorated political and military leaders of the Third Reich. The second set of trials for lesser war criminals. This book deals with a different kind of trial in which you, the reader, are the judge. Imagine you are a Jewish prisoner in a concentration camp and a dying Nazi soldier ask for your forgiveness for crimes
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