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I've just finished an evocative book. Simon Wiesenthal's book, The Sunflower, recounts his experience in a concentration camp during WWII. But the book is not just a story, it's a question. Wiesenthal tells the reader about an unusual encounter he had as a prisoner and asks the reader to respond.
Wiesenthal was brought to a hospital in a town near the camp and taken to a room where an SS officer lay dying. The officer had asked for a Jew to be brought to him. He asks Wiesenthal to sit down next to him and begins to confess his murderous actions as an SS officer. Then he makes an extraordinary request. He asks the Jew to forgive him—to be his 'priest' as it were and give absolution before he died. Wiesenthal responds with silence—then walks out of the room. He ends the story by asking the reading, "What would you have done? Would you have forgiven the contrite Nazi?"
The second half of the book contains the answers of 53 people. Each writes anywhere from one to five pages in response, analyzing the situation, and giving reasons why they would or would not have forgiven the officer. Approximately 24 of the respondents are Jews. Not one of them would have offered forgiveness to the Nazi officer. Other respondents are Protestants, Catholics, a couple of Buddhists, one Native American, and one Muslim. As far as I can discern, eleven of those said Yes, I would have forgiven him. Which means that there were about 11 yeses and 41 nos. (I say 'about' because some answers were not completely clear in terms of the question posed.)
I gained some new insight into Jewish theology as contrasted with Christian theology. But each person's brief essay gave various rationales for their viewpoint or emotional reaction. The analyses open up many questions about the meaning of forgiveness, repentance, responsibility, accountability, etc.
Wiesenthal's story has more detail than I have given, which makes the analysis of the situation more complicated than it might seem. I think this book would make a very useful study for discussion in a Sunday School class or small group.
I found myself empathizing with differing responses. Some of the Jewish writers had gut-wrenching hostility toward the SS man. This is understandable. But having just read Golda Meir's book recently I think I understood the anger more clearly. The Jewish people are fighting for their lives. The Shoah ('holocaust') was an attempt to exterminate their whole race. Millions of Jewish children were thrown alive into furnaces. It was such a barbaric experience for Jews that the newly formed nation of Israel and Jewish life elsewhere cannot afford to be 'tender' toward anyone who smells of anti-Semitism. The Jewish consciousness has been changed forever. They cannot forget or forgive. I empathized.
Yet, I found myself still leaning toward the rightness and wisdom of forgiveness. I don't know if I could forgive under those circumstances. But given the opportunity to be at a distance and reflect on it, I come down on the side of mercy. Still, I wouldn't presume to tell Simon Wiesenthal that he was wrong in that situation. It would be like telling an abused wife to lighten up. The Jews have been forced into a corner, so to speak. And like a scared animal, they have their defenses up. Survival is what matters in their minds.
I recommend The Sunflower as a thought provoking book. It evokes spiritual emotion and ethical rumination.
