The Sunflower Simon Wiesenthal This book is about a Jew whose life is changed by one simple question a special man asked him. There is an SS man who is lying on his death bed and asks to see any Jew, Simon is brought in, and sits with the officer while he tells him all about the things he has done while being a Nazi. At first, Simon doesn’t know why he was called in, or why he is being told these stories, until the SS man asks him if he can forgive him. Simon has an internal dilemma of whether he should forgive this man after all the terrible things he did against people like Simon, or even if he has the right to forgive on behalf of all those he hurt who were no longer there to decide for themelves. The question this raised in my mind while reading it was is it possible to forgive someone and show them mercy when they showed none to anyone else”? Not to mention, this officer was on his death bed, so is it okay to commit crimes, murder innocent people, and sin, just to apologize at the end? What price will he pay for the countless lives he took, for the torture he imposed, and the fear he instilled in an entire race? I think it’s difficult to forgive someone in his position because you can’t tell if he is really sorry he did it, or if he just wants to go to heaven after he’s had his fun. Ultimately, it’s not up to us to forgive sins like that, and not many can fully forgive them anyways, only God has enough love for that. This book struck a nerve in me and I started researching forgiveness and found the catechisms’ teachings that said “there is no sin too big to forgive here below, if it be sincerely repented of and humbly confessed”, and “there is no man upon earth without sin; consequently there is none who does not need the forgiveness of sin”. I found these to be very true, because even Simon, before being committed to work in the camps, must have committed a fair amount of sins, like every human does, just as the SS man did. It just so happens, the types of sins the Nazi officer committed were cruel and inhumane, and intentional, which made it hard to forgive them as a simple human. Sometimes it’s hard to trust someone if sincere is when they say they’re sorry, especially if it’s at a time that coincidently benefits them,