Wiesenthal, Simon. (1998).The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. New York: Schocken Books. 289 pp.

Grade Range: 6-12

Genre: nonfiction

Summary and Critique

To forgive and forget sounds easy enough, but it is easier said than done. Simon is one of the many oppressed Jews of the Holocaust. He works in a concentration camp with two friends, Arthur and Josek, where they are malnourished, humiliated, and tortured daily. Once the work is finished at the camp, Simon is chosen to work at a hospital for Nazi soldiers, or SS men, in his hometown. On the walk to the hospital, Simon sees a cemetery for SS men. All of the graves have a sunflower placed on top of them and are well kept. Simon compares his future burial, a massive ditch filled with numerous Jews, with the peaceful graves of the SS men. While working at the hospital a dying Nazi soldier asks Simon for forgiveness for the sins he committed against the Jews. Simon feels that he cannot speak for every Jew that the SS man has killed or tortured, or all Jews in general. Still, Simon is haunted by his decision of denying a dying man's last wish. He seeks advice from his friends and others but never comes to a conclusion. In the second part of the book, many philosophers, authors, theologians, Holocaust survivors, political leaders, psychiatrists, and victims of attempted genocide in Bosnia, Cambodia, China and Tibet explain what they would have done if they were placed in Simon's situation.

Simon asks an intriguing question in this work and provides support for both sides. It will make for an interesting, thought provoking discussion/debate in the classroom. Part One is alive with vivid imagery and easy to read. Not only will students benefit from examining the literary aspects of this book, they will also see a first hand account of a major historical event. The viewpoints presented by the critics will also give students ideas for shaping their own opinions and enable them to see how the Holocaust affected all humanity, not just the Jews and the Nazis. For the most part, The Sunflower has been well accepted by critics for it's beautiful writing and poignant message. However, some find the author Simon Wiesenthal a bit too vengeful in his actions to bring justice to every last Nazi after so many years have passed since the Holocaust.

Themes/Topics

Race, Ethnicity, and culture

Friends and enemies

War and Peace

The Holocaust

The Individual vs. Society

Author Information

Simon Wiesenthal was born in 1908 in Buczacz, Galacia. He graduated from the Czech Technical University in Prague and the Polytechnic Institute in Lvov. From 1941-1945 he was imprisoned in several ghettos and concentration camps including Buchenwald and Mauthausen. By the war's end, he and his wife lost 89 family members. After the war, he joined the American Commission for War Crimes and was later transferred to the OSS at Linz. In 1946 he founded the Jewish Historical Documentation Center, which brought over 1,100 Nazi criminals to justice.

For more information on Simon Wiesenthal:

http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/biography/Wiesenthal.html Extensive biographical information on Wiesenthal, presented by the Jewish Virtual Library.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/581109.stm BBC news article about Wiesenthal's activities outside of being an b4teens_author.

http://history1900s.about.com/cs/wiesenthalsimon/ Web site offering an autobiography on Simon Wiesenthal.

Media Connections

Movies

Genocide (1981) An Academy Award winning documentary narrated by Elizabeth Taylor, giving poignant insight into woman's experience of the Holocaust. The viewer gets to meet actual sufferers from the Holocaust and learn about the history of Semitism, dating back to Biblical times.

Schindler's List (1993) An extremely moving film about wealthy and powerful Nazi party member, Oscar Schindler who saved numerous Jewish lives by giving other Nazi leaders money and fine gifts in exchange for "workers" in his factories. In reality he wished to help the Jews and prevent them from dying in a torturous work camp or worse.

Once Upon A Time...When We Were Colored (1996) The film is about a young African American growing up in Glen Allen, Mississippi during the 1940's-1950's when the KKK practiced racism openly and racial discrimination was at an all time high because of segregation.

Music

"Hands." Lyrics by Jewel. Spirit. Atlantic, 1998. A moving, rhythmic song, sung with the angelic voice of Jewel. The song reminds listeners that revenge is not the answer to self fulfillment and in order to find peace, one must treat others with kindness.

Online Resources

http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/musVicti.htm This site has examples of songs and lyrics sung by the Jews while in concentration camps and provides lesson plans for teaching the Holocaust through Music.

http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Resc/Trade/ged_matrices.html World War II books matrix and teaching ideas.

http://teachers.teach-nology.com/themes/social/holocaust/ A variety of helpful topics about Holocaust and related themes. Teachers can find hands-on activities, web quest, teaching ideas, worksheet, lesson plans, etc.

http://www.pbs.org Many useful parts, biography, lesson plans, background history of the Holocaust, related documentaries, photos, artwork, anything a teacher needs!

http://shamash.org/holocaust/photos/ Photos of the Holocaust.

http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/staffdir/staff2/Griensewic_Virjean.html Very helpful resources about the Holocaust—museum, history, related books, movies, and music, teaching ideas, etc.

http://www.hmh.org Official Web site for the Holocaust Museum Houston.

http://www.ushmm.org Official Web site for the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum.

http://wiesenthal.org/ Official site for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Related Texts

Frank, Anne. (1993). Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Bantam. 304pp. The actual diary of a thirteen year old girl who lived and died during the Holocaust (1929). This diary provides readers with gruesome historical facts about the Holocaust as well as details of a delightful young girl's life.

Douglass, Frederick. (1986). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. New York: Penguin. 159pp. This novel tells the true story of Frederick Douglass's escape from slavery in the 1850's. It gives first hand detail of the cruelty and discrimination of slave owners and the triumphant attainment of freedom.

Orwell, George. (1978). 1984. New York: Warren Publishing Company. 273 pp. A chilling novel set in the future in a communist society where all individuals'actions and even thoughts are monitored and controlled. The controlling party uses propaganda to brain wash everyone much like Hitler used propaganda during World War II to brain wash the Nazis into murdering multitudes of Jews.

Mistry, Rohintion. (1989). Swimming Lessons: And Other Short Stories from Firoshza Baag. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 250pp. This collection of short stories tells about the everyday lives of individuals living in the apartment complex called Firoshza Baag in Bombay India. The short story actually titled"Swimming Lessons" is about a young Indian man struggling to figure out what he wants to do with his life. He decides to take some swimming lessons to overcome his fear of water and pass the time. He keeps notes in a journal about his experiences and decides to become a writer. Along the way he encounters discrimination from his swim mates. In the end he overcomes all of his fears in his own way.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "I Love to Read!" Have another member of faculty, staff, or a student role model read a passage from their favorite book to the class to show reluctant readers that there really are people who love to read.

[Summarized from "Wanted Readers!" by Wendy P. Cope in IDEAS Plus, Book 12. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, p. 64.]

(2) "Book Report Alternative" Students create a multi-genre portfolio pertaining to the novel read in class. They write letters to the characters in the book, create a newspaper article, create a script and screenplay of the novel, rewrite the novel, write a diary entry of one of the characters in the novel, and many other writing activities.

[Adapted from "Alternative Ideas for Student Literature Evaluation" by James Upton in IDEAS Plus, Book 12. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, p. 64.]

(3) "Sensory Writing" In this activity students learn how to write using more sensory details than just sight. The teacher brings in familiar scents, such as lemon, vanilla, Juicy Fruit gum, coffee, etc. and has each student smell the scents and write what it reminds them of. This exercise will help students notice and appreciate all of the sensory detail in The Sunflower.

[Summarized from "Creative Writing Using Sensory Memory" by Linda L. Pinnell in IDEAS Plus, Book 12. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, p. 64.]

(Review written by Erin Locklear and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)