Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor, wrote a narrative called The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. In this he writes about his experiences in concentration camps, as well as one, almost life changing question that was brought to him buy a Nazi soldier on his death bed. One day he was taken into a hospital room that occupied a wounded Nazi named Karl. Simon, worried and confused by the situation, remained silent as Karl proceeded to tell him about himself and a terrible crime that he had committed. He tells Simon about how one day he and his fellow comrades were out on the job and rounded up a large group of Jews and put them all in a house, where they were tightly packed together. The soldiers then threw in grenades that set the house on fire. Any Jew that tried to jump out of the house or to escape would be shot. After sharing the story with Simon, the soldier explained how guilty he felt and asked Simon for forgiveness. This was a question that Simon could not and did not know how to answer, so he walked out of the room. The question still harasses Simon, wondering what he should have done in that situation. In his narrative, he asked many different essayists for their thoughts, and with that he received many answers. Dith Pran, a witness and a survivor of the Cambodian killing fields, is one of many that wrote a response to Simon Wiesenthal. In his response, he says that the key to forgiveness is understanding. Pran believes that the soldiers are the ones who are forgivable. He could “never forgive or forget what the top leadership of the Khmer Rouge has done to (him), (his) family, or friends (pg. 230).” It was the leaders who brainwashed everybody and were the “brains behind a sadistic plot (pg. 231).” Pran also says that he “always felt the soldiers were trapped … they were taught to kill … More importantly that they were forced to kill (pg. 231).” He goes on to say that if he was placed in Simon’s position and was asked for forgiveness by a soldier, than he would have forgiven him. However, he does not judge Simon for his decision on walking out, but suggests that maybe he should have forgiven him because it’s obviously something that has been nagging at him for multiple years. Dith Pran writes his response back to Wiesenthal with the idea of pathos. He tells his own story with compassion and feeling that comes from his own experiences, as well as being able to relate to that of Simon’s. Another response that Simon Wiesenthal received was from Nechama Tec. Right away she says that she would not have forgiven the soldier. “Forgiveness was not an option (pg. 255).” Nechama Tec is also a survivor of the Holocaust. While her experiences weren’t exactly the same as Simon’s, she was still there and knew what it was like. In her response, she tells a story of how she was doing an interview for BBC and the reporter asked her if she supported the release of the Belorussian chief of police who was involved in killing Jews. She immediately told the reporter no, and then explained that she had “no right to forgive crimes committed against others. Only those who were harmed, in this case, the murdered Jews, have a right to forgive, not I (pg. 257).” She explains that if she were in Simon’s position, she would not have forgiven the soldier simply because she has no right to. Nechama Tec, unlike Dith Pran, has explained her response using ethos. She puts others in front of her own thoughts and ideas by saying that she can’t answer for others harmed. It’s not her place to forgive someone or support them when he has harmed so many other people. With writing his narrative The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, Simon Wiesenthal received a great amount of feedback from the pressing question: should he have forgiven the Nazi soldier? One of the responses, written by Dith Pran digs deep into understanding the differences between the soldiers to the leaders, or “culprits from the pawns (pg 231)” as he says. He believes that the soldiers are unforgivable, but the leaders are not. If he were in Simon’s position, he would have forgiven the soldier. Nechama Tec on the other hand says right away that she would not have forgiven the soldier. She has a much different thought process than Pran. She believes that she has no right to forgive someone who has done harm to others. Just from these two responses, one can see the two opposite ends of the spectrum that Simon Wiesenthal received in order to help answer this everlasting question of forgiveness.