Thursday, September 22, 2005

The Sunflower

I have had the pleasure of reading The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal many years ago in a class led by Dr. Biael. We learned and discussed the genocide carried out by Nazis against the Jewish people. Most importantly, we focused on the issue of forgiveness. Mr. Wiesenthal's dialogue with a Nazi soldier who had lost his eyesight inspired the discussion of forgiveness.

Mr. Wiesenthal's principle of "justice, not vengeance" in seeking restitution and exposing the truth of the Holocaust had inspired the world not to forget the history of genocides.

Just like Victor Frankl, Mr. Wiesenthal was able to survive the Holocaust in the face of death and become a champion in preventing history from repeating itself.

As Mr. Wiesenthal rests in peace, his legacy remains. We all have the duty to speak out against injustice and remember history.