Simon Wiesenthal, a Jew, lived through one of the most abominable and gruesome events in world history. During World War II, he lived in area in Europe conquered by Germany. Since he was Jewish, he was obligated to live in the ghetto, and later sent to a concentration camp in his hometown where he encounters many possibilities of death. While working in the labor camp, he was summoned by a nurse to hear the confessions of a dying SS Nazi soldier, Karl. The soldier ached for forgiveness on behalf of all Jews for the horrific actions he committed towards them. Karl craved forgiveness before his death because he anxiously worried that his soul would not be able to rest peacefully unless he was forgiven. Wiesenthal tried several times to leave the room, but the soldier begged him to stay, and out of pity, he stayed to listen to the dying Nazi soldier. Karl hauntingly tells his involvement in the horrendous death of a father, a mother, and a dark-eyed child who were brutally shot down after jumping off a burning building. Distressed by the imagery induced by the murder of the dark-eyed boy, Wiesenthal fights his urge to escape the hospital room as the dying soldier continues to recount the rest of his confessions. With true sincerity, Karl pleads forgiveness from Weisenthal, but Weisenthal left the room in complete silence. Haunted by the soldier's confessions, Wiesenthal felt unsatisfied with his actions he bore during his encounter with the Nazi soldier. Simon Wiesenthal wrote his experience, particularly this event, in his personal narrative, "The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness." He finally questions if he had the power to forgive the soldier in behalf of all the Jewish community and if repentance is really the most important element when seeking forgiveness. He continuously ponders about his reaction when Karl truthfully asked for forgiveness. In the end, he manipulates the reader to view the situation in hi