The Sunflower_ On the Possibilities and - Wiesenthal, Simon copy

dying SS man asks for forgiveness, but also because he genuinely seems to recognize his
crime and guilt. This recognition, if nothing else, is an important first step.
The question of forgiveness must be defined in individual or collective terms, just as guilt
must be defined in individual or collective terms. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serb
fanatical leadership has fed its population such venomous propaganda that some innocent
Serbs do not know what happened in the past four years. Others do know, but like the father
of Karl, felt that they could not act outside the bounds of the mob mentality that swept over
much of the victimizer population, both in Nazi Germany and in Serb-occupied Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Therefore, at this time, there is no general accounting of what actually
happened among some Serb and even Croat people, as was the case with Karl's mother. But
without recognition of what happened, there can never be forgiveness. That is exactly why
today's war crimes tribunal is so important. Not only will it dispense justice by punishing
the guilty, but also it will show what happened during the past four years and would even
eventually absolve the innocent. That way, the groundwork for reconciliation would be
possible.
Simon's question is not about reconciliation, but rather forgiveness. Nevertheless, you
cannot have forgiveness without reconciliation and you cannot have reconciliation without at
least a shred of forgiveness. This forgiveness is not for those who killed or who
orchestrated mass murder and on their deathbed seek to put their minds at ease, but for those
who truly feel a collective guilt for the heinous crimes their ethnic/political/religious
“brothers” committed in the name of that “brotherhood.” As Simon told the mother of the
dying SS man, even if a member of a society did not take part in the crimes, he or she must at
least share the shame of the crimes.