“In his confession there was true repentance,” writes Wiesenthal (p. 53). Not all of the commentators agree with him. Many of them think Karl was angling for “cheap grace,” and that his remorse exists only because he finds himself facing death. Which point of view do you agree with? Do you think, with literary critic Tzvetan Todorov (p. 265), that the very fact of Karl’s expressing remorse makes him exceptional, and therefore deserving of respect?
posted by Tanya Judd Pucella at
3:41 PM
17 Comments:
I agree with Wiesenthal. It is not just in his confession that Karl expresses repentance. According to his story, the entire reason that he is dying is because he felt guilty for killing the Jews. He was thinking of them when the shell exploded next to him (p. 51). He was not looking for "cheap grace". If this had been the case then he would have asked for a priest who he thought was equal to him not a "subhuman" Jew. He wanted a Jew so that he would actually be forgiven not simply made to feel better.
This is the only recorded occurence of a German asking for forgiveness of his crimes. He is exceptional because he recognized that what he did was wrong. Most Germans did not see Jews as people and would therefore not see hurting them as wrong. I don't think that this makes him worthy of respect but it does make him exceptional.
-Danielle Simmons
By
Anonymous, at 9:12 PM
I agree with Danielle because she pointed out that the way Karl told the story, if he had not felt bad and continued to think about the one particular family that he murdered, he would not have gotten hurt by the bomb. This alone shows a different quality in him that many SS soldiers did not have, so yes he is an exception in this way. But anyone who knows they are going to die will try to make peace with people they have wronged in their life, so asking for the forgiveness of a Jew, in no way makes Karl worthy of respect.
-Emma Robbinson
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Anonymous, at 3:12 PM
I agree with Wiesenthal that the SS soldier, Karl, was truly regretful about his actions. Many other soldiers express no regret regarding their actions. I also agree with Todorov that the soldiers’ sincerity alone does not make him deserving of absolution. I also agree with Todorov that we are judging these events fifty years after they occurred and that this story helps us preserve the idea of evil in our world.
- Caroline Maddox
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Anonymous, at 6:01 PM
I agree with what Danielle stated and how she reasoned that he was not looking for "cheap grace". It is true that if he was he would have asked for a priest. I also agree with what she stated about Karl being one of the only Germans to ask for forgiveness. Although this does not clear him of all his past, it does make him exceptional for being one of the only Germans to realize his faults and take action on them by asking for forgiveness.
- Caroline Maddox
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Anonymous, at 6:13 PM
I do think that Karl was truly repentant about his actions. Ultimately, he was a boy that had grown up by church teachings and, regardless of his political affiliation, he believed that he needed to do onto others as he would like done onto himself and therefore knew all the killing and tormenting was wrong and felt repentant because of it. However, just because he is repentant does not mean he is exceptional, because it is likely that he was speaking for a great deal of the German youth who were involved in the army.
- Natalia Cuenca
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Anonymous, at 6:44 PM
I agree with both sides of the story. Karl only voiced his remorse on a deathbed, but he also had thought about it previously. This plea for forgiveness seemed to be only because he was worried about what consequences his past actions and hate towards the Jews would cause for him after his own death. In a way, Karl is a step above other Nazis because he is making an attempt to make peace with the Jews. By reaching out and apologizing, he shows that he did somewhat care. If he had not cared at all about the Jews or what he had done, and it was in fact "cheap grace" he was looking for, he wouldn't have bothered with the Jew, and looked to someone he felt was on the same level as him.
- Elena Peterson
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Anonymous, at 6:55 PM
I agree with Natalia because she stated that his religious upbringing influnced his decision to look for forgiveness, and had little to do with the Nazi party. Even though he didn't speak out when it could have saved people's lives, he did show remorse. This demonstrated an honest attempt to help mend the situation.
- Elena Peterson
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Anonymous, at 6:59 PM
I agree with Elena in the sense that though Karl had committed horrendous crimes against Jews he was still willing to swallow his pride and attempt to make peace with them... or at least one of them.I also agree that his views of Jews in comparison to the rest of society were slightly different than most Nazis because he viewed them instrumental to his forgiveness and seeked their pardon as opposed to someone else's.
- Natalia Cuenca
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Anonymous, at 7:00 PM
I agree with Wiesenthal's point of view. Had he not truly been repentant, Karl would have not gone to such great lengths to be forgiven. To admit that he was wrong, not only to a fellow German, but to a Jew, whom were thought to be the lowest "subhuman" people, shows that he wanted to acheive peace by repenting for his wrongful doings. Had he been searching for "cheap grace" any confession to any of his aqaintances would have sufficed. Jewish beleifs state that anyone who truly repents as he has deserves forgiveness, so I beleive, at least from the Jews' point of view, that he deserves respect.
-Parker Karaus
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Anonymous, at 7:11 PM
I do agree with Simon Wiesenthal and with literary critic Tzvetan Todorov in that Karl was not simply asking for cheap grace, but felt true repentence for his deeds. With people like Karl, who had alot of pride, just admitting wrongdoings is a large step, not to be snubbed at. I believe that Karl simply needed a close call with death in order to reealize his wrongs. While I can see where people might interpret Karl's repentence as "cheap grace," i do not believe it is so. If Karl was looking for "cheap grace," wouldn't he have asked someone whom he was sure would grant him forgiveness for forgiveness? By asking Simon, Karl showed that he was truly looking for forgiveness and not simply empty words which he could get from any of his officers.
-George Montgomery
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Anonymous, at 7:52 PM
I agree with George's statement. For someone as prideful as Karl, asking Simon for forgiveness was a humble act, something he never would have done before, showing that he truly wanted it. A near death experience can change a lot of things, and in Karl's case, the way he thought about what he had done. Just because he was facing death doesn't mean he wanted "cheap grace" right before he died.
-Parker Karaus
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Anonymous, at 8:04 PM
I both agree and disagree with this statement. Though Karl did try to express his remorse as he finds himself facng death, i dont think he was truly repentance to all of his actions. He simply believed that his actions were unfair to the Jews but his point was to undo what he did because he knows he wouldn't want the same pain and sorrow caused to him. With this, i dont think karl was angling for "cheap grace" either because unlike the other Nazis, he actually attempted for forgiveness. The fact that Karl's expressing his remorse doesn't make him any way exceptional. Karl realized his sins, and felt repentant from it but this doesn't mean he learned a definite lesson from his experiences.
-thao ho
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Anonymous, at 8:13 PM
I think that if Karl was trying to find "cheap grace" so that he could die without guilt, then he would only be burying himself deeper. He would know subconsciously that he had only make the situation worse by getting someone to forgive him just so he could feel better, causing more guilt. His repentance had to have been from the heart, because otherwise, he would not have done it. He would not have wanted more guilt laid upon his death bed.
-Chelsea Rohrer
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Anonymous, at 9:24 PM
I do believe Karl does deserve some respect. Karl didn’t have to ask for forgiveness. He could have simply prayed to God or kept it in his heart. Most Nazis found Jews worthless, therefore considering talking to them pointless. But, Karl realized what he did was wrong and felt the moral obligation to confess to a Jew. Not only that, but he had enough integrity to follow through. He proves that he had felt some remorse even after the deed was done. The things he had seen and the feelings he had experienced continued to follow him many days following. There was no way for him to apolgize to all the Jews in the entire world, or to apologize to all the Jews they had killed. Since he was dying, he had one last opportunity to attempt to make up for what he did and he did this by apologizing to a Jew.
-Alicia Rinaldi
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Anonymous, at 6:50 PM
Death is a time when people reflect on their lives. If the soldier found himself feeling remorseful it is because he truly felt it. The book talks about how he had seen the one family he had burned, and then what he was doing finally dawned upon him. This in itself shows he was feeling guilty.I do not believe he deserves respect however. I think it should have been pretty obvious from the beginning that what he was doing was wrong. Killing innocent men, women, and children is an unimagineable evil that can never be justified. It should also be considered that passionate hatred towards Jews was part of the German atmosphere, and that this may have seemed normal for him at the time.
- Priya Govindaraj
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Anonymous, at 4:51 PM
I agree with Danielle's statement. If indeed the soldier was asking for cheap grace it does seem logical that he would have asked for a priest. Instead he asked for the one person it would seem the most difficult to get forgiveness from, someone who had been affected by his actions. There were many Germans Nazi's who remained proud of the malicious crimes they committed. I believe Danielle is right about Karl not deserving respect, but still being exceptional since he recognized that what he did was wrong.
- Priya Govindaraj
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Anonymous, at 5:31 PM
Even though his death may have motivated his confession in the search for repentance before leaving the earth, I do think that it took remorse to make such a bold and seemingly heartfelt confession. Karl seemed to recognize the injustice he had committed agains the Jews and wanted to extend his shame to someone that represented to him everyone he had hurt. He made an effort to talk to someone he treated as a lesser human rather than a priest who was close to God, suggesting that he really did want to apologize for his wrongs, not just be granted spiritual atonement. While I think that his actions could earn forgiveness, I'm not sure that I would go so far as to say respect, particularly from Wiesenthal himself. Upon hearing his confession I think that Wiesenthal could probably find it in himself to forgive him based on his religious beliefs, however it is hard to respect someone who has just told you of the murders and crimes he committed against so many people and aided in a movement from which you are currently suffering. His repentace and sorrow put him a step up from those who never felt remorse, yet I don't think that his confession made him deserving of respect.
-Meghan McMullen
By
Anonymous, at 10:13 PM
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