Summary of Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

#1 I was standing on the parade ground, where the prisoners were mustering for the roll call. I had not fetched my coffee as I did not want to force my way through the crowd. My thoughts were not on the dangers lurking on such occasions, but on last night’s talk.

#2 The people in the Ghetto had information that the people in the camp did not have. They were able to piece together bits of information from the scanty reports of those who worked outside during the day and overheard what the Poles and Ukrainians were talking about.

#3 The author’s bunkmate, Arthur, was vexed by Josek’s story about the angels at the creation of man, and he interrupted Josek to say that he was prepared to believe that God created a Jew out of a tear-soaked clod of earth, but he did not believe that God also made the camp commandant out of the same material.

#4 I had known Arthur for years, since I was a young architect. We were like brothers, he a lawyer and writer with a perpetual ironic smile around the corners of his mouth, while I had become resigned to the fact that I would never again build houses in which people would live in freedom and happiness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669384816

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I was standing on the parade ground, where the prisoners were mustering for the roll call. I had not fetched my coffee as I did not want to force my way through the crowd. My thoughts were not on the dangers lurking on such occasions, but on last night’s talk.

#2

The people in the Ghetto had information that the people in the camp did not have. They were able to piece together bits of information from the scanty reports of those who worked outside during the day and overheard what the Poles and Ukrainians were talking about.

#3

The author’s bunkmate, Arthur, was vexed by Josek’s story about the angels at the creation of man, and he interrupted Josek to say that he was prepared to believe that God created a Jew out of a tear-soaked clod of earth, but he did not believe that God also made the camp commandant out of the same material.

#4

I had known Arthur for years, since I was a young architect. We were like brothers, he a lawyer and writer with a perpetual ironic smile around the corners of his mouth, while I had become resigned to the fact that I would never again build houses in which people would live in freedom and happiness.

#5

The Germans looked on many of the overseers and foremen as second-class citizens. The ethnic Germans were better treated, but the Poles and Ukrainians formed a special stratum between the self-appointed German supermen and the subhuman Jews, and they were already terrified of being sent to the camps.

#6

The work assignment was almost finished, and we from the Eastern Railway works stood around despondently. We were then marched through the inner gate where six askaris were assigned as guards. The askaris were Russian deserters or prisoners who had enlisted for service under the Germans.

#7

I was consumed by a feeling of despair as I