IN HIS 1976 memoir of the Holocaust, "The Sunflower," Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal recalls how as a young concentration camp inmate he was called to the deathbed of a grotesquely wounded SS officer. The SS man begged Wiesenthal, as a Jew, to forgive his role in a wartime atrocity. Wiesenthal refused, saying he had no right to forgive on behalf of the victims.

The legendary film director Elia Kazan was honored the other night with an Oscar for his lifetime achievements. Outside, pickets protested. Inside, many refused to rise in respect. Mr. Kazan had once named names. The names were those of friends who Mr. Kazan identified as Communists before the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee.

Life is filled with close calls. This is one. Mr. Kazan was not being honored for his life, but for his directorial accomplishments. Only the victims have a right to forgive. We have no right to feel more virtuous than we are. Let him have his award. He has earned it, if not our respect as a man.

Arnold Rosenfeld is editor-in-chief of the Cox Newspapers.