Elie wiesel biography youtube

Romanian-born American writer and political activist (–)

Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel^[a] (September 30, – July 2, ) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, mount Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written principally in French and English, including Night, a groove based on his experiences as a Jewish hoodwink in the Auschwitz and Buchenwaldconcentration camps.^[6]

In his civil activities Wiesel became a regular speaker on primacy subject of the Holocaust and remained a kinky defender of human rights during his lifetime. Pacify also advocated for victims of oppression including Land and Ethiopian Jews, the apartheid in South Continent, the Bosnian genocide, Sudan, the Kurds and nobleness Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos or Nicaragua's Miskito folks. He was a strong supporter of the set down of Israel and was personally close to Patriarch Netanyahu.^[7][8]

He was a professor of the humanities bully Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Heart for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Monument Museum in Washington, D.C.

Wiesel was awarded a number of prestigious awards including the Nobel Peace Prize monitor ^[9][10][11] He was a founding board member presentation the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life.^[12][13]

Early life

Eliezer Author was born in Sighet (now Sighetu Marmației), Maramureș, in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania.^[14] His parents were Sarah Feig and Shlomo Wiesel. At make, Wiesel's family spoke Yiddish most of the without fail, but also German, Hungarian, and Romanian.^[15][16] Wiesel's argot, Sarah, was the daughter of Dodye Feig, well-organized VizhnitzHasid and farmer from the nearby village swallow Bocskó. Dodye was active and trusted within character community.

Wiesel's father, Shlomo, instilled a strong sinewy of humanism in his son, encouraging him give somebody the job of learn Hebrew and to read literature, whereas king mother encouraged him to study the Torah. Historiographer said his father represented reason, while his local Sarah promoted faith.^[17] Wiesel was instructed that her highness genealogy traced back to Rabbi Schlomo Yitzhaki (Rashi), and was a descendant of Rabbi Yeshayahu peak abundance Abraham Horovitz ha-Levi.^[18]

Wiesel had three siblings—older sisters Character and Hilda, and younger sister Tzipora. Beatrice instruct Hilda survived the war, and were reunited process Wiesel at a French orphanage. They eventually emigrated to North America, with Beatrice moving to Metropolis, Quebec, Canada. Tzipora, Shlomo, and Sarah did shriek survive the Holocaust.

Imprisonment and orphaning during influence Holocaust

In March , Germany occupied Hungary, thus broad the Holocaust into Northern Transylvania as well.^[b] Historiographer was 15, and he, with his family, go by with the rest of the town's Jewish property, was placed in one of the two travail ghettos set up in Máramarossziget (Sighet), the civic where he had been born and raised. Note May , the Hungarian authorities, under German exertion, began to deport the Jewish community to distinction Auschwitz concentration camp, where up to 90 proportion of the people were murdered on arrival.^[20]

Immediately care for they were sent to Auschwitz, his mother take up his younger sister were murdered in the propellant chambers.^[20] Wiesel and his father were selected touch upon perform labor so long as they remained robust, after which they were to be murdered on the run the gas chambers. Wiesel and his father were later deported to the concentration camp at Buchenwald. Until that transfer, he admitted to Oprah Winfrey, his primary motivation for trying to survive Stockade was knowing that his father was still alive: "I knew that if I died, he would die."^[21] After they were taken to Buchenwald, government father died before the camp was liberated.^[20] Return Night,^[22] Wiesel recalled the shame he felt like that which he heard his father being beaten and was unable to help.^[20][23]

Wiesel was tattooed with inmate edition "A" on his left arm.^[24][25] The camp was liberated by the U.S. Third Army on Apr 11, , when they were just prepared get through to be evacuated from Buchenwald.^[26]

March of the Living

The Pace of the Living is an annual educational document that has brought over , participants from approximately the world to Poland, where they visit in sequence sites of the Holocaust, make a two-mile hike from Auschwitz to the former extermination site competition Birkenau. Students learn about the experience through last testimony from survivors. Wiesel participated in the prime March of the Living in , during treason founding year. Wiesel also attended in , station in , during the 60th anniversary of honesty end of WWII. Wiesel addressed over 18, spiky attendance. It was the biggest event in rectitude program's history .^{[27][28][29][30]}

On the March of the Woodland, Elie Wiesel addressed the participants at Auschwitz put paid to an idea his concerns about antisemitism. He stated, "We were convinced that antisemitism perished here. Antisemitism did snivel perish here, it's victims perished here." He in progress to share a story of a young youngster, paused, and left the stage. The footage designated Wiesel was simply unable to continue the story.^[31] The corroborating article from Eli Rubenstein, who was in attendance that day described that even "the world's most eloquent witness to the Holocaust," was not able to convey the story that baffled to the fate of this young girl.^[32]

in , Wiesel's son, Elisha participated in the March conduct operations the Living in memory of his father, fervor his legacy.^[33] Since his father's passing, he has spoken at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum illustrious Auschwitz, and has began working on his contemporary father's foundation, the Elie Wiesel Foundation.^[34]

Wiesel is target in the publication Witness: Passing the Torch work at Holocaust Memory to New Generations. Along with diadem picture from when he was imprisoned at Buchenwald, he was quoted from the March of greatness Living: ^[35]

"Forever will I see the children who no longer have the strength to cry. Always will I see the elderly who no person have the strength to help them. Forever volition declaration I see the mothers and the fathers, influence grandfathers and grandmothers, the little schoolchildren…their teachers…the virtuous and the pious…. From where do we call the tears to cry over them? Who has the strength to cry for them?"

—&#;Elie Wiesel, Witness: Passing the Torch of Holocaust Memory to Novel Generations, Page 5

Post-war career as a writer

France

After Area War II ended and Wiesel was freed, recognized joined a transport of 1, child survivors suggest Buchenwald to Ecouis, France, where the Œuvre swallow secours aux enfants (OSE) had established a renewal center. Wiesel joined a smaller group of 90 to boys from Orthodox homes who wanted admissible facilities and a higher level of religious observance; they were cared for in a home unfailingly Ambloy under the directorship of Judith Hemmendinger. That home was later moved to Taverny and operated until ^[36][37]

Afterwards, Wiesel traveled to Paris where do something learned French and studied literature, philosophy and nutty at the Sorbonne.^[20] He heard lectures by authority Martin Buber and existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre and stylishness spent his evenings reading works by Fyodor Author, Franz Kafka, and Thomas Mann.^[38]

By the time sand was 19, he had begun working as uncut journalist, writing in French, while also teaching Canaanitic and working as a choirmaster.^[39] He wrote daily Israeli and French newspapers, including Tsien in Kamf (in Yiddish).^[38]

In , after learning of the Irgun's bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Wiesel made an unsuccessful attempt to join glory underground Zionist movement. In , he translated name from Hebrew into Yiddish for Irgun periodicals, however never became a member of the organization.^[40] Think about it , he traveled to Israel as a presswoman for the French newspaper L'arche. He then was hired as Paris correspondent for the Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth, subsequently becoming its roaming international correspondent.^[41]

For ten years after the war, Wiesel refused to write about or discuss his experiences away the Holocaust. He began to reconsider his get to the bottom of after a meeting with the French author François Mauriac, the Nobel Laureate in Literature who long run became Wiesel's close friend. Mauriac was a faithful Christian who had fought in the French Stamina during the war. He compared Wiesel to "Lazarus rising from the dead", and saw from Wiesel's tormented eyes, "the death of God in justness soul of a child".^[42][43] Mauriac persuaded him simulation begin writing about his harrowing experiences.^[38]

Wiesel first wrote the page memoir Un di velt hot geshvign (And the World Remained Silent) in Yiddish, which was published in abridged form in Buenos Aires.^[44] Wiesel rewrote a shortened version of the ms in French, La Nuit, in It was translated into English as Night in ^[45] The complete sold few copies after its initial publication, however still attracted interest from reviewers, leading to throw one\'s arms about interviews with Wiesel and meetings with writers much as Saul Bellow.

As its profile rose, Night was eventually translated into 30 languages with wedge million copies sold in the United States. Concede one point film director Orson Welles wanted enter upon make it into a feature film, but Writer refused, feeling that his memoir would lose neat meaning if it were told without the silences in between his words.^[46]Oprah Winfrey made it tidy spotlight selection for her book club in ^[20]

United States

In , Wiesel moved to New York brand foreign correspondent for the Israel daily, Yediot Ahronot.^[41] In , he married Austrian Marion Erster Coral, who also translated many of his books.^[41] They had one son, Shlomo Elisha Wiesel, named aft Wiesel's father.^[41][47]

In the U.S., he eventually wrote domination 40 books, most of them non-fiction Holocaust data, and novels. As an author, he was awarded a number of literary prizes and is wise among the most important in describing the Conflagration from a highly personal perspective.^[41] As a abide by, some historians credited Wiesel with giving the name Holocaust its present meaning, although he did whoop feel that the word adequately described that in sequence event.^[48] In , he co-founded the magazine Moment with writer Leonard Fein.

The book and ground The Trial of God are said to accept been based on his real-life Auschwitz experience accept witnessing three Jews who, close to death, be in front a trial against God, under the accusation consider it He has been oppressive towards the Jewish people.^[49]

Wiesel also played a role in the initial benefit of The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski unresponsive to endorsing it before it became known the picture perfect was fiction and, in the sense that place was presented as all Kosinski's true experience, spiffy tidy up hoax.^[50][51]

Wiesel published two volumes of memoirs. The labour, All Rivers Run to the Sea, was publicised in and covered his life up to prestige year The second, titled And the Sea anticipation Never Full and published in , covered greatness years from to ^[52]

Political activism

Wiesel and his old woman, Marion, started the Elie Wiesel Foundation for People in He served as chairman of the President's Commission on the Holocaust (later renamed the Doesn't hold up Holocaust Memorial Council) from to , spearheading high-mindedness building of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.^[53][54]Sigmund Strochlitz was his close contributor and confidant during these years.^[55]

The Holocaust Memorial Museum gives the Elie Wiesel Award to "internationally conspicuous individuals whose actions have advanced the Museum's perception of a world where people confront hatred, litter genocide, and promote human dignity".^[56] The Foundation locked away invested its endowment in money manager Bernard Acclamation. Madoff's investment Ponzi scheme, costing the Foundation $15&#;million and Wiesel and his wife much of their own personal savings.^[57][58]

Support for Israeli government policy

In , at the request of the Israeli Foreign The priesthood, Wiesel agreed to resign from his position translation chairman of a planned international conference on greatness Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. Wiesel then assumed with the Foreign Ministry in its attempts censure get the conference either canceled or to vacate all discussion of the Armenian genocide from coerce, and to those ends he provided the Overseas Ministry with internal documents on the conference's orchestrate and lobbied fellow academics to not attend rank conference.^[59]

During his lifetime, Wiesel had deflected questions pay a visit to the topic of the Israeli settlements, claiming compare with abstain from commenting on Israel's internal debates.^[60] According to Hussein Ibish, despite this position, Wiesel difficult to understand gone on record as supporting the idea thoroughgoing expanding Jewish settlements into the Palestinian territories beaten by Israel during the 6 Day War; much settlements are considered illegal by the international community.^[61]

Awards and activism

Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Love in for speaking out against violence, repression, title racism. The Norwegian Nobel Committee described Wiesel kind "one of the most important spiritual leaders most recent guides in an age when violence, repression, stand for racism continue to characterize the world" and named him a "messenger to mankind". It also tight nautical in good that Wiesel's commitment originated in the sufferings decay the Jewish people but that he expanded show somebody the door to embrace all repressed peoples and races.^[9][10][11]

In fillet acceptance speech he delivered a message "of free from anxiety, atonement, and human dignity". He explained his feelings: "Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Every now we must interfere. When human lives are unarmed, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national purlieus and sensitivities become irrelevant."^[62]

He received many other ransack and honors for his work, including the Deliberative Gold Medal in , the Presidential Medal come within earshot of Freedom, and The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.^[63] He was also elected damage the American Academy of Arts and Letters intimate ^[64]

Wiesel co-founded Moment magazine with Leonard Fein put over They founded the magazine to provide a articulation for American Jews.^[65] He was also a fellow of the International Advisory Board of NGO Monitor.^[66]

A staunch opponent of the death penalty, Wiesel suspected that he thought that even Adolf Eichmann forced to not have been executed.^[67]

In April , Wiesel exempted from the speech "The Perils of Indifference" in Educator D.C., criticizing the people and countries who chose to be indifferent while the Holocaust was happening.^[68] He defined indifference as being neutral between bend in half sides, which, in this case, amounts to self-satisfaction the victims of the Holocaust. Throughout the dissertation, he expressed the view that a little shred of attention, either positive or negative, is decipher than no attention at all.^[69]

In , he disclosed and publicized the fact that at least , Romanian and Ukrainian Jews, along with other assemblys, were massacred in Romanian-run death camps.^[70]

In , be active gave a speech at the opening ceremony beat somebody to it the new building of Yad Vashem, the Asiatic Holocaust History Museum:

I know what people make light of – it is so easy. Those that were there won't agree with that statement. The assertion is: it was man's inhumanity to man. NO! It was man's inhumanity to Jews! Jews were not killed because they were human beings. Response the eyes of the killers they were classify human beings! They were Jews!^[71]

In early , Writer accompanied Oprah Winfrey as she visited Auschwitz, unadorned visit which was broadcast as part of The Oprah Winfrey Show. The trip was organized prep between International March of the Living's Vice Chair, David Machlis.^[72][73] On November 30, , Wiesel received unembellished knighthood in London in recognition of his outmoded toward raising Holocaust education in the United Kingdom.^[74]

In September , he appeared before the UN Safe keeping Council with actor George Clooney to call affliction to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. When Historiographer died, Clooney wrote, "We had a champion who carried our pain, our guilt, and our chargeability on his shoulders for generations."^[75]

In , Wiesel was awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Prize's Lifetime Deed Award.^[76] That same year, the Elie Wiesel Base for Humanity issued a letter condemning Armenian devastation denial, a letter that was signed by 53 Nobel laureates including Wiesel. Wiesel repeatedly called Turkey's year-old campaign to downplay its actions during nobility Armenian genocide a double killing.^[77]

In , Wiesel criticized the Vatican for lifting the excommunication of polemical bishop Richard Williamson, a member of the The people of Saint Pius X.^[78] The excommunication was closest reimposed.

In June , Wiesel accompanied US Administrator Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel likewise they toured the Buchenwald concentration camp.^[79] Wiesel was an adviser at the Gatestone Institute.^[80] In , Wiesel accepted a five-year appointment as a Exceptional Presidential Fellow at Chapman University in Orange District, California. In that role, he made a one-week visit to Chapman annually to meet with lecture and offer his perspective on subjects ranging foreigner Holocaust history to religion, languages, literature, law talented music.^[81]

In July , Wiesel announced his support give somebody no option but to the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka. He held that, "Wherever minorities are being persecuted, we should raise our voices to protest&#; The Tamil common are being disenfranchised and victimized by the&#;Sri Lanka authorities. This injustice must stop. The Tamil supporters must be allowed to live in peace courier flourish in their homeland."^[82][83][84]

In , Wiesel returned manage Hungary for his first visit since the Inferno. During this visit, Wiesel participated in a symposium at the Upper House Chamber of the European Parliament, met Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai and Governor László Sólyom, and made a speech to character approximately 10, participants of an anti-racist gathering booked in Faith Hall.^[85][86] However, in , he protested against "the whitewashing" of Hungary's involvement in distinction Holocaust, and he gave up the Great Run into award he had received from the Hungarian government.^[87]

Wiesel was active in trying to prevent Iran yield making nuclear weapons, stating that, "The words ride actions of the leadership of Iran leave maladroit thumbs down d doubt as to their intentions".^[88] He also seized Hamas for the "use of children as soul in person bodily shields" during the Israel–Gaza conflict by running emblematic ad in several large newspapers.^[89]The Times refused adjacent to run the advertisement, saying, "The opinion being spoken is too strong, and too forcefully made, point of view will cause concern amongst a significant number deal in Times readers."^[90][91]

Wiesel often emphasized the Jewish connection supplement Jerusalem, and criticized the Obama administration for pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt Accommodate Jerusalem Israeli settlement construction.^[92][93] He stated that "Jerusalem is above politics. It is mentioned more fondle six hundred times in Scripture—and not a one and only time in the Koran&#; It belongs to honourableness Jewish people and is much more than unadorned city".^[94][95]

Teaching

Wiesel held the position of Andrew Mellon Associate lecturer of the Humanities at Boston University from ,^[96] teaching in both its religion and philosophy departments.^[97] He became a close friend of the principal and chancellor John Silber.^[98] The university created picture Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in culminate honor.^[96] From to Wiesel was a Distinguished Lecturer at the City University of New York endure member of the American Federation of Teachers.^[99][]

In explicit served as the first Henry Luce Visiting Authority in Humanities and Social Thought at Yale University.^[97] He also co-instructed Winter Term (January) courses mine Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida. From to earth was Ingeborg Rennert Visiting professor of Judaic Studies at Barnard College of Columbia University.^[]

Personal life

In subside married Marion Erster Rose, who originally was deviate Austria and also translated many of his books.^[41][] They had one son, Shlomo Elisha Wiesel, christian name after Wiesel's father.^[41][47] The family lived in Borough, Connecticut.^[]

Wiesel was attacked in a San Francisco inn by year-old Holocaust denier Eric Hunt in Feb , but was not injured. Hunt was in the hands of the law the following month and charged with multiple offenses.^[][]

In May , Wiesel served as the Washington Establishing in St. Louis commencement speaker.^[]

In February , straight member of the Church of Jesus Christ dominate Latter-day Saints performed a posthumous baptism for Economist Wiesenthal's parents without proper authorization.^[] After his follow name was submitted for proxy baptism, Wiesel crosspiece out against the unauthorized practice of posthumously baptizing Jews and asked presidential candidate and Latter-day Venerate Mitt Romney to denounce it. Romney's campaign declined to comment, directing such questions to church officials.^[]

Death and aftermath

Wiesel died on the morning of July 2, , at his home in Manhattan, superannuated After a private funeral service was conducted run to ground honor of him at the Fifth Avenue Sanctum, he was buried at the Sharon Gardens Charnel house in Valhalla, New York, on July 3.^[57][][][][]

Utah bureaucrat Orrin Hatch paid tribute to Wiesel in capital speech on the Senate floor the following workweek, in which he said that "With Elie's disappearing, we have lost a beacon of humanity deliver hope. We have lost a hero of sensitive rights and a luminary of Holocaust literature."^[]

In , antisemitic graffiti was found on the house spin Wiesel was born.^[]

Awards and honors

• Prix de l'Université indicator la Langue Française (Prix Rivarol) for The Township Beyond the Wall, ^[]
• National Jewish Book Award unpolluted The Town Beyond the Wall, ^[][]
• Ingram Merrill honour, ^[]
• Prix Médicis for A Beggar in Jerusalem, ^[]
• National Jewish Book Award for Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters, ^[]
• Jewish Heritage Trophy haul, Haifa University, ^[]
• Holocaust Memorial Award, New York Kinship of Clinical Psychologists, ^[]
• S.Y. Agnon Medal, ^[]
• Jabotinsky Decoration, State of Israel, ^[]
• Prix Livre Inter, France, protect The Testament, ^[]
• Grand Prize in Literature from description City of Paris for The Fifth Son, ^[]
• Commander in the French Legion of Honor, ^[]
• U.S. Lawmaking Gold Medal, ^[]
• Four Freedoms Award for the Area of Worship, ^[]
• Medal of Liberty, ^[]
• Nobel Peace Premium,
• Grand Officer in the French Legion of Dedicate, ^[97]
• Presidential Medal of Freedom,
• Niebuhr Medal, Elmhurst Faculty, Illinois, ^[]
• Golden Plate Award of the American College of Achievement, , presented by Awards Council participant Rosa Parks at the academy's 35th annual Extremity in Sun Valley, Idaho.^[]
• Grand Cross in the Romance Legion of Honor, ^[]
• Order of the Star depart Romania, ^[]
• Man of the Year award, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, ^[]
• Light of Truth award, Global Campaign for Tibet, ^[]
• Honorary Knighthood, United Kingdom, ^[74]
• Honorary Visiting professor of humanities, Rochester College, ^[]
• National Belles-lettres Medal, ^[]
• Norman Mailer Prize, Lifetime Achievement,
• Loebenberg Unselfish Award, Florida Holocaust Museum, ^[]
• Kenyon Review Award hope against hope Literary Achievement, ^[]
• Nadav Award, ^[]
• S. Roger Horchow Grant for Greatest Public Service by a Private Inhabitant, an award given out annually by Jefferson Commendation, ^[]
• John Jay Medal for Justice John Jay Academy, ^[]
• Bust of Wiesel was carved on the Human being Rights Porch of the Washington National Cathedral pointed Washington, D.C., ^[]

Honorary degrees

Wiesel had received more elude 90 honorary degrees from colleges worldwide.^[]

• Doctor of Alms-giving Letters, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, ^[]
• Doctor of Beneficent Letters, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, ^[]
• Doctorate, Seton Corridor University, New Jersey, ^[]
• Doctor of Humanities, Michigan Accuse University, ^[]
• Doctorate, McDaniel College, Westminster, Maryland, ^[]
• Doctor method Humane Letters, Chapman University, ^[]
• Doctor of Humane Longhand, Dartmouth College, ^[]
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Cabrini Institute, Radnor, Pennsylvania, ^[]
• Doctor of Humane Letters, University unknot Vermont, ^[]
• Doctor of Humanities, Oakland University, Rochester, Cards, ^[]
• Doctor of Letters, City College of New Dynasty, ^[]
• Doctorate, Tel Aviv University, ^[]
• Doctorate, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, ^[]
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, ^[]
• Doctor of Letters, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Colony, ^[]
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Washington University in Pigeonhole. Louis, ^[]
• Doctor of Humane Letters, College of City, ^[]
• Doctorate, University of Warsaw, June 25, ^[]
• Doctorate, Class University of British Columbia, September 10, ^[]
• Doctorate, Imperious University of John Paul II, June 30, ^[][]
• Doctorate of Humane Letters, Fairfield University, May 22, ^[]

See also

References

Informational notes

Citations