After studying at Sorbonne University, Wiesel pursued journalism and began writing for Israeli and French publications. One of his colleagues, Mr. Mauriac, advised him to write his story which Wiesel initially rejected. After considering the consequences of not sharing his story, he decided to start writing. He first published And the World Became Silent in 1956, soon shortened into Night. At first, the memoir was not popular and only 1,046 copies were sold in the first 18 months. However, after Eichmann's trial, over 10 million copies were sold, and people finally realized the Holocaust was real.
"...he spent his life advocating for human rights around the world and played an active role in helping to make people aware of how conditions for genocide could exist and can cause society to unravel as it did in Europe. Now that he has passed on, he takes on a mythical status and as we see in the next few years, it will be interesting to see..... He’s shaking the reader into understanding the true magnitude of what happened. As time fades, now we are several generations removed from the Holocaust and as survivors of that era die off, I think that shaking and stirring of reality still needs to be done. The fact that he is actually is dead now, his voice is no weaker. "
Christopher McGrath |
Messenger for Peace and The Night Trilogy written by Elie Wiesel
(Jewish Book Council) “Everybody around us was weeping. Someone began to recite Kaddish, the prayer for the dead. I don't know whether, during the history of the Jewish people, men have ever before recited Kaddish for themselves.”
Elie Wiesel, Night, Pg 33 "Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness."
Anne Frank |
Wiesel's speech receiving the William O. Douglas award in 2012.
His message, "Don't sleep well when people suffer" means to always take a stand if something has gone wrong. (Public Council) "......not to sleep well where anyone somewhere needs you."
Elie Wiesel "Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees -- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity we betray our own."
Elie Wiesel, The Perils of Indifference |
Shortly after he began writing, Wiesel began speaking to groups about his experiences during the Holocaust. He also spoke about current genocides and the importance of taking a stand. He used the atrocities of the Holocaust as a comparison for present injustices, such as the Rwandan genocide, which made his speeches powerful and impactful. The central theme of all his speeches was to speak up and not stay silent.
"The depressing tale of the St. Louis is a case in point. Sixty years ago, its human cargo -- maybe 1,000 Jews -- was turned back to Nazi Germany. And that happened after the Kristallnacht, after the first state sponsored pogrom, with hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. And that ship, which was already on the shores of the United States, was sent back."
Elie Wiesel, The Perils of Indifference And I tell him that I have tried. That I have tried to keep memory alive, that I have tried to fight those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.
Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Speech
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After receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Wiesel and his wife, Marion, established the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. Their mission statement is to: “...Combat indifference, intolerance and injustice through international dialogue and youth focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding, and, equality.”
The organization continues to impact the world through Wiesel’s story and promoting peace, health, education, and the environment. "What unites us as humans beings is the aspiration to make the world better, more compassionate, with less conflict, less hate and hardships, with more tolerance and understanding."
Elie Wiesel |