Category: Elie Wiesel

In the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel, which is about a young jewish boy and his father facing the catastrophe of the Holocaust, struggling to outlive the millions of deaths caused by Nazi soldiers. Literary devices are used by Authors to better portray a situation so a reader can better understand what is going on. Elie Wiesel uses metaphors and similes to illustrate an image in the reader’s head of his though journey throughout the novel. As the journey consisted of death and loss of hope

Survival was rare during the Holocaust. During World War I there was approximately 9.5 million jews in europe but about 6 million were brutally murdered. Elie Wiesel well knew how slim chances of survival was for Jews like himself. He depicts an image in the reader’s head by figuratively stating “We were withered trees in the heart of the desert (Elie Wiesel 37). The author uses this metaphor to express his emotional and physical state and those around him. Trees need water to survive and in the heart of the desert there is very little water causing the slim chances of survival. Ths making his journey very difficult.

During the Holocaust the jews were stripped from their human rights. Prisoners who had no control over the decisions that they made. The SS army had complete control over the jewish prisoners. This caused the prisoners to lose all feelings and their eventually their identity, Elie Wiesel demonstrates that when he states “i was putting one foot in front of the other, like a machine (Wiesel 85). Elie most obviously is not a machine but he feels like he is disjointed from his body physically, emotionally, and, mentally. This simile conveys the message that throughout the novel Elie feels himself losing his identity progressive and having no feelings, like a machine.

Death became very common in europe during the time of World War II with about 70 – 85 million deaths. Elie Wiesel was surrounded by death through his journey and with no doubt about it felt himself getting closer to it as everyday goes by. Hope of living was getting cut down dramatically. When Elie says “I felt that i was not arguing with him, but with death itself, with the death that he had already chosen’’ (Wiesel 111). The personification given to death oj being able to choose was a way to convey the idea that death since being everywhere was almost certain. His father’s death was a huge take away from Elie hope.

Throughout Elie’s traumatic experience he was put through a tough time as he was trying to survive, as he lost his identity, and constantly facing death on a daily basis.

Elie Wiesel is one of the most courageous people because of the death he experienced during the concentration camp h as his father and also being one of the fewest Jewish people to survive the concentration camps. Elie Wiesel has started his own foundation for humanity. He is most known for being a writer and author of one of the most popular nonfiction books night. Night was about Eli Wiesel’s time during the Nazi Era. Elie Wiesel impacted many Jewish people because of how he survived the concentration camps and wrote about his time during the concentration camps.

Elie Wiesel as a person was a Jewish writer, a human rights activist and a Nobel Laureate” (Funk & Wagnalls). “Wiesel, Elie, formal name Eliezer Wiesel (1928-2016), Romanian-born American writer, human rights activist and Nobel laureate” (Funk & Wagnalls). Elie Wiesel studied at lots of different places to pursue his career in becoming a writer after the Nazi regime. “Wiesel was a professor of Judaic studies at City College New York City and since 1976 has been a professor of humanities at Boston University” (Funk & Wagnalls). Elie Wiesel had stayed in a small Hasidic community” (Funk & Wagnalls). Elie Wiesel writes in French, Yiddish, and Hebrew in his works.

Secondly Elie Wiesel’s best characteristics as a person was his powerful speaking skill. “Wiesel spoke for the millions of Jewish people that were killed by the Nazis and continued bereft all over the world “(Wolpe). This research shows how many people Elie impacted and like he says in his own words “it’s like a whisper of eternity” (Wolpe). “They said Elie’s voice had magic, speaking words that were wrung from the suffering of his own soul into the suffering of others” (Wolpe). It’s not that Elie Wiesel was just an average typical speaker that everyone hears he was good speaker that left important messages and which is how he spoke in larger crowds. “He said, his voice was as large as history and as gentle as reaching out to a child and never forgetting him” (Wolpe). When Elie Wiesel is speaking his speeches are sounding like they came from the suffering of his soul and witnessed people being tortured in the holocaust. Ultimately the author talks about how Elie had many good moments and his life and how his speeches are unforgettable and never will be forgotten.

Third Elie Wiesel would not be the same he is today for what he went through during the Nazi era. “He has no idea how he survived. In the begging his soul goal was to protect his father” (Schleier). It’s tragic on how Elie was only 15 when he and his family were transported to Auschwitz. “If God created miracles for me how could I have performed miracles for many others, too who were worthier than I, better than I, Purer than I” (Schleier). Elie never got to see his mother and younger sister after they had got separated. Elie’s father had died 3 months before his concentration camp was liberated, but after his father died he had lost all hope in life. “Men to the left. Woman to the right.” The arrivals were told. “I knew if I died he died” (Schleier).

Overall these terrible things that Elie Wiesel suffered from such as losing and his family members and watching other people die in the concentration camps .did make him a better person and helped him learn from all the downfall of what occurred in his life.

Elie Wiesel shows a lot of importance as a author and survivor of the holocaust. “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven time sealed” (A&E Networks Television). These are what Elie Wiesel would write about in his books such as night. “Hs friend encouraged him to write experiences I a concentration camp” (A&E Networks Television). This is how Elie became and author of another book also called memoirs. Which was about his time during the concentration camps.

Elie Wiesel did go through a lot of hard times in his life, but he also had a lot of achievements. “Wiesel stirred dep emotions at the white house ceremony when he accepted the gold medal of achievement” (Berger). Elie said “he will never forget the days when he saw the little faces of children and bodies turn into wreaths of smoke” (Berger). Elie’s books were normally topics about soviet Jews or Hasidic masters. “Wiesel had a leading role in creating the holocaust museum” (Berger). This is one of his best achievements because now that they have created this museum everyone can learn about the history and get a visual idea of what happened during the holocaust and here other people’s stories.

Elie Wiesel created an prize in ethics contest as well as an organization to solve other conflicts in the world (Global Newswire). “The prize in ethics essay contest is an annual competition that challenges college students to address ethical issues” (Globe Newswire). This counts as an achievement for Elie Wiesel because this will be something that will last for years after he’s gone and will be something continued in remembrance of him. Elie Wiesel also had created his own foundation as well. “The foundations mission is to combat indifference, intolerance, and injustice that promotes acceptance and understanding equality” (Globe Newswire).

All in all, Many Jewish people wouldn’t have been as impacted if it were not for Elie Wiesel and what he went through. Elie Wiesel was able to speak in front of millions of other people and fill them with his unforgettable speeches. He created his own holocaust museum and created a prize in ethics contest that will help prevent problems around the world which continue after his death. Elie Wiesel will be one of the most remembered holocaust survivors because of what he has done and accomplished as a human being.

References

1. “Elie Wiesel.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 16 Jan. 2019, www.biography.com/people/elie-wiesel-9530714.
2. Elie Wiesel, Auschwitz Survivor and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Dies At 87
3. Joseph Berger – https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/world/europe/elie-wiesel-auschwitz-survivor-and-nobel-peace-prize-winner-dies-at-87.html
4. Lrn. “The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and LRN Announce Student Winners of the 2018 Prize in Ethics Essay Contest.” GlobeNewswire News Room, ‘GlobeNewswire’, 11 Oct. 2018, globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/10/11/1620071/0/en/The-Elie-Wiesel-Foundation-for-Humanity-and-LRN-Announce-Student-Winners-of-the-2018-Prize-in-Ethics-Essay-Contest.html.
5. Schleier, Curt. “Why Elie Wiesel Can Never Forget.” Biography, vol. 3, no. 9, Sept. 1999, p. 68. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=b6h&AN=2224951&site=ehost-live.
6. “Wiesel, Elie.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Jan. 2018, p. 1; EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=funk&AN=wi046675&site=ehost-live.
7. Wolpe, Rabbi David. “Elie Wiesel.” Time, vol. 188, no. 4, July 2016, p. 13. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=116832616&site=ehost-live.

Elie Wiesel’s traumatic and haunting memoir ‘Night’ accentuates the trauma experienced by Jews during the Holocaust. Certain occurrences source the importance of relationships in the novel and view how circumstances prove that relationships are important. Wiesel and his family were taken to concentration camps, which caused Wiesel to lose his mother and sister and resulted in him altering his religion and the way he lives. Wiesel’s connection with religion is the most important altercation because that’s what gives him the courage and strength to move forward in life. At first, Wiesel shows strong adherence, then he becomes disenchanted with God’s presence in his life, and eventually reconsiders the position that God plays in his life.

In the beginning, Wiesel’s relationship with God in ‘Night’ reveals a deep commitment. Wiesel, with the help of Moche the Beadle, found faith and studied the Zohar. Wiesel wished to spend his life centered around Judaism and devoted all his free time and energy on religious studies, Wiesel showed that faith played an important role in his life, demonstrating that he followed his religion instinctively. When Moche asked him why he prayed, Wiesel couldn’t think of an answer and thought to himself, strange question, “why did I live, why did I breathe?” (14). Wiesel expressed confidence in religion as the situation disintegrated. Wiesel and his followers praised God for their life, and held the belief that God would bring them through a test of struggles, which would hold them alive if they retained their faith. Once they arrived at Auschwitz, they praised God and were able to recover their faith. Wiesel praised God for the simple stuff that helped him and he had a feeling of security and clung to the illusion that God was looking over them and allowing them to overcome the struggles he encountered. When Wiesel’s new shoes get coated with mud and not found by the SS Guards, he “thanked God…, for having created mud in His infinite and… wisdom” (47).

In the next stage of Wiesel relationship with God in ‘Night’ he becomes disappointed with God’s power. One way Wiesel achieves this is by questioning God’s supremacy. Within the concentration camps, the jews experienced, torment that made them question their religion. Wiesel was fundamental to his life, but this period is characterised by him distancing himself from God and attempting to work out all the violent emotions of abandonment and injustice. “Why should I bless His name?…had I have to thank him for?” (42). This shows that God wasn’t there for Wiesel when he needed him the most, which lead to Wiesel questioning himself and relationship with God, Wiesel is stating why should I bless him if everything bad is happening to me? Another way that Wiesel shows his frustration with God is by rebelling against the religious principles that he has practiced throughout his life. While the first horrifying night in the concentration camp unfolded, Wiesel has been changed as a person. His beliefs have now disappeared, and he was no longer willing to view the world in the same way, as described in “never shall I forget these moments which murdered my God…” (43). Since all this passed through his subconscious, Wiesel learned to hate God and the religious practices which he had practiced. Since his life was ripped down bit by bit, God meant less and less to him. That was how he couldn’t get over the feeling that God was going to protect that. It caused him to rebel against Godt, and he caught himself thinking, “Yes, oh why would I praise him?…” (74).

In the end, Wiesel redefines the importance that God plays in his world. Elie believes that the Holocaust shows everyone’s greed and brutality. Not just the Nazis, including the other prisoners, his fellow Jews, and himself. He believes that if the universe is too bad and cruel as God, then he needs to be bad and cruel or it doesn’t exists entirely. “… No longer accepted God’s silence…act of rebellion and protest against Him” (76). Out of this, Wiesel believes that he’s better off alone in a life without God. Wiesel claims he no longer believes in God, but he, in turn, looks to God when he is skeptical of his capability to control himself. “… A prayer rose in my heart, to that God…I no longer believed” (pg. 97).

In ‘Night’, Wiesel’s relationship with God experiences highs and lows, which inevitably alters his view of God. Wiesel reveals a sense of commitment to God at the very beginning of the novel, but when he actually encounters the Holocaust, Wiesel becomes dismissive of his spiritual beliefs. As Wiesel evolves and turns himself into a man, at the same time he repudiates the position of God in his life. Wiesel, provides several descriptions of the emotional, spiritual and physical consequences of victims in the Holocaust and, more importantly, a young child. For this cause, ‘Night’ provides a deeper view of the Holocaust, through a greater understanding of such a horrific incident, history will not repeat itself.

The Holocaust was the mass murder of six million Jews and millions of other people leading up to, and during, World War II. The killings took place in Europe between 1933 and 1945. They were organized by the German Nazi party which was led by Adolf Hitler. In Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’, Wiesel is a little boy who gets taken from his home and put into a concentration camp. Wiesel meets Moishe the Beadle in Sighet, Romania in 1941. Elie was already faithful. He wanted to have a relationship with Moishe to further his understanding of his faith. With Moishe’s guidance, Elie begins studying the Torah and Jewish religion, but his faith is tested when police deport Moishe to Poland. On the way there, the Germans stop the train car and massacre the passengers. Moishe manages to escape and tell the people of Sighet about the Gestapo, but no one believes him. The motif of faith is significant in ‘Night’ through Moishe the Beadle’s guiding of Elie praying and ensuring his trust in God, through Akiba Drumer reciting the Kaddish to the unfaithful Jews in the camps, and also through Wiesel’s constant conflict with his own beliefs.

At the beginning of ‘Night’ Wiesel is very passionate about his faith in Judaism. Elie has a very strong desire to learn about the Kabbalah which is a Jewish Mysticism and wants to learn everything he can about it, and he wanted to find a teacher and when he did it was Moishe the Beadle. Elie’s father states, “You are too young for that. Maimonides tells us that one must be thirty before venturing into the world of mysticism” (Wiesel 4). Elie’s dad is explaining to Elie that he is way too young to learn the Kabbalah that most people learn it when they are thirty. Elie didn’t care what his father said, Elie knew a lot about the Kabbalah, and he wanted to further his knowledge. Elie states, “I succeeded on my own in finding a master for myself in the person of Moishe the beadle’ (Wiesel 4). Elie explains that he found success in himself by finding a teacher as good as Moishe the beadle.

The Kaddish is a hymn of praises to God found in Jewish prayer services. Akiba Drumer asked the other Jews in the camp to read the Kaddish for him when he left, Akiba says, “in three days, I’ll be gone… Say the Kaddish for me” (Wiesel 77). Here Akiba is asking the Jews to read the Kaddish for him when he leaves. After he leaves, “The work was crushing. And three days after he left, we forgot to say Kaddish” (Wiesel 77). Everyone in the camp forgets to recite the Kaddish for Akiba because the labor is getting extreme. Everyone is losing their faith; Elie is saying, “We tried to raise his spirits, but he wouldn’t listen to anything we said. He just kept repeating that it was over for him, that he could no longer fight, he had no more strength, no more faith” (Wiesel 76). Here Elie is explaining that Akiba Drumer is done he stopped fighting and that he gave up. Akiba doesn’t care what happens anymore he lost all his strength and most importantly he lost his faith.

In the book ‘Night’, one of Elie’s biggest conflicts is with his belief in God. In the beginning of the book Elie’s relationship with God seemed to be strong, he got a teacher to help him and guide him in teaching Wiesel the Kabbalah. After being taken to Auschwitz his whole life changes. Elie’s faith is completely taken away from him. Wiesel started to lose his faith very rapidly to even questioning if god exists and why he would do such a thing to all these people. Elie explains, “I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice” (Wiesel 45). Elie is emphasizing that he knew god was there, but he doubted that he was even doing anything to stop what was going on. Then as time goes on Elie feels like God has left and abandoned him and all the other Jews. Wiesel states, “my eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man” (Wiesel 68). In this point of the story Elie has completely given up in his faith in God; Wiesel completely stops praying, and he knows that God cannot be there because he is doing all this to him and all the Jews.

Introduction

Elie Wiesel, a great figure of the 20th century, shows how strong the human spirit can be in the face of unimaginable hardship. Born in Sighet, Romania, in 1928, Wiesel’s life took a sad turn during World War II when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz. He would later write about this horrifying experience in his famous book “Night.” This powerful memoir, a stark and haunting account of his escape from Nazi concentration camps, has become an important reminder of how horrible the Holocaust was and how it changed people forever. While it was Wiesel’s last book, he went on to write many more, teach, and be an active political fighter, spending his whole life fighting against injustice, intolerance, and lack of care around the world. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for speaking out so powerfully for peace and human rights. He was called a “messenger to mankind” for his moral leadership. Wiesel’s writings and activities gave people who didn’t have a voice and shed light on the darkest parts of human history. He encouraged people to remember the past and to stand up to oppression with empathy and courage. These essays aim to look into Elie Wiesel’s life, works, and lasting impact.

100 Words Essay on Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel lived through the Holocaust, won the Nobel Peace Prize, and spoke out for human rights all the time. Born in Romania in 1928, he spent time in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps, which shaped his famous work “Night,” a moving story of survival and loss. Wiesel’s life showed how to get through unimaginable darkness. He used his deep insights to fight for peace, tolerance, and respect for everyone. He asked people to stand up to injustice and remember what the Holocaust taught them through his words and actions. Wiesel’s life and work are a warning never to ignore other people’s pain.

250 Words Essay on Elie Wiesel

From the ashes of the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel rose to become one of the most important speakers of the 20th century. His name is linked to bravery and strength. Wiesel was born in Sighet, Romania, in 1928. The horrors of the Nazi prison camps changed his life forever, and he wrote about them in his harrowing autobiography, “Night.” This powerful work not only serves as a stark reminder of how horrible the Holocaust was, but it also shows how strong the human spirit can be in the face of unimaginable pain.

Wiesel’s contributions extend far beyond his literary achievements. As a dedicated human rights activist, he used his moral authority and personal experience to shine a light on oppression and injustice around the world. His eloquent advocacy for peace and human dignity earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, where he was recognized as a “messenger to mankind,” a role he embraced with humility and profound sense of responsibility. Through his writings, lectures, and public engagements, Wiesel tirelessly championed the cause of memory and education, insisting that the lessons of the Holocaust must not be forgotten.

Elie Wiesel left behind a legacy of hope and kindness that will last forever. He showed us how powerful it is to tell the truth and how important it is to fight against carelessness. Wiesel’s message of peace, empathy, and remembering still rings true in a world torn by violence and intolerance. He urges us to show compassion and never stay quiet when we see wrongdoing.

400 Words Essay on Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel, a luminary in the struggle for human dignity and a beacon of hope amidst despair, has left an indelible mark on the conscience of humanity. Born in 1928 in Sighet, Romania, Wiesel’s early life was catastrophically disrupted by the Holocaust, an experience that defined his purpose and shaped his future endeavors. His time in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, two of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps, became the crucible for his life’s work, most notably encapsulated in his seminal memoir, “Night.” This harrowing account, stark in its simplicity, lays bare the horrors of the Holocaust and the profound loss of faith and humanity experienced by its victims.

Wiesel’s literary corpus, however, extends beyond “Night” to include novels, essays, and plays, all imbued with his deep commitment to justice and memory. His writing serves not only as a memorial to the six million Jews who perished but as a vigilant reminder of the dangers of silence and indifference in the face of oppression. Wiesel’s narrative voice, characterized by its moral urgency and compassionate appeal, invites readers to confront the darkest chapters of human history and to acknowledge their shared responsibility in preventing such atrocities from recurring.

Beyond literature, Wiesel’s activism played a pivotal role in the global human rights movement. His advocacy transcended religious and cultural boundaries, addressing injustices worldwide — from apartheid in South Africa to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. As a public intellectual and speaker, he engaged with leaders and communities, advocating for the marginalized and giving voice to the voiceless.

In 1986, Wiesel’s lifelong dedication to peace, human rights, and reconciliation was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize. Wiesel’s impact extends into education and public discourse, through the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and his teaching at Boston University. These platforms allowed him to educate future generations about the Holocaust and to explore broader questions of ethics and human rights.

Elie Wiesel’s legacy is a testament to the capacity of the human spirit to transcend unimaginable trauma and to harness one’s experiences for the greater good. His life and work serve as a clarion call to remember the past, to recognize the inherent dignity of all individuals, and to tirelessly advocate for a world free from hatred, persecution, and indifference. In an era where the specters of intolerance and division loom large, Wiesel’s writings and teachings remain a vital source of inspiration, urging humanity to choose empathy over apathy, solidarity over isolation, and always, light over darkness.

500 Words Essay on Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel, a name synonymous with peace, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of human dignity, stands as a beacon of hope and a testament to the triumph of the human spirit over unimaginable adversity. Born on September 30, 1928, in Sighet, Transylvania (now part of Romania), Wiesel’s early life was marked by a rich tapestry of Jewish culture and tradition. However, this tapestry was violently torn apart in 1944 when Wiesel, along with his family, was deported to Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp, during World War II.

Wiesel’s experiences in the Holocaust, where he endured the unimaginable horrors of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, where his father, mother, and younger sister perished, became the crucible through which his life’s purpose was forged. These experiences were poignantly recounted in his seminal work, “Night,” a harrowing, autobiographical narrative that has enlightened millions around the globe about the depths of human cruelty and the resilience of the human spirit.

“Night” is not merely a memoir; it is a powerful invocation of memory and a stark reminder of the darkness that can descend upon humanity. Through his vivid recounting, Wiesel does not just bear witness to the atrocities he endured but also challenges his readers to confront the perils of indifference and the importance of remembering. His writing is a clarion call to never forget the lessons of the past, to stand against injustice and oppression wherever they may arise. Beyond “Night,” Wiesel’s literary corpus includes over fifty books, including novels, essays, and plays, all imbued with his commitment to humanity, his struggle with faith in the face of suffering, and his unwavering belief in the power of the human spirit to overcome.

But author’s influence goes far beyond what he wrote. He was a strong supporter of human rights who spoke up for those who couldn’t and fought for the rights of those who were being mistreated all over the world. In 1986, the Nobel Peace Prize was given to him in honor of his work. The Nobel Committee called him a “messenger to mankind” whose message is one of peace, forgiveness, and respect for all people. His award speech beautifully summed up his life’s work: to remember the Holocaust victims and make sure that such horrible things never happen again.

Wiesel’s lessons and work made it clear how important memory and education are in the fight against injustice and lack of care. He started the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity to fight injustice, intolerance, and lack of care by promoting acceptance, understanding, and equality through international discussion and programs for young people.

Without this man, the human spirit would not be able to rise from the depths of sorrow and use the lessons of the past to build a better future. His life showed how strong it is to be strong, how important memories are, and how valuable it is to always seek peace. His voice, though silent now, continues to echo through his writings and the countless lives he touched, serving as a guiding light for future generations to follow the path of empathy, understanding, and, ultimately, peace.

Prize is an internationally recognized award that is delivered to an individual or organization that has accomplished an ameliorative effort for mankind. In the year 1986 the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize was a man named Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor and humanitarian. A day after receiving the award, Elie gave a Nobel lecture entitled ‘Hope, Despair and Memory’, with the speech focusing on the importance of remembering. Elie provides a dichotomy: recognize the truth from the past to provide the foundation for a better world, or choose ignorance and allow for the irreverence of human rights.

The audience was composed of people who could make a difference, for the audience was the Nobel committee, intellectuals, people of influence, and people with an interest in the improvement of humanity. This composition of audience allowed Elie to take a more aggressive stance. Elie directly told the people, with a tone of fury, begging, and most greatly disappointment, that now was the time to remember.

The factoids of Elie’s life that cause people to connect to his suffering establish his credibility as a speaker on suffering. According to Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee in ‘Ancient Rhetoric for Contemporary Students’ ethos is, “the character or reputation of a rhetoric”. Elie’s speech then continues to tell of his severe human abuse, and in the recounting of his severe human abuse. Elie says about these memories that, “For us ‘Holocaust survivors’, forgetting was never an option” (Wiesel). Moments that caused compassion and sorrow such as, “the little girl who, hugging her grandmother whispered: ‘Don’t be afraid, don’t be sorry to die… I’m not’. She was seven, that little girl who went to her death without fear, without regret” (Wiesel). It was their job to keep these memories alive, for these were the memories that effectively conveyed the cruel absurdity during moments of the Holocaust, and recalling them could hopefully bring about a change in man’s attitude.

Elie says how an historian, Shimon Dubov, propagated this belief in the concentration camps that remembering the Holocaust could bring about a change in man’s attitude. Elie says how when him and others started to speak, “the people around us refused to listen; and even those who listened refused to believe; and even those who believed could not comprehend. Of course they could not. Nobody could. The experience of the camps defies comprehension”. This quote is a successful use of pathos for the audience is capable of understanding the feelings Elie and others must have had.

Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for his humanitarian efforts, and for never opting for man to regress. Words however are not enough to describe what Elie has done, for words that can be comprehended are not capable of aptly describing this man’s life and mission. Elie is a man who experienced mental and physical torture, and from this torture found the will to believe that there could be a world where man would never torture again. Elie discovered along the path of bringing this world to manifestation however that people choose to forget suffering rather than remember it, live in a world of dishonest peace than acknowledge oppression. Elie’s speech utilized rhetorical devices to make these tributes and his point that when mankind chooses to remember he chooses to progress, poignant and keenly felt, and therefore Elie’s speech was successful. However, it is when Elie’s speech and message go from just being successful, to being a creed people live by, that humans will create the reality that so many great people dedicated their lives to achieving: a reality where there is no more suffering. A reality where no one forgets.

What was life like during the Holocaust and how did people change their ways of living during it? Elie Wiesel was one of the few people who survived the Holocaust and lived to tell the tale. Because of the Holocaust, he has changed his characteristics throughout the traumatic, sullen, and enraging experience. Elie Wiesel changed his characteristics throughout ‘Night’, because he cares for others too much instead of caring for himself, and he realizes near the end that he needs to look out for himself instead of others.

Elie Wiesel changed characteristics from the beginning, being curious, to when he first started the concentration camp, being very kind to others and helping them survive the camp. “One day I asked my father to find me a master who could guide me in my studies of Kabbalah” (Wiesel, 4). In this quote, we can see that Elie has been curious in the beginning because he wants to learn a new religion. Elie is very open minded and is putting himself out there to try new things. We can see that even though Elie is a religious person, he changes and stops believing in his god. “Why, but why would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled. Because He caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves? Because He kept six crematoria working day and night, including Sabbath and the Holy Days” (Wiesel, 67). In this quote, we can see that Elie has changed from wanting a new religion to stopping thinking about one. When Elie arrives at the concentration camp, he learns that helping others is a big part of it. “He had to stop a moment. I begged him: ‘Wait a little, Zalman. Soon we will come to a halt. We cannot run like this to the end of the world’” (Wiesel, 86). In this piece of evidence, it shows that Elie is trying to help other people instead of himself. He does not want to see any more people die in the camps. Because of this, Elie goes on to help many more people because he thinks he can help as many people as he can. Therefore, Elie went from being curious and inquisitive, to becoming kind-hearted and helpful.

Elie Wiesel changes after lots of time in the concentration camp because he realizes that he can no longer help people if he wants to survive. “I began to laugh. I was happy. I felt like kissing him. At that moment, the others did not matter” (Wiesel, 72). According to this quote, we can see that Elie does not care about anyone who is headed to the crematorium. He only cares about himself in this moment because he realizes that he is becoming too compassionate towards others and that he will not live if he continues to do so. “‘Let me give you good advice: stop giving your ration of bread and soup to your old father. You cannot help him anymore. And you are hurting yourself. In fact, you should be getting his rations. . .’ I listened to him without interrupting, He was right, I thought deep down, not daring to admit it to myself” (Wiesel, 110-111). In this quote, we can see that Elie soon realizes that his father is passing away. He knows that he can no longer take care of him and that he needs to stop helping him and only look out for himself. Moreover, he came to the conclusion that there is nothing he can do to help anymore. From this point on, he has changed to look only out for himself. As a result of these things, Elie went from being very compassionate towards others and helping many people, to becoming self-centered and realizes that he can no longer do anything to help.

Elie Wiesel adjusted his characteristics throughout ‘Night’, because he cares for others too much instead of caring for himself, and he realizes near the end that he needs to look out for himself. Elie has changed so much throughout the book; some of these transformations being good, some being bad. Most importantly, some of Elie’s transformations were able to help others during the Holocaust, which saved lives.

Prime Minister Carlsson (Sweden), World Leaders, and Reporters from around the world:

50 years ago a boy and his family were taken away to a place of death and peril, a place where God would never visit. 50 years ago, the devil took away everything from him, his family, his home, and almost the precious faith he believed in. 50 years ago, no one spoke up for him and his people. 50 years ago his people were silenced. We have learned from what happened 50 years ago, that this living hell shall never occur again, and that is why we have met here today in the beautiful city of Stockholm, to break the silence. Right now people are being oppressed and murdered in Bosnia as many stand by and say nothing. But we can say something. We can do something. I realized why God hadn’t saved us from the Holocaust. We had to suffer so that no one else could suffer the way that we did. The Jews, are now the Bosniaks. Adolf Hitler is now Slobodan Milošević. Mass murder and extermination camps are still the same. History is repeating itself. We shall not stand by to witness horrid events that have already occurred.

But the Bosnians have something that we Jews didn’t have, a voice. Now we have the power to use their voice and stop the oppression they are facing. The Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller said it best, “Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.” (Niemoller). The events that took place in World War II demand us to extinguish the flame of tyranny before it burns down the forest. When I wrote the book, Jews of Silence, I heard the stories of the Russian Jews. When they spoke out against the Soviet Government, they killed the poets. They were killed because they used the weapon that tyranny is afraid of, a voice. “Silence helps the killer, never his victims.”(Elie Wiesel: Witness for Humanity). And that is the weapon we will use to kill this genocide in Bosnia.

But still have we learned our lesson? No, we haven’t. This is one of many genocides that have taken place after the Holocaust. Slobodan has committed war crimes before, first in Croatia, then Bosnia, and now he is doing it again (‘Slobodan Milošević”). The world is tired of these mass murders. The world is tired of ethnic cleansing. The world is tired of its Hitler. 6 million Jews had to suffer and for what? For it to happen again in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and so many other times that I can’t count on my fingers (Elie Wiesel: Witness for Humanity). Let this be the last time that people be subjected to this violence. Let this be the last time people are broken. Let this be the last time we have to meet like this today.

I am their messenger. I am the one who is using their voice to keep the Bosniaks alive. I am the one using their voice to inform you of these events. In Srebrenica, 8000 Bosniaks were killed and 25,000 were deported from their land this year. They still don’t know for sure how many have died in total (‘Bosnian genocide’). As the Bosnian War comes to an end, we shall not let this event be forgotten. I have already dedicated my life to keeping the stories of the six million Jews alive (‘The Life and Work of Wiesel”). Let’s keep the Bosniaks’ stories alive too so that people can see what the Bosniaks have gone through and to show the people that this event shouldn’t happen again. Let their voices reign down like thunder upon their oppressors so that they face justice!

50 years ago, the Nazis killed 6 million people. 50 years ago the Nazis killed my family. 50 years ago they killed me. 50 years ago I had to learn how to live again (Elie Wiesel: Witness for Humanity). But when I left that camp two things remained, my faith and my story. 50 years ago the Nazis failed. The Jews are still alive and so are their stories. We need to stop the Serbians and Milosevic so that the same can be said about the Bosniaks’ faith and stories. Let’s put out the fire of tyranny before it engulfs another ethnicity.

The Holocaust did not start with gas chambers, it started with hate-filled words. When somebody reads stories about the Holocaust it completely gives a whole new perspective, the reader can feel the pain that the survivors had, sometimes their stories can just stab the reader’s heart, But most of all the holocaust survivors went through something so, appalling, horrific, and terrorizing , at the age around 14-17. It was hard for these young children to sustain an ideal state of mind.

For some people the Holocaust is just an old story in the history books, for others, they have lived it. The Jews would fight for the right to live as they were killed solely for being Jewish. The Holocaust began in 1939 and would continue through 1945. It was introduced by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, although he did not act alone. His mission would be to “exterminate” all minorities, but most abundantly, the Jews. It is estimated that 11 million people were killed during the Holocaust. Six million of these were Jews. For some, their story was not so tragic. Fortunately, 3.5 million Jews survived and now live on to tell their stories. Some people theorize that the gas chambers could not possibly have killed as many victims as historical research shows.

Elie Wiesel, the Auschwitz survivor who became a significant witness for the six million Jews annihilated in World War II and who seared the memory of the Holocaust. In 1986, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But he was defined not so much by the work he did as by the gap in history he filled . In the aftermath of the Germans’ systematic massacre of Jews, no voice had risen to drive home the enormity of what had happened and how it had changed mankind’s conception. Elie Wiesel, who had been liberated from Buchenwald as a 16-year-old with the tattoo A-7713 on his arm, gradually resurrected the Holocaust from the ground of the history books.

Anne Frank, born June 12, 1929, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, died February/March 1945, Bergen-Belsen concentration camp,was a Jewish girl whose diary of her family’s two years in hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands became a classic of war literature. During the first half of July, Anne and her family hid in an apartment. For two years, they lived in a secret attic apartment, which Anne referred to in her diary as the Secret Annex. Otto Frank’s friends and workers , Jan Gies, and Miep Gies had helped to prepare the hiding place and smuggled food and clothing to the Franks at great risk to their own lives. While in hiding, Anne kept a diary in which she recorded her fears, hopes, and experiences. Her diary is used to keep her and the fellow other 6 million Jews memories alive and help us understand what it was like to go through this horrifying time in history.

Everyone always talks about remembering the Holocaust. Remember the six million. The world must remember so that a holocaust can never again happen. Remember those who perished in order to honor them and give their deaths meaning. Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel are only two of the 3.5 million survivors. Everyone tries to keep their memories alive so we can remember the hatred and disgrace that the human race brought during that time. Autobiographies are the most heartfelt and reliable sources a reader may find. We can truly imagine the emotion and terror in that person’s experience.

Imagine killing 11 million people, all because you thought they shouldn’t live! The Holocaust did just that. The Holocaust was a genocide of 11 million Jews. It lasted over serval years. It was one of the worst events in human history. The Jews, during the Holocaust, went through great pain to survive. Elie Wiesel survived because of his love for his family, his and other people’s humanity, and his health and appearance.

Helping each other had a great deal, when it came to survival the Holocaust. The Holocaust selection were a one-way trip to death. Meaning if you didn’t look good and well, you might all well be jumping into a pit of fire. In the novel it states that before the selection happen, someone had said: “Before you go into the nest room, try to move your limbs, give yourself some color. Don’t walk slowly, run!”. They had to act tougher in front of the soldiers during the sections not to be weak and not to get killed.

Elie Wiesel had so much love for his father and kept on telling himself he had to survive because his father could not live without him. He knew his father was weak and he could not live without the help and love from his son. “‘Come, Father. It’s better there. You’ll be able to lie down there. We’ll take turns. I’ll watch over you and you’ll watch over me. We won’t let each other fall asleep. We’ll look after each other’” (pg.89). Elie and his father were running for endless miles through the dark and freezing night. If someone fell asleep, there was a good chance they would never wake up again. Elie was protecting his dad when he said they should look after each other. He couldn’t let his father die, so he made himself stay alive to help his father. Furthermore, Elie comforts his dad while he is crying: “‘The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria…’. His voice broke. ‘Father’, I said. ‘If that is true, then I don’t want to wait. I’ll run into the electrified barbed wire. That would be easier than a slow death in the flames’. He didn’t answer. He was weeping. His body was shaking” (pg.33).

Although it’s almost impossible to survive the Holocaust, love for his family, humanity, and his health and appearance helped Elie Wiesel survive the Holocaust. All of these things contributed greatly to Elie’s survival. His experience as a prisoner of the Holocaust is beyond anything we can imagine. Elie did come out of the experience without any living family members and even got food poisoning three weeks after he was liberated. Elie came out a stronger person as well, and even wrote this book about his Holocaust experience.