Elie Wiesel

Survivor of the Jewish Holocaust

Society• The Holocaust was from 1933 to

1945.• After World War I, the German

people turned to Hitler to return their hope.

• Nazi Germany persecuted and murdered millions of Jews and innocent people.

• Many Jews could not be citizens; they were treated as foreigners and expelled from Germany.

• In 1944, Wiesel’s town of Sighet was invaded and the people were sent to concentration camps.

His Life

• Born September 30, 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania

• Grew up with his three sisters, mother and father

• His family was deeply religious

• They were all transported to Auschwitz in April 1944 during Passover

Concentration Camp Life

• Elie’s mother Sarah and his sister Tzipora were gassed immediately upon arrival

• He and his father were transferred to Buckenwald where his father died

• By the end of the war, Elie had also been in Buna and Gleiwitz camps

After the War

• He boarded a train with orphans to Belgium but ended up in France

• Officials asked the orphans if they wanted to become French citizens

• Elie didn’t understand French and ended up being a child without a country

• In Paris, he was reunited with his 2 sisters who survived the camps

• He wrote daily in a journal which became the basis for “Night”

Night• “I made a vow of

silence, not to speak about it, not to write about it for ten years,” Elie said about his concentration camp trauma

• In 1958 “La Nuit” was written in French

• In 1960, the English version was published

“Night” is “both the end and the beginning” of everything.

Later Life

• In 1969, at the age of 41, he married Marian Rose

• In 1972, their son, Shlomo Elisha, was born

• He wrote more than 40 books

• He became the University Professor and Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University

Later Life Continued• He was the chairman of the United States

Holocaust Memorial Council

• He served as the first director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Literary Criticism

• “When Night was finally published…few people wanted to read about the Holocaust. Such depressing subject matter. But we cannot indefinitely avoid depressing subject matter…Night has been the most influential book in forcing that confrontation.”

– Robert McAfee Brown

Literary Criticism Continued

• Other critics have stated that the theme of silence in Night speaks and pulls in the reader. To some Night is the tale of the loss of not only innocence in a child but faith in a God who never answered his prayers.

• Most critics regard Night as a literary masterpiece.

Quote

In 2006, Oprah Winfrey said, “Being in his presence, exposed to his wisdom, has been one of the great blessings of my life. He is my hero not only for what he has endured, but for what he has become --- a teacher, a sage, an activist, a humanitarian, a great spirit. Despite the horrors he survived, he is one of the most loving spirits I have ever known.”

Sources• http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?

ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin=EJAL&SingleRecord=True• http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-

Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodld=SRC-2&docld=A145136857&source=gale&srcprod=SRCC&userGroupName=meadville_mc&version=1.0

• http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodld=SRC-2&docld=EJ2108102408&source=gale&srcprod=SRCC&userGroupName=meadville_mc&version=1.0

• http://www.fofweb.com/Lit/default.asp?ItemID=WE54• Night by Elie Wiesel