Elie Wiesel

genus. September 30, 1928
American writer and educator Eliezer Wiesel was born in Romania in the Transylvanian Carpathians. He was the only son and third child in the family Shlomo Wiesel and Sarah Feig. From early childhood, the boy took the spirit of Hasidism and the love of learning. His father, owner of the vegetable stalls, a member of the board of the Jewish community. Grandfather, Dodi Wiesel, a local tenant, often told the boy stories of Hasidism - the average branch of Judaism. Hasidism, as opposed to excessive formalization of Judaism then attached great importance to religious zeal than philosophy, foundations of Hasidism were not enumerated in the treatises, and in the legends.
. Rumors of Nazi atrocities against Jews, spread in the early 40's., Local community, in t.ch
. Father V., refused to believe. The first time after the German invasion occupation caused a restriction of community activities, but in 1944. all Jews were sent to the Birkenau death camp. In the first night of V, until loving anthem 'I believe in the advent of the Messiah, he does not hurry, but I'm still waiting for him', he felt that his faith was shaken.
Until the end of the war in. lived among the horrors of the extermination camps, where his father had died of starvation and dysentery, and his mother and younger sister died in a gas chamber. In 1945, Mr.. He was transferred to Buchenwald, where he was liberated by the advancing troops. Later, he accidentally got in Paris, where he tried to return to normal life. It was much easier when he learned that his two older sisters survived.
From 1948 to 1951. at the Sorbonne, he listened to lectures on philosophy, which helped him overcome the pain experienced. V. became a journalist and collaborated with many Jewish, American and French editions, the year he spent in India, trying to understand whether the wisdom of the East to overcome human suffering. In 1956, Mr.. V. almost died in a car accident, and during convalescence he was nearly deported as a stateless person. In 1957. V. began working in New York Jewish newspaper published in Yiddish. In 1963, Mr.. He became an American citizen. It has been 10 years before in. able to write about his camp experience. Then, impelled by a sense of duty to the dead, he wrote an autobiographical book 'Night' ( 'La nuit', 1958). Written in French, like most subsequent books, she had to remind readers about the horrors of the Nazi catastrophe. Later. questioned whether the world hear his words, and in the novel, translated under the title 'The Oath', showed that silence is more powerful than speech.
. First novel V.: 'Dawn' ( 'L'Aube', 1961), 'Case' ( 'Le jour', 1961), 'City of the wall' ( 'La Ville de la chance', 1962) and 'Forest Gate '(' Les portes de la Foret ', 1964) - told the story of postwar Jews, where the' survivor 'felt like a dead
. The following works traced way back to life only at the end of the book 'City of the wall' hero begins to trust another person. Possibility of human involvement is manifested in the final of the novel 'Forest Gate'. The events the Six Day War 1967. inspired by the next novel 'A beggar in Jerusalem' ( 'Le mendiant de Jerusalem', 1968). The works in. Hope is not returned by itself, it should win. Roman 'fifth son' ( 'Le cinquieme fils', 1983) highlights the problem of child Holocaust survivors and legacy of hopelessness.
In the other books in. considered the situation of Jews in the Soviet Union. Alarmed by reports of the revival of anti-Semitism, he visited the Soviet Union in 1965. and published a series of articles in 'Yediot Aharonot'. Later, these articles have been translated into English and published in 1966. entitled 'The Jews are silent' ( 'The Jews of silence'). Play in. 'Zalmay, or the Madness of God' ( 'Zaimen; ou la folie de Dieu'), which appeared in 1966, speaks of the need to speak out against the persecution of Jews in the USSR. Drama, . translated under the title 'The Court of God, . which took place on February 25, 1649 in Shamgorode '(' Le proces de Shamgorod tel qu'il se deroula le 25 fevrier 1649 ', . 1979), . and the novel 'Will' ( 'Le testament d'un poete juif assassine', . 1980) also talk about the situation of the Jews.,
. A number of studies in
. uses a picture of the Jewish past to interpret the present, among them 'Soul on Fire' ( 'Celebration hassidique; portraits et legendes', 1972), which contains a live retelling of the legends of Hasidism. Books 'Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends' ( 'Celebration biblique: portraits et legends', . 1975), . 'Images of the Bible' ( 'Images from the Bible', . 1980) and 'Five Biblical portraits' ( 'Five Biblical Portraits', . 1981) demonstrate the contemporary ideas of the Bible.,
. From 1972 to 1976
. V. was professor emeritus of Judaic studies at City College of New York, in 1976. - Professor emeritus of humanities at Boston University. In 1978. He headed a presidential commission, convened by Jimmy Carter in the United States to create a memorial of the Nazi catastrophe. Commission established an annual day of remembrance of victims of Nazism, planned research programs and conferences. Chairman of the Commission. remained until 1987
In. frequent visits to countries affected by tensions and violence - Cambodia, South Africa, Bangladesh, the Soviet Union - in order to provide support to victims of oppression and to bring public attention to human rights violations. He often spoke in public, in particular, tried to dissuade President Reagan from visiting in 1985. German military cemetery in Bitburg, where SS men were buried.
The belief. that the threat to human dignity applies to all, allowed him to move from their personal suffering to care for victims of violence everywhere. 'The words in an opportune moment, - said in. One rabbi, who doubted the compatibility problem of suffering and literary fiction - reach the level of actions'. While agreeing that the injustice can cause hatred, V., however, believed that hatred hurts both sides.
For commitment to this subject in. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1986. "Wiesel refers to mankind, - said the representative of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Egil Orvik - with a message of peace, redemption, human dignity. He believes that the forces fighting evil in the end will win '. Orvik also noted that 'the attention of the manager, primarily focused on the suffering of the Jewish people, now spread to all the oppressed peoples and races'. Accepting the award, in. talked about 'the kingdom of the night', which he survived the death camps. 'I tried to remember. I wanted to fight those who have forgotten. Because if we forget, then we - the accomplices'. In conclusion,. said: 'Our lives belong not to us, and those who need us'.
In 1969. V. married Marion Erster Rose, also survived the horrors of Nazism, it was she who translated the book in. in English. In the couple had a son, and the family settled in New York. Daughter Mrs. Wiesel from his first marriage lives with them.
In. been awarded many literary and humanitarian awards, t.ch. Medals of Martin Luther King from the City College of New York (1973), the literary prize of the Jewish Book Council (1973), medals of Congress (1985). He received honorary degrees from more than 30 research institutions, among them - the Jewish Theological Seminary, Boston University, Yale University, Kenonsky college, etc.. V. is on the board of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and the Jewish School of Arts, administrative boards of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Bar-Ilan University.