Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel Congressional Gold Medal Winner

People have heroes, kids have heroes, adults have heroes, even heroes have heroes. Elie Wiesel is a hero's hero. Imagine you're a Jewish boy living during WWII. The Nazi supremacy is rising, and they have a merciless hatred toward Jews. You're abducted by the Nazis and sent to their concentration camps to live through hell. This is not a nightmare. It's reality.

Elie has survived the worst head on. He went through the Holocaust firsthand and survived. If I were in this man's position, I don't think I could come close to doing what he did after his experiences. Instead of covering his experiences up like a dark mark in his past, he uses his knowledge to warn and educate the people of the world about how devastating the power of hate can be.

In the years after the Holocaust, Elie wrote several books and spoke on numerous occasions regarding the power of hatred. The speeches he gives today are some of the most encouraging things people can see and hear. A relative of mine has had the wonderful chance to hear him speak and she said that Elie was remarkable. She said of herself that Elie's speech altered her life forever.

In one of his most renowned books, Night, Elie writes his stories from the viewpoint of a young man. He talks about his journey through concentration camps and how brave a person has to be to experience such a dark time in the history of our world. In my opinion, this was one the greatest books I have ever read.

He reminds me of a man named Abraham Lincoln. A man who fought to make sure that every man lives life with as much freedom as the next, to make sure that every man understands that he was created equal. This is the kind of man that deserves more respect than we can give him. Elie Wiesel is this kind of man. Out of every person on planet earth, very few people could have the amount of bravery Elie has. What this man has done is something that could never be achieved by some people. He will join men like Abraham Lincoln as one of the greatest heroes our world has ever seen.