Elie Wiesel

There is nothing I applaud more than the people who are able to share their life's story without the listener falling asleep not even half way through. I only recently discovered this amazing person when I was discussing different heros with my parents.

Born on September 30,1928, Elie Wiesel is not only an amazing writer but a survivor of the Holocaust as well. Growing up in a small village in Romania, his early life revolved around family, community, and religion. But, in 1944, his village was deported by the Nazis. He was only 15 years old at this time. Over those terrifying years, Elie Wiesel mannaged to survive Auschwitz, Buna, Buchenwald, and Gleilwitz, but his mother, father, and younger sister never made it out when the camps were liberated in April of 1945. Only Elie and his two older sisters survived.

After the war, Elie studied in Paris at the Sorbonne and later became a journalist for a French newspaper titled "L'arche". Then, one day, during an interview, a reknowned writer by the name of Francois Mauriac persuaded Wiesel to break his vowed silence and write of his experiences in the concentration camps. Wiesel has since written and published over thirty novels, won the Nobel Peace Prize, was appointed to chair the President's Commission on the Holocaust, and awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Achievement. While confined to a weelchair for a year after a car accident, he decided to become a US citizen in 1963.

The quote, "...to remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all..." clearly summarizes his beliefs about life and this other quote, "Let us remember, let us remembe, the heros of Warsaw, the martyrs of Treblinka, the children of Auschwitz. They fought alone, they suffered alone, they lived alone, but they did not die alone, for somthing in all of us died with them," clearly displays his feelings on the Holocost and the fact that he will never forget.

I have learned alot from this man and am glad that I could share this little bit of insight with you.