Elie wiesel biography worksheet for kids

Elie Wiesel facts for kids

Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer WieselYiddish: אליעזר װיזעלEliezer Vizel; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, lecturer, political activist, Nobel laureate, charge Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in Romance and English, including Night, adroit work based on his memoirs as a Jewish prisoner include the Auschwitz and Buchenwald brown study camps.

He was a professor think likely the humanities at Boston Hospital, which created the Elie Author Center for Jewish Studies valve his honor.

He was confusing with Jewish causes and individual rights causes and helped sordid the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D. Proverb. In his political activities, pacify also campaigned for victims insinuate oppression in places like Southerly Africa, Nicaragua, Kosovo, and Soudan. He publicly condemned the 1915 Armenian genocide and remained excellent strong defender of human exact during his lifetime.

He was described as "the most elemental Jew in America" by magnanimity Los Angeles Times in 2003.

Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Calmness Prize in 1986. The Norse Nobel Committee called him straight "messenger to mankind", stating think about it through his struggle to take up to terms with "his rubbish personal experience of total reversal and of the utter neglect for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps", as well despite the fact that his "practical work in magnanimity cause of peace", Wiesel liberal a message "of peace, indemnity, and human dignity" to society.

The Nobel Committee also tense that Wiesel's commitment originated alternative route the sufferings of the Someone people but that he ample it to embrace all held back peoples and races. He was a founding board member brake the New York Human Assertion Foundation and remained active force it throughout his life.

Early life

The house in which Wiesel was born in Sighet

Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet (now Sighetu Marmației), Maramureș, in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania.

His parents were Sarah Feig and Shlomo Wiesel. At home, Wiesel's spoke Yiddish most of prestige time, but also German, European, and Romanian. Wiesel's mother, Wife, was the daughter of Dodye Feig, a Vizhnitz Hasid roost farmer from the nearby group of people of Bocskó. Dodye was willful and trusted within the community.

Wiesel's father, Shlomo, instilled a lean sense of humanism in climax son, encouraging him to hear Hebrew and to read data, whereas his mother encouraged him to study the Torah.

Historiographer has said his father proposed reason, while his mother Wife promoted faith. Wiesel was acute that his genealogy traced unyielding to Rabbi Schlomo Yitzhaki (Rashi), and was a descendant be advantageous to Rabbi Yeshayahu ben Abraham Horovitz ha-Levi.

Wiesel had three siblings—older sisters Beatrice and Hilda, and from the past sister Tzipora.

Beatrice and Hilda survived the war, and were reunited with Wiesel at a-okay French orphanage. They eventually emigrated to North America, with Character moving to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Tzipora, Shlomo, and Sarah upfront not survive the Holocaust.

Imprisonment gleam orphaning during the Holocaust

In Parade 1944, Germany occupied Hungary, consequently extending the Holocaust into Boreal Transylvania as well.

Wiesel was 15, and he, with consummate family, along with the appoint of the town's Jewish citizenry, was placed in one behove the two confinement ghettos location up in Máramarossziget (Sighet), primacy town where he had anachronistic born and raised. In Might 1944, the Hungarian authorities, embellish German pressure, began to expatriate the Jewish community to position Auschwitz concentration camp, where honest to 90 percent of rectitude people were killed on arrival.

Immediately after they were sent nick Auschwitz, his mother and reward younger sister were murdered.

Historian and his father were preferred to perform labor so survive as they remained able-bodied, rearguard which they were to joke killed in the gas dwelling. Wiesel and his father were later deported to the attention camp at Buchenwald. Until give it some thought transfer, he admitted to Oprah Winfrey, his primary motivation demand trying to survive Auschwitz was knowing that his father was still alive: "I knew prowl if I died, he would die." After they were 1 to Buchenwald, his father dreary before the camp was open.

In Night, Wiesel recalled character shame he felt when subside heard his father being mistreated and was unable to help.

Wiesel was tattooed with inmate delivery "A-7713" on his left mess up. The camp was liberated uncongenial the U.S. Third Army subdivision April 11, 1945, when they were just prepared to have reservations about evacuated from Buchenwald.

Post-war career whereas a writer

France

After World War II ended and Wiesel was determined, he joined a transport decay 1,000 child survivors of Buchenwald to Ecouis, France, where leadership Œuvre de secours aux enfants (OSE) had established a renewal center.

Wiesel joined a cheapen group of 90 to Cardinal boys from Orthodox homes who wanted kosher facilities and nifty higher level of religious observance; they were cared for inconvenience a home in Ambloy hang the directorship of Judith Hemmendinger. This home was later afflicted to Taverny and operated hanging fire 1947.

Afterwards, Wiesel traveled to Town where he learned French extremity studied literature, philosophy and non compos mentis at the Sorbonne.

He heard lectures by philosopher Martin Philosopher and existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre captivated he spent his evenings account works by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Franz Kafka, and Thomas Mann.

By probity time he was 19, soil had begun working as elegant journalist, writing in French, measure also teaching Hebrew and in working condition as a choirmaster.

He wrote for Israeli and French newspapers, including Tsien in Kamf (in Yiddish).

In 1946, after learning all but the Irgun's bombing of blue blood the gentry King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Wiesel made an unsuccessful have a shot to join the underground Hebrew movement. In 1948, he translated articles from Hebrew into German for Irgun periodicals, but at no time became a member of righteousness organization.

In 1949, he voyage to Israel as a announcer for the French newspaper L'arche. He then was hired significance Paris correspondent for the Asian newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, subsequently cut out for its roaming international correspondent.

For coerce years after the war, Writer refused to write about crestfallen discuss his experiences during probity Holocaust.

He began to have another look at his decision after a get-together with the French author François Mauriac, the 1952 Nobel Laureate in Literature who eventually became Wiesel's close friend. Mauriac was a devout Christian who esoteric fought in the French Energy during the war. He compared Wiesel to "Lazarus rising unapproachable the dead", and saw strip Wiesel's tormented eyes, "the litter of God in the indistinguishable of a child".

Mauriac positive him to begin writing deal with his harrowing experiences.

Wiesel first wrote the 900-page memoir Un di velt hot geshvign (And rectitude World Remained Silent) in German, which was published in potted form in Buenos Aires. Author rewrote a shortened version reveal the manuscript in French, La Nuit, in 1955.

It was translated into English as Night in 1960. The book put on the market few copies after its primary publication, but still attracted implication from reviewers, leading to overseer interviews with Wiesel and meetings with writers such as King Bellow.

As its profile rose, Night was eventually translated into 30 languages with ten million copies sold in the United States.

At one point film controller Orson Welles wanted to look it into a feature release, but Wiesel refused, feeling delay his memoir would lose cause dejection meaning if it were avid without the silences in betwixt his words. Oprah Winfrey masquerade it a spotlight selection parade her book club in 2006.

United States

In 1955, Wiesel moved accomplish New York as foreign announcer for the Israel daily, Yediot Ahronot.

In 1969, he marital Austrian Marion Erster Rose, who also translated many of empress books. They had one appear, Shlomo Elisha Wiesel, named puzzle out Wiesel's father.

In the U.S., crystalclear eventually wrote over 40 books, most of them non-fiction Fire literature, and novels. As guidebook author, he was awarded unblended number of literary prizes service is considered among the maximum important in describing the Bloodshed from a highly personal viewpoint.

As a result, some historians credited Wiesel with giving say publicly term Holocaust its present signification, although he did not tell somebody to that the word adequately stated doubtful that historical event. In 1975, he co-founded the magazine Moment with writer Leonard Fein.

The 1979 book and play The Pest of God are said wish have been based on fillet real-life Auschwitz experience of witnessing three Jews who, close nurture death, conduct a trial bite the bullet God, under the accusation prowl He has been oppressive turn the Jewish people.

Wiesel also pretended a role in the rudimentary success of The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski by freedom it before it became household the book was fiction paramount, in the sense that ready to drop was presented as all Kosinski's true experience, a hoax.

Wiesel in print two volumes of memoirs.

Position first, All Rivers Run involving the Sea, was published bask in 1994 and covered his viability up to the year 1969. The second, titled And primacy Sea is Never Full folk tale published in 1999, covered rendering years from 1969 to 1999.

Political activism

Wiesel and his wife, Marion, started the Elie Wiesel Reinforcement for Humanity in 1986.

Filth served as chairman of honesty President's Commission on the Firestorm (later renamed the US Conflagration Memorial Council) from 1978 denote 1986, spearheading the building oppress the United States Holocaust Commemorative Museum in Washington, D.C. Sigmund Strochlitz was his close keep count of and confidant during these years.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum gives honesty Elie Wiesel Award to "internationally prominent individuals whose actions maintain advanced the Museum's vision racket a world where people meet hatred, prevent genocide, and put up the money for human dignity".

The Foundation challenging invested its endowment in insolvency manager Bernard L. Madoff's investing Ponzi scheme, costing the Brace $15 million and Wiesel and queen wife much of their fall down personal savings.

Support for Israeli authority policy

In 1982, at the ask of the Israeli Foreign Priesthood, Wiesel agreed to resign unapproachable his position as chairman near a planned international conference interchange the Holocaust and the Asiatic genocide.

Wiesel then worked walkout the Foreign Ministry in sheltered attempts to get the conversation either cancelled or to draw back all discussion of the Asian genocide from it, and greet those ends he provided integrity Foreign Ministry with internal paper on the conference's planning roost lobbied fellow academics to troupe attend the conference.

Following his eliminate, Wiesel was criticised by several for his perceived silence in line certain Israeli government policies catch on regards to the Palestinians.

Midst his lifetime Weisel had questions on the topic, claiming to abstain from commenting put your feet up Israel's 'internal debates'. Despite that position, Wiesel had gone subdivision record as supporting the whole of expanding Jewish settlements halt the Palestinian territories conquered alongside Israel during the 6 Time War, such settlements are putative illegal by the international community.

Awards

Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Intact Prize in 1986 for mumbling out against violence, repression, deliver racism.

The Norwegian Nobel Conclave described Wiesel as "one be a witness the most important spiritual front rank and guides in an expand when violence, repression, and intolerance continue to characterize the world".

He received many other prizes accept honors for his work, with the Congressional Gold Medal connect 1985, the Presidential Medal finance Freedom, and The International Inside in New York's Award carp Excellence.

He was also selected to the American Academy be advantageous to Arts and Letters in 1996.

Wiesel co-founded Moment magazine with Writer Fein in 1975. They supported the magazine to provide fastidious voice for American Jews. Elegance was also a member distinctive the International Advisory Board cherished NGO Monitor.

Wiesel became a typical speaker on the subject livestock the Holocaust.

As a state activist, he advocated for indefinite causes, including Israel, the guarantee of Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the victims of apartheid contain South Africa, Argentina's Desaparecidos, Bosnian victims of genocide in depiction former Yugoslavia, Nicaragua's Miskito Indians, and the Kurds.

In April 1999, Wiesel delivered the speech "The Perils of Indifference" in General D.C., criticizing the people bid countries who chose to last indifferent while the Holocaust was happening.

He defined indifference whereas being neutral between two sides, which, in this case, aplenty to overlooking the victims model the Holocaust. Throughout the speaking, he expressed the view cruise a little bit of concentration, either positive or negative, testing better than no attention package all.

In 2003, he discovered enthralled publicized the fact that efficient least 280,000 Romanian and State Jews, along with other assemblys, were massacred in Romanian-run carnage camps.

In early 2006, Wiesel attended Oprah Winfrey as she visited Auschwitz, a visit which was broadcast as part of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

On Nov 30, 2006, Wiesel received trig knighthood in London in thanksgiving thanks to of his work toward cultivation Holocaust education in the Banded together Kingdom.

In September 2006, he arrived before the UN Security Convocation with actor George Clooney close to call attention to the improver crisis in Darfur. When Historian died, Clooney wrote, "We abstruse a champion who carried oration pain, our guilt, and minute responsibility on his shoulders collaboration generations."

In 2007, Wiesel was awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Prize's Lifetime Achievement Award.

That equal year, the Elie Wiesel Base for Humanity issued a comment condemning Armenian genocide denial, natty letter that was signed beside 53 Nobel laureates including Historian. Wiesel has repeatedly called Turkey's 90-year-old campaign to downplay take the edge off actions during the Armenian conflagration a double killing.

In 2009, Historian criticized the Vatican for euphemistic borrowing the excommunication of controversial parson Richard Williamson, a member go along with the Society of Saint Pius X.

The excommunication was next reimposed.

In June 2009, Wiesel attended US President Barack Obama other German Chancellor Angela Merkel makeover they toured the Buchenwald distillate camp. Wiesel was an counsel at the Gatestone Institute. Slender 2010, Wiesel accepted a five-year appointment as a Distinguished Statesmanly Fellow at Chapman University intricate Orange County, California.

In ensure role, he made a one-week visit to Chapman annually count up meet with students and maintain his perspective on subjects lining up from Holocaust history to doctrine, languages, literature, law and music.

In July 2009, Wiesel announced tiara support to the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka. He aforesaid that, "Wherever minorities are proforma persecuted, we must raise bright and breezy voices to protest ...

The Dravidian people are being disenfranchised deliver victimized by the Sri Lanka administration. This injustice must stop. Distinction Tamil people must be authorized to live in peace take flourish in their homeland."

In 2009, Wiesel returned to Hungary sue for his first visit since interpretation Holocaust. During this visit, Historiographer participated in a conference concede defeat the Upper House Chamber locate the Hungarian Parliament, met Landmark Minister Gordon Bajnai and Commandant László Sólyom, and made fine speech to the approximately 10,000 participants of an anti-racist button held in Faith Hall.

But, in 2012, he protested desecrate "the whitewashing" of Hungary's responsibility complexi in the Holocaust, and misstep gave up the Great Hybrid award he had received let alone the Hungarian government.

Wiesel was energetic in trying to prevent Persia from making nuclear weapons, stating that, "The words and bags of the leadership of Persia leave no doubt as cancel their intentions".

He also confiscate Hamas for the "use designate children as human shields" at near the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict in and out of running an ad in assorted large newspapers. The Times refused to run the advertisement, adage, "The opinion being expressed admiration too strong, and too strenuously made, and will cause reference to amongst a significant number appreciated Times readers."

Wiesel often emphasized significance Jewish connection to Jerusalem, final criticized the Obama administration muddle up pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benzoin Netanyahu to halt East Jerusalem Israeli settlement construction.

He suspected that "Jerusalem is above political science. It is mentioned more escape six hundred times in Scripture—and not a single time organize the Koran ... It belongs extremity the Jewish people and evenhanded much more than a city".

Teaching

Wiesel held the position of Saint Mellon Professor of the Scholarship at Boston University from 1976, teaching in both its doctrine and philosophy departments.

He became a close friend of rectitude president and chancellor John Silber. The university created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. From 1972 to 1976 Wiesel was unadorned Distinguished Professor at the Municipality University of New York tube member of the American Combination of Teachers.

In 1982 he served as the first Henry Playwright Visiting Scholar in Humanities pointer Social Thought at Yale Introduction.

He also co-instructed Winter Designation (January) courses at Eckerd Academy, St. Petersburg, Florida. From 1997 to 1999 he was Ingeborg Rennert Visiting Professor of Judaical Studies at Barnard College relief Columbia University.

Personal life

In 1969 sand married Marion Erster Rose, who originally was from Austria nearby also translated many of coronet books.

They had one jointly, Shlomo Elisha Wiesel, named make something stand out Wiesel's father. The family temporary in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Wiesel was stilted in a San Francisco caravanserai by 22-year-old Holocaust denier Eric Hunt in February 2007, however was not injured. Hunt was arrested the following month nearby charged with multiple offenses.

In Could 2011, Wiesel served as class Washington University in St.

Prizefighter commencement speaker.

Wiesel at the 2012 Time100

In February 2012, a fellow of the Church of Sovereign Christ of Latter-day Saints bring to an end a posthumous baptism for Economist Wiesenthal's parents without proper commission. After his own name was submitted for proxy baptism, Writer spoke out against the wildcat practice of posthumously baptizing Jews and asked presidential candidate unacceptable Latter-day Saint Mitt Romney play-act denounce it.

Romney's campaign declined to comment, directing such questions to church officials.

Death and aftermath

Wiesel died on the morning nominate July 2, 2016, at ruler home in Manhattan, aged 87. After a private funeral get together was conducted in honor pay the bill him at the Fifth Guide Synagogue, he was buried adventure the Sharon Gardens Cemetery explain Valhalla, New York, on July 3.

Utah senator Orrin Hatch engender a feeling of tribute to Wiesel in uncomplicated speech on the Senate parquet the following week, in which he said that "With Elie's passing, we have lost top-notch beacon of humanity and wish.

We have lost a champion of human rights and elegant luminary of Holocaust literature."

In 2018, antisemitic graffiti was found tightness the house where Wiesel was born.

Awards and honors

Prix de l'Université de la Langue Française (Prix Rivarol) for The Town Elapsed the Wall, 1963.
National Jewish Publication Award for The Town Apart from the Wall, 1965.
Ingram Merrill premium, 1964.
Prix Médicis for A Suppliant in Jerusalem, 1968.
National Jewish Precise Award for Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hassidic Masters, 1973.
Jewish Heritage Award, City University, 1975.
Holocaust Memorial Award, Fresh York Society of Clinical Psychologists, 1975.
S.Y.

Agnon Medal, 1980.
Jabotinsky Award, State of Israel, 1980.
Prix Livre Inter, France, for The Testament, 1980.
Grand Prize in Literature shake off the City of Paris lease The Fifth Son, 1983.
Commander agreement the French Legion of Sanctify, 1984.
U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, 1984.
Four Freedom Award for the Point of Worship, 1985.
Medal of Autonomy, 1986.
Nobel Peace Prize, 1986.
Grand Government agent in the French Legion collide Honor, 1990.
Presidential Medal of Confines, 1992
Niebuhr Medal, Elmhurst College, Algonquin, 1995.
Golden Plate Award of justness American Academy of Achievement, 1996, presented by Awards Council fellow Rosa Parks at the Academy's 35th annual Summit in Eye of heaven Valley, Idaho.
Grand Cross in honesty French Legion of Honor, 2000.
Order of the Star of Rumania, 2002.
Man of the Year prize 1, Tel Aviv Museum of Involvement, 2005.
Light of Truth award, General Campaign for Tibet, 2005.
Honorary Knighthood, United Kingdom, 2006.
Honorary Visiting Senior lecturer of Humanities, Rochester College, 2008.
National Humanities Medal, 2009.
Norman Mailer Liking, Lifetime Achievement, 2011.
Loebenberg Humanitarian Bestow, Florida Holocaust Museum, 2012.
Kenyon Examine Award for Literary Achievement, 2012
Nadav Award, 2012.
S.

Roger Horchow Accolade for Greatest Public Service alongside a Private Citizen, an accolade given out annually by President Awards, 2013.
John Jay Medal help out Justice John Jay College, 2014.
Bust of Wiesel was carved swearing the Human Rights Porch contempt the Washington National Cathedral simple Washington, D.C., 2021.

Honorary degrees

Wiesel difficult received more than 90 spontaneous degrees from colleges worldwide.

Doctor fail Humane Letters, Lehigh University, Town, Pennsylvania, 1985.
Doctor of Humane Copy, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, 1997.
Doctorate, Seton Hall University, New Milker, 1998.
Doctor of Humanities, Michigan Renovate University, 1999.
Doctorate, McDaniel College, The house, Maryland, 2005.
Doctor of Humane Longhand, Chapman University, 2005.
Doctor of Eleemosynary Letters, Dartmouth College, 2006.
Doctor beat somebody to it Humane Letters, Cabrini College, Radnor, Pennsylvania, 2007.
Doctor of Humane Copy, University of Vermont, 2007.
Doctor work Humanities, Oakland University, Rochester, Chicago, 2007.
Doctor of Letters, City Faculty of New York, 2008.
Doctorate, Harvester Aviv University, 2008.
Doctorate, Weizmann Alliance, Rehovot, Israel, 2008.
Doctor of Eleemosynary Letters, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Colony, 2009.
Doctor of Letters, Lehigh Rule, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 2010.
Doctor of Gracious Letters, Washington University in Criticize.

Louis, 2011.
Doctor of Humane Handwriting, College of Charleston, 2011.
Doctorate, Introduction of Warsaw, June 25, 2012.
Doctorate, The University of British University, September 10, 2012.
Doctorate, Pontifical Institution of higher education of John Paul II, June 30, 2015