Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel (www.ihc.ucsb.edu)

When you hear of places like Auschwitz, Buna, or Buchenwald, what do you think of? Death, treachery, torture, almost no survivors. Most Jews barely made it out of one camp but my hero Elie Wiesel survived over four. He is a brave man who has made it through situations that most people could not handle. He shares his stories about the Holocaust so well that you have no choice but to acknowledge him as your personal hero. That’s one of the reasons why he is my hero.

Elie Wiesel and his mother and two sisters (www.learntoquestion.com)

Born in Sighet, Romania 1928, Elie’s small village focused on there widely growing religion. According to the book "Night", Elie's family ran a shop. His father also held the position as one of the advisors in his village or town. They often went to him for public matters and private ones too. Even though they were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944, he has quoted that he will never forget where he came from. Although Elie survived Auschwitz and three other camps, his father Shlomo Wiesel didn’t. He died after being in Auschwitz for only a year with four months until the liberation. It was sad for Elie leaving the camp knowing that his mother, father and two sisters were dead. This news didn’t ruin his life because little did he know his stories would change the way we look at the Holocaust forever.

Elie Wiesel 's first book

His journey started when he moved to Paris in 1948. He went there to study at the Sorbonne after staying at a French Orphanage for a few years. That began his work in Journalism which later led to his decision to write about the Holocaust. Unfortunately, his writing was put on hold due to a devastating hit from a car. While he was in a wheelchair it gave him time to think about what he wanted in life. So he made the decision to become a citizen of the United States. After this choice he decided to write his first book, “Night” in 1958. Although when it first got published it was in Yiddish and sold little to no copies, he still managed to get his story out there.

Elie at one of the concentration camps (www.swisseduc.ch)

After that accomplishment he visited Sighet and Russia. When he returned in 1966 he wrote another book called “Jews of Silence”. Two years later he married Marion Rose and together they had a son named Elisha. Things seemed to be going well in Elie’s life because he was appointed to the chair of the Presidential Commission on the Holocaust. His job as Chairman was to plan the American memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Elie has said that the reason for creating the museum has to have morals like denying the Nazi’s a posthumous victory; honoring the last wish of victims to tell and protecting the future of humanity from such evil recurring. Since then he has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Achievement and the Nobel Peace Prize for his remarkable accomplishments of peace.

Out of billions of heroes to choose from I chose Elie Wiesel. Not because of his awards of Achievement but because of his bravery to share his story about the holocaust. Also because of his willingness to keep on living life after losing almost everyone he loved at the concentration camps. Reading one of his stories "Night" made me think about what I would do and feel if I were apart of the Holocaust. I would feel lonely and sad, like there was nothing left living for. It's hard to imagine having your only two sisters dead, both of your parents and your whole village.

After the liberation (just 4 months after Elie’s dad died) you would think a person like that with no family at all would be gravely depressed. Not Elie Wiesel. After staying in that orphanage for a few years he moved to Paris and actually started his life. That amazed me, because he had been through so much. Another thing that surprised me while reading was the fact that he actually shared his story, which I know was a hard thing to do. It did pay off because books like “Night” and “Dawn” are life changing stories that show his deep emotions and feeling about his experience while in camp. He is my hero because he brought what he had experienced to life and actually did something about it. When he was appointed chair of Presidential Commission on the Holocaust, he made sure he had that museum honoring the victims of the Holocaust were recognized and honored. His books also showed that he wanted the world to know about the Holocaust and not just keep it under cover as though it wasn't important. That’s why Elie Wiesel is my ultimate hero!