Elie Wiesel: His Life

 World War II officially began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1 st, The Beginnings of World War II  During WWII, Adolph Hitler held the reigns of Germany and the Third Reich.  The “Third Reich” was the official name for the Nazi regime during WWII.

The Holocaust began when Hitler spoke to the the “Reichstag” about the annihilation of the Jewish Race. This is the first time that Hitler publicly addressed what his plans were for the Jewish population. “ The result will not be the bolshevization of the earth and with it the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe." -Adolph Hitler-

The next step for Adolph Hitler and his “Third Reich” was to issue the “Final Solution.” The Final Solution was the plan to have a Master Race and to exterminate anyone who had physical and mental deformities and not just the Jewish race.

During the time of the Jewish annihilation, there were many families that were being shattered and torn apart. One of these families were the Wiesels’. The family consisted of Elie, his father Schlomo, his mother Sarah, and his three sisters, Hilda, Tzipora, Bea. Schlomo, Elie’s father. Elie’s mother, Sarah, and sister, Hilda. Elie at age 15.

The town of Sighet, where Elie was born was peaceful and full of life during the pre-war era. This is Sighet after liberation. Oh how much has changed to the once capital of the region and happy Sighet.

On April 19 th, 1944, the residents of Sighet along with the Wiesel family were sent to the death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Elie’s mother, Sarah, and sister, Tzipora, were killed immediately on arrival to Auschwitz, while Elie and his father were sent to a work sub-camp.

Elie and his father’s time in the concentration camp was terrifying and inhumane. In Auschwitz, more than 1.1 million people were killed by either direct crematory or through gas chambers. Here is a picture of Elie, while in a concentration camp. He is identified by the red circle.

By the time Buchenwald was liberated, Elie had lost his father, mother, and one of his sisters. This was a tragic time for Elie and how he managed to stay alive and sane will never be understood. During his time in the concentration camps he went through a period where he doubted the existence of God and religion.

After the war had finished and Elie was safe from the harm of the German army, he was placed in an orphanage in France, where he later met up with two of his sisters, Hilda and Bea. He began studying different languages and eventually became a journalist.

In the year 1955, Elie decided to move to New York. Elie wrote many books speaking out against oppression, especially the “Holocaust.” Some of the books he wrote became very famous such as “Night”, “Souls On Fire”, “After the Darkness”, and “The Jews of Silence”. In 1986, Elie was awarded one of the highest honors in the world, The Nobel Peace Prize.

During WWII, there were roughly 6 million Jews killed. The Holocaust is an event that no one will ever forget and also one that not many people want to remember. Even though many of us want to forget, we cannot, because the remembrance of these terrible acts may prevent this from happening to others. This photograph is a Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. Notice the number of graves.

“I marvel at the resilience of the Jewish people. Their best characteristic is their desire to remember. No other people has such an obsession with memory.” -Elie Wiesel- Matthew Bakkum CIS 101: Introduction to Computers April, 2007