Feb
Writers Who Matter: The Survivor and His Night
The pain, fear and anger from these words are shocking, but necessary:
“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.” – Night, Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel grew up in the modern-day Romanian town of Sighet, annexed by Hungary in 1940. A son of orthodox Jewish parents, he was raised in the faith, and raised to believe in and protect the humanity of his neighbors and peers. But he was born in brutal times.
In 1944, at the age of 16, his family was placed in the larger of the Sighet ghettos. They were deported in May, sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. His entry to this most notorious of death camps meant separation from the females in his family; he never saw his mother or younger sister again. He survived the initial selection process, put to work under appalling conditions instead of being sent to the “showers.” He lived, barely, until the final days of the war, when he and his father were shuttled between camps, led by Germans trying to escape the Allies’ approach. Upon reaching Buchenwald, just two months before the Allies liberated the camp, Elie’s father died of starvation and dysentery.
After the war, Elie moved to France and was reunited with his two older sisters. At first, he didn’t talk or write about his camp experiences. But after ten years as a journalist, he produced his best-known work: Night. In 1955 he moved to the U.S., and began a prolific career filled with over 40 books, numerous awards (including the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize), and a dedication to the support and development of peace throughout the world. He’s a political activist that has worked tirelessly of late for the cause of Darfur, the Kurds, Soviet Jews, and many more disenfranchised and endangered groups.
Through his writing, Wiesel gives us the picture of the genocide in WWII, and shows us how faith and humanity can be destroyed. Through his life, Wiesel also shows that hope is still possible, through deliberate, focused and unwavering action. That’s why he’s a writer who matters.
