Holocaust survivor and writer Elie Wiesel died July 2 at the age of 87. He is survived by his wife Marion and his son Shlomo Elisha. Wiesel’s family said that he died peacefully after a long illness.
The Nobel Laureate spent a lot of his time working on holocaust remembrance and education projects. Wiesel was also the vice chairman of the Yad Vashem Council at the Holocaust remembrance center.
He founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity with his wife. Their mission is to “combat indifference, intolerance and injustice through international dialogue and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding and equality.”
Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev said:
“As a Holocaust survivor, he was devoted to bearing testimony to the atrocities he witnessed, and did so through his exceptional talents both as a writer and as a gifted orator. Elie believed to his dying day that the world must remember and study about the Holocaust as a unique event for the Jewish nation that has a universal message for all of humanity.”
Wiesel was born in Sighet Romania, 1928. Wiesel and his family were deported to Aushwitz in 1944. His mother and sister were killed at Auschwitz. Up to 90 percent of the Jews were killed upon arrival there. His father survived 8 months, but died while they were in Buchenwald camp.Wiesel was liberated a few weeks after his father’s death, April 1945.
Wiesel’s book “Night” details his imprisonment and survival during the Holocaust. The book is translated into 30 languages. It remains to this day one of the most renowned pieces of literature about the Holocaust.
“He dedicated his life to strengthening and ensuring the continuity of the Jewish people throughout the world,” Shalev said. “Wiesel’s death is a painful reminder that the generation of Holocaust survivors is dwindling each year. Yad Vashem is committed to ensuring their legacy for generations to come,”
