When God created human beings, he intended for a society of peace and love. However, the sin of the first humans has stained every person and introduced violence, prejudice, and other evil injustices to the world. While many people succumb to this natural tendency towards sin, others are drawn to God’s plan of love and combat evil. Some dedicate their lives to repairing the brokenness of human society. One of these courageous people was Elie Wiesel, a Romanian Holocaust survivor, author, and advocate for human rights.
Elie Wiesel was born on September 30, 1928, in Sighet, Romania. He and his three sisters were raised and deeply educated in the Jewish faith. World War II began when Wiesel was eleven years old, and at just fifteen, Wiesel and his family were captured by the Nazis and deported to various concentration camps in Poland. “They were worked almost to death, starved, beaten, and shuttled from camp to camp… (Elie Wiesel Nobel Prize para 3).”
Wiesel’s father, mother, and youngest sister lost their lives in the concentration camps, but Wiesel and his older two sisters survived. Wiesel moved to France after being liberated at the end of the war, and there he met up with his two older sisters and began his writing and teaching careers. (Elie Wiesel Nobel Prize para 1-4)
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Wiesel kept his painful memories of the Holocaust to himself for many years after the war. Eventually, however, Wiesel realized the importance of informing others of the injustices he suffered in order to not only honor those who died in the Holocaust but more importantly, prevent future injustice in the world (Elie Wiesel Nobel Prize para 5). He moved to the United States and started writing books about his time in concentration camps and the flaws of human nature, including And the World Remained Silent, Night, Town of Luck, The Town Beyond the Wall, and many more, expressing a strong “universal condemnation of all violence, hatred, and oppression” (Elie Wiesel para 4-5).
I admire Elie Wiesel for his relentless faith in God and the human race. Despite the horrible things Wiesel experienced in the Holocaust, he never doubted God’s presence. And despite the inhumane suffering inflicted on him by others, he nevertheless worked to promote peace and justice among all peoples. Wiesel explains in his autobiography Open Heart, “I belong to a generation that has often felt abandoned by God and betrayed by mankind. And yet, I believe that we must not give up on either” (Wiesel 72).
Instead of denouncing God and humans for allowing the Holocaust to abuse millions of lives, Wiesel channeled his pain into inspiration to improve our corrupt society. Wiesel, after witnessing a lack of conversion among people of his time, still hoped for and strived to create structures of justice and unity for generations to come.
Wiesel understood the impossible reality of removing human suffering but still challenges us to improve, saying, “It is not given to us to bring suffering to an end-that frequently is beyond us—but we can humanize it. To turn it into dialogue rather than sword depends only on us, on you…” (A Jew Today 106). Here Wiesel is conveying that when faced with difference, instead of innately approaching others with violence, people should work together through peaceful conversation, consideration, and compromise.
Wiesel challenges humankind again by relaying that even though we are technically strangers here on this earth, we should all strive to be more neighborly (Friedman 319). The Catechism of the Catholic Church upholds Wiesel’s belief, teaching that “respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as another self, above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity” (CCC para 1931).
In other words, the Church is telling us to treat others as we would want to be treated: with dignity and respect. So in spite of the genocide, wars, hatred, and other evils Wiesel came to know in the world, he still believed in the salvation of the merciful God and in the betterment of mankind, for which he gave us guidelines on loving one another. (Hirt-Manheimer para 8-16)
Elie Wiesel has given a message to the world to always fight against injustices everywhere and that disregarding injustice is as evil as committing it. Wiesel knew how it felt to be ignored by the rest of the world while he along with millions of other people in the concentration camps were in desperate need of saving. In an interview with Aron Hirt-Manheimer, Wiesel explains his life goal of fighting this “indifference of bystanders” to human suffering (Hirt-Manheimer para 7).
One way Wiesel actively fought global indifference was by visiting other countries such as the USSR to support Jews and other oppressed people in need of a voice (Elie Wiesel Nobel Prize para 7). Another way Wiesel became a reformer of oppression was by creating the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, an organization designed to confront prejudice and promote acceptance and peace around the world (Hirt-Manheimer para 1).
Wiesel’s inspiring books and peaceful actions led him to win the Congressional Gold Medal in 1985 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Six years later, Wiesel was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush (Elie Wiesel Nobel Prize para 7).
All people can in some way relate to Wiesel and learn from his dedication to others. I may not have been tortured by the Nazis during World War II, but I have struggled to a lesser degree. The stress of schoolwork overwhelmed me when I first started high school, but I have since then learned to manage my time in order to complete all of my assignments. I can learn from Wiesel’s aid to those who faced persecutions similar to his Holocaust experiences by helping classmates who struggle with the same thing I did. Simply comforting a student going through family troubles or tutoring a classmate can relieve them from some of their pain. It does not take winning a Nobel Peace Prize or starting a global organization to make a difference in the lives of others; simple gestures of acceptance and care are also impactful.
Elie Wiesel’s years in German concentration camps made for a difficult and tragic childhood. However, he survived and moved on to live an exemplary life. By publishing to the world his brutal memories of the Holocaust, standing up for oppressed people all across the globe, and establishing a lasting organization for human rights, Wiesel became a world-famous crusader of social justice, receiving several awards and honorary titles. People can learn from his bravery, enduring hope in God and human nature, and dedication to others. Elie Wiesel died in July of 2016, but he will never be forgotten (Elie Wiesel para 1). His contributions to humanity will remain forever.
