Elie Wiesel Biography and Quotes

Birthday: September 30th, 1928
Commemoration: July 2nd, 2016
Nationality: American

87

Years Old

Famously Known For

Eliezer Wiesel was a Romanian born American writer, political activist, Nobel laureate, professor and a Holocaust survivor.

He wrote close to 57 books in English and French disclosing his experience as a prisoner in Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.

Early Life

Elie was born in Romania to Sarah Feig and Shlomo Wiesel. At home, the family spoke Yiddish, German and Hungarian. His father wanted him to learn Hebrew, and also literature, and a strong sense of humanity was encouraged. His mom, on the other hand, wanted him to study Torah.

Wiesel had two older sisters and one younger one. Two have sister survived the war and met Wiesel at a French orphanage. The finally relocated to North America.

Personal Life

He was married Marion Erster Rose from Austria who was the translator of many of his books. Together they had one son. In 2007 he was attacked by a Holocaust denier In a San Francisco hotel, but he was not injured.

Career

At the age of 19, he began working as a journalist writing in French and teaching Hebrew and also being a choirmaster. In 1946 he tried joining an underground Zionist movement but was unsuccessful, this is after Irgun bombing.

He moved to New York as a foreign correspondent in1995 for an Israel daily newspaper. In the united, he wrote more than 40 books on Holocaust literature and non-fiction novels. He has worn a couple of literary prizes on his first account description on Holocaust.

Wiesel in 1975 co-founded the moment magazine with one write Leonard Fein. He published two memoirs detailing his life. Nobel peace prize in 1986 was awarded to him for speaking out against violence, racism, and repression.