From 1933 when Nazis first implemented action against German Jews by announcing a boycott of all Jewish-run businesses, to the final days of World War II and the liberation of the remaining concentration camps, being a Jew meant living in fear and agony. It meant being known only as a number and not as a human being. In Auschwitz alone, an estimated 1.1 million souls were exterminated, but one remained who was to serve as a living reminder of the atrocities committed during "the people's war" -- prisoner A7713.
Eliezer (Elie) Wiesel was born September 30, 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania (now Romania) to parents Sarah (Feig) Wiesel and Shlomo Wiesel, a grocer. From humble beginnings, it can be inferred that no one expected him to go on and become a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and to be one of the great humanitarians of our time. Then again, no one at that time could foresee the travesty that was brewing and would change the world forever.
Elie, his parents, and his three sisters were moved to the confinement ghettos set up in Sighet in March of 1944 when the Germans occupied Hungary. That May, the Jewish community began to be deported to Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. One could say it was more of the latter due to the fact that nearly 90 percent of people were exterminated on arrival. His mother and younger sister were killed after arrival, but Elie knew his father and older sisters remained.
"I knew that if I died, he would die," said Wiesel many years later to Oprah Winfrey about his father and his primary motivation to live. The pair of men were later transported to the Buchenwald concentration camp where his father survived another eight months, mere weeks before the camp was liberated.
Wiesel is present in one of the most famous photos (above) depicting concentration camp victims in their living quarters. The men shown are very obviously malnourished being that the average daily caloric intake for a prisoner was between 1,250 and 1,400 a day on top of an 11 hour stretch of backbreaking physical labor.
If victims weren't executed upon arrival, then it was more than likely they would procure a life-threatening disease such as typhus or scurvy. If they survived the living conditions, then it wasn't uncommon to be offed by an ill-tempered guard. Words alone cannot express the test of human endurance experienced by prisoners of concentration camps and what Elie Wiesel had to overcome to live a full life until the age of 87 -- an accomplishment for any human being, much less one who endured such body deprecating circumstances.
By some miracle, Elie lived. After his liberation, he was sent to an orphanage where his photo was taken. His older sister saw the photo, found him, and they were reunited. He went on to obtain an education from Sorbonne and write for French newspapers, all the while omitting anything about his concentration camp experience in 10 year vow of solidarity. In 1955 he broke his silence in a big way by writing a 900 page novel in Yiddish of his entire experience. This was later condensed to a 127 page version in French entitled "La Nuit" (Night), arguably his most famous work. With this newfound attention, Wiesel used his spotlight to bring other social injustices around the world to the forefront of media coverage. The main causes he advocated were justice for oppressed peoples worldwide. His recognition grew and soon he was being asked to teach and guest speak at high-level colleges. Arguably, the crown jewel of his achievements was procuring the the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986 closely rivaled by his presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, the highest civilian award of the United States. Through all of this activism, he continued to write in many different forms, creating everything artistic fictional theatrical productions to essays and short stories on his life experiences.
Elie Wiesel served as a relatable inspiration to many. Those who have faced discrimination, writers from all walks of life, those who have been victimized and tortured, those who believe in a cause and have a strong idea of what the world should look like and how people should be treated. The man may be gone, but his message will live on through those of who choose to stand up, fight and live.
