Heroes for a Better World

Elie Wiesel
(1928-)

American Writer, Human Rights Activist
1984 Congression Gold Medal
1986 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
1992 Presidential Medal of Freedom
1995 National Freedom Award
United Nations Messenger of Peace

birthdate: September 30
birthplace:
Sighet, Romania

Elie (Eliezer) Wiesel is a Jewish Romania-born American Holocaust survivor, writer and political activist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for his written works and activism which have brought a powerful message of "peace, atonement and human dignity" to the world. Only 15 when his family was sent to a concentration camp, Elie Wiesel lost his mother, father and younger sister before he and other survivors were liberated in 1945. When the war was over, Elie Wiesel studied in Paris and became a journalist. After he interviewed the French Nobel Prize winning writer Francois Mauriac, Mauraic convinced Elie Wiesel to write about his experiences in the Nazi death camps. His book, La Nuit (Night) won acclaim all around the world and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Since then, Elie Wiesel has written more than 40 books, has been a professor at several universities, and has been active in many causes for human rights, including defending Israel, and speaking out for the plight of many other oppressed groups, including Soviet Jews, Cambodian refugees, victims of famine in Africa, victims of apartheid in South Africa, victims of war in the former Yugoslavia, Nicaragua’s Miskito Indians and Argentina’s Desaparecidos. President Jimmy Carter appointed Elie Wiesel as Chair of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust in 1978 and in 1980 Elie Wiesel became the Founding Chair of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. Shortly after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Elie Wiesel and his wife started the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, whose mission is to "combat indifference, intolerance and injustice through international dialogue and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding and equality." For his dedication to humanitarian efforts, Elie Wiesel was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, the Medal of Liberty Award, was given the rank of Grand-Croix in the French Legion of Honor and was granted honorary knighthood in England.


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