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Elie Wiesel Facts

Elie Wiesel Facts
Elie Wiesel is a Jewish-American author, professor and activist best known for his book Night, about his experiences as a prisoner of Auschwitz during World War II. He was born Eliezer Wiesel on September 30th, 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania in the Carpathian Mountains, to Shlomo Weisel and Sarah Feig. Elie had three sisters, Hilda, Beatrice and Tzipora. In 1944 Elie and his family were sent to a ghetto in Sighet and later that same year they were sent to camps in Auschwitz. When the war was over, only Elie and two of his sisters survived. Elie went to France to study at the Sorbonne from 1948 to 1951. His memoir about his time in Auschwitz was first published in 1956, as And the World Would Remain Silent. In 1960 it was released as Night.
Interesting Elie Wiesel Facts:
Elie Wiesel wrote for Israeli and French publications while in France after the war.
Francois Mauriac was a friend of Elie Wiesel's and encouraged him to write about his experiences in the concentration camps during World War II.
And the World Would Remain Silent was first published in Yiddish, in 1956. It was later shortened and then published in French as La Nuit. In 1960 it was published in English as Night.
Night became a bestseller and was translated into several languages and released around the world.
Elie Wiesel wrote and published Dawn (1961), and Day (1962). Together with Night they formed a trilogy about humankind's self-destructive behavior.
Although Night did not sell very well in the beginning it eventually sold millions of copies.
Elie Wiesel moved to the United States in 1955. He married Marion Erster Rose and together they had a son Elisha.
Elie Wiesel would go on to write more than 40 books. He wrote in both fiction and non-fiction genres.
In 1986 Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for his work in speaking out against racism, repression, and violence.
Elie Wiesel has written two volumes of memoirs. The first covered his life until 1969 and was titled All Rivers Run to the Sea. The second covered his life from 1969 until 1999 and was titled And the Sea is Never Full.
Elie Wiesel has been awarded a large number of honorary degrees from a variety of universities including Lehigh University, DePaul University, Seton Hall University, Michigan State, McDaniel College, Chapman University, Dartmouth College, Cabrini College, University of Vermont, Oakland University, City College of New York, Tel Aviv University, Weizmann Institute, Bucknell University, etc...
Elie Wiesel has won a multitude of awards for his work including the Ingram Merrill award, Holocaust Memorial Award, Jabotinsky Medal, Prix Livre Inter, Grand Prize in Literature, Commander in the French Legion of Honor, Us Congressional Gold Medal, Medal of Liberty, Nobel Peace Prize, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom etc...
Elie Wiesel has spoken out against injustices in many countries including Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, and South Africa.
Elie Wiesel has been a professor at a variety of universities around the world.
Together with his wife Elie Wiesel founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.


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