Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel was a Romanian-born Jewish writer, Holocaust survivor, and human rights activist.

Elie Wiesel was a Romanian-born Jewish writer, Holocaust survivor, and human rights activist. He is best known for his memoir *Night* and for receiving the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to promote peace, atonement, and human dignity. Born in Sighet, Romania, in 1928, he was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family and later became a United States citizen.

Early life

Wiesel was born in Sighet, Romania, on September 30, 1928, and grew up in a devout Jewish household. Sighet was part of Transylvania, an area that changed political control during the war years.

Holocaust experience

During World War II, Wiesel and his family were deported to Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz and later Buchenwald. His parents and younger sister were killed in the camps; he and two older sisters survived. He was liberated from Buchenwald in 1945.

Writing career

After the war, Wiesel studied in Paris and worked as a journalist. His first book, *La Nuit* (*Night*), was published in 1958 and became one of the best-known Holocaust memoirs. He wrote nearly thirty books according to the Nobel Prize biography, and other sources describe his output as more than forty or sixty books.

Public life and awards

Wiesel became an influential public advocate against indifference, persecution, and injustice. He received the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize for being a messenger of peace, atonement, and dignity. He served in leadership roles related to Holocaust remembrance.

Later life and death

Wiesel later lived in New York City and became a U.S. citizen. He died on July 2, 2016, at the age of 87.