Summary
World-renowned writer, teacher, activist, and chairman of the President's Commission on the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. According to the Nobel Committee, "Elie Wiesel, with his message and through his practical work in the cause of peace, is a convincing spokesman for the view of mankind and for the unlimited humanitarianism which are at all times necessary for a lasting and just peace." Born in Romania in 1928, Wiesel and his family were deported to Nazi death camps when he was 15 years old. His mother and younger sister were soon killed; his father died in his arms. Wiesel was liberated by Allied troops and sent to a French orphanage, where he was reunited with two surviving older sisters. He resumed his studies and became a journalist and author. He is now an American citizen. Wiesel's haunting memoir, Night, was a 2006 Oprah Book Club selection.
Newly updated, this compelling Modern Peacemakers profile reveals why Wiesel "swore never to be silent whenever, wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation."