The transformation from a teenager with a strong faith in God to one who has come to believe, like that of the philosopher Nietzsche, that “God is dead” is dealt with very poignantly in the novel and gives the reader the opportunity to explore his or her own faith or beliefs. Although the account of the events which Wiesel saw and experienced is being remembered years later, it is clear from the graphic imagery of the novel that the emotional and physical pain that he experienced is engraved in his memory. In fact, the Foreword by Francois Mauriac is a great place to start in introducing the author and the unusual circumstances surrounding the writing of the book. Remind your students that the author is writing this many years after his liberation from the camps. Sources: -cap/holo/eliobio.htm, /peace/laureates/ 1986/wiesel-bio.htrnlīook Summary Background The novel is a personal account of the author’s horrendous experience as a young teenager in the ghetto and concentration camps of Buchenwald and Auschwitz. He now serves as a Professor of Humanities at Boston University. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council from 1980 to 1986. During this time, he decided to become a United States citizen and has since become a key figure in our country’s remembrance of the Holocaust. In 1956, he was in a catastrophic auto accident, which left him confined to a wheelchair for a year. New York has been home to Wiesel for several decades. He has since written over thirty books on the Holocaust. In 1958, he published his memoir Night (originally published in French, as La Nuit). A mentor encouraged him to write about his experiences in the camps, and thus he began his life’s work. After the liberation of the camps in 1945, Wiesel studied in Paris at the Sorbonne. His parents and his younger sister ultimately perished in the camps. Wiesel and his family, along with the other village residents, were rounded up and deported to Auschwitz. The Nazis invaded Wiesel’s village in 1944 when Wiesel was sixteen years old. Just for YOU! Author Biography Eliezer Wiesel was born September 30, 1928, in a small, predominantly Jewish village in Romania. Are there some groups of people in your country that are a major problem to our society?īackground…. Would you do anything in order to live? How about to help someone you love live?ĥ. Are people who stay around other people who commit crimes just as guilty as those who commit the crime? 4. Are there times when it is best to stay silent when you see something that is wrong?ģ. Would you ever, under any circumstances, do anything to harm one of your parents or a family member?Ģ. Pre-Reading Questions Directions: Complete the chart below in preparation for a discussion with your classmates.ġ.
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