Introduction To The Holocaust

At the outcome of the Holocaust, over six million Jews were massacred (“Introduction to the Holocaust”). The Holocaust commenced on January 30, 1933 and continued through May 8, 1945 (Berger). The Holocaust stems from a Greek word meaning “sacrifice by fire” which explains the connection of fire and the crematorium. The Germans murdered every two out of three European Jews so that they could exterminate all of the Jews of Europe during the last year of the war (“Introduction to the Holocaust”). Hitler was a paranoiac, he disliked Jews, and he was a very insane person. He influenced thousands of people to follow him including multiple Nazis and Jew discriminators. Nobody understands why Hitler woke up one morning, and decided to start a movement

which led to the killing of all the Jews in the world. Thankfully, Hitler was incapable of finishing his goals in the concentration camps, and thousands of Jews survived (Berger).

The Nazis felt that the Jews were in charge of more than enough wealth and power, and they did not respect their religion (“Introduction to the Holocaust”). The Jews have a strong sense of identity which explains their commitment to Judaism and their will to live (Wiesel 268). The Nazis who were in charge in Germany, thought that Germans were genetically exceptional (“Introduction to the Holocaust”). From the start of time, Jews have been persecuted and executed for their beliefs and accomplishments (Dart). Someone who spoke out against the horrors in the Holocaust was Elie Wiesel. Due to the importance of never forgetting the horrid events of the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel, took a stand to speak out against genocide and discrimination, and has impacted millions of lives by providing education and promoting awareness through his published

works.
Elie Wiesel, a Jewish spokesman, was born in 1928 and raised in Sighet (Roth 27). Sighet is a tiny town in the alps of Romania. In his early life, Elie, had examined the Talmud, and spent his life learning about prayer (Kakutani C11). Elie was a very piased young man. He was a spokesman for the Jewish community in Sighet. His mother was the daughter of a very famous Hasidic man. He prayed everyday and had vast dreams for the future. His mother wanted him to become either a rabbi or a PhD, however, he became neither (Berger). Elie had recalled the horrid event of the absorbing fire that had ruined the world before the Holocaust had started (Roth 27).
Elie was fifteen when he was brought to Auschwitz. His mom, dad, and his younger sister, Tzipora, traveled to Auschwitz together. Later, soldiers divided men and women into divisions of the camp, and nobody knew that they would not be spending time together. People were divided by Dr. Mengele, an SS doctor, who determined the weak from the strong and luckily Elie was strong enough to survive the first elimination (Roth 27). At the conclusion of the Holocaust, his two older sisters survived. After the war, his sisters moved to Canada, and he moved to America (Berger). They stayed together, however, he was separated from the rest of his family. From the time period of April 1944, to January 1945, they experienced the cruel treatment of Auschwitz (Roth 27). From 1943 to 1944, Elie stressed that the world had shut out the occurrences in Eastern Europe (Bandler 9). Auschwitz was one of the most horrendous and tragic death camps while there were other camps termed labor camps, where the Jews worked for the German war effort. Historians search for meaning in their attempt to exterminate the Jews even though the Christian culture didn’t ban the Germans from committing atrocities in places like Auschwitz. And where did the hatred come from? (Berger). What was just as horrible, if not worse, was the silence from the rest of the world while the Jews were led to their death (Bandler 9). Elie and his father were forced to take what was called the death march all the way to Buchenwald in Germany. They were harshly drained by the extreme exertion on their bodies without enough water and food. His father died after they completed the death march (Roth 27). Buchenwald was the second concentration camp Elie and his father had been to (Berger). At the conclusion of the war, Elie had survived and was free to meet up with his older sisters, Hilda and Beatrice. He was released on April 11, 1945 (Roth 27).
It was very difficult and painful for Elie to speak about his past and what he had gone through. Everyone who had been in the Holocaust had been nervous to speak about their experiences and the atrocities, so it was difficult for others to understand what had happened. Elie was emaciated and broken after he almost died at the termination of the war. Everyone described Elie as a gentle and kind man who was always concerned about his fellow humans. His father allowed him to push through during difficult times and was the only person who urged him to live. After the war, he traveled to France, where he had a variety of jobs. His jobs included a choir director, tutor, and a newspaper reporter. These jobs were auxiliary in his life (Berger). In the start of the 1950s, Elie had abandoned his silence, which destroyed a fundamental guideline that he had promised never to break. He had spoken about the horrible events that he had observed during the Holocaust (History.com Staff). Elie had left the camps with a long story and explanation to notify people and now stands as a messenger of peace and an advisor of both parties. His stand is important because he was addressing humanity and requesting humans to reach for their best instead of their worst. He had to overcome his inner conflict and talk about his painful experience. When Elie had taken the stand there was silence and in order to recall what had happened, he had to protect what was happening now. His life and beliefs were dramatically challenged by the Holocaust. His message was that nobody should entrust into despair, to always remember, and to seek justice. His presence is important and urged everyone to remember. After, he came to America. His values from the Jewish tradition caused him to write a book and influenced him to take a stand (Berger). Francois Mauriac was a French, Catholic writer (Johnson 1). Mauriac wrote a Nobel prize for literature (Berger). He aided Wiesel to understand that he should write a book to replay the events of the Holocaust from his perspective (Johnson 1). Elie Wiesel takes a stand in American History by writing and teaching about what he had gone through during the Holocaust (Berger). By explaining the history of the Holocaust, Elie wrote multiple books (Johnson 1). One of the first books he wrote was published in Yiddish and it became the English Night. And the World Remained Silent was the first book he wrote. The two books Night and Dawn consist of descriptions of Jews in concentration camps. It took tremendous courage and bravery for Elie to recall his memories and notify the world about the cruelty and abuse of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis (Berger).
Elie Wiesel was selected to be the spokesman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

He had continued writing, and he had still been working on new books and autobiographical novels. Elie Wiesel is remembered and will never be forgotten by everyone around the world. Elie had been very influential in supporting others to create the message delivered through the Holocaust Memorial Museum that had marked the history and events of the time for all the world to observe (Elie Wiesel). He created an enormous impact by taking a stand which propelled him to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986. There were multiple people who had denied the Holocaust and still deny it today. There are some people who are outright Jew discriminators and others who are ignorant. Elie believes that those people are moral midgets and are shutting out a vital event that had killed six million Jews, Russians, and Gypsies (Berger). Wiesel had been offered the opportunity to show up at universities and talk about what he had experienced in the Holocaust (Elie Wiesel). Elie Wiesel died on July 2, 2016. He died in his home in Manhattan, New York at the age of 87. Elie had lived a long and fulfilling life, which impacted millions of people around the world (Biography.com Editors). We can further his works by spreading his message, making sure people remember, and by trying to speak up when injustice occurs

(Berger).