Elie Weisel can be seen as a hero in many people’s eyes. He was born
Jewish in Romania and was five years old when the Holocaust began in 1928.
After the Holocaust was ended and all remaining Jews were released from their concentration camps, Elie would have been seventeen years old. The events that Elie endured, at the Auschwitz concentration camp, inspired him after the war to start writing. Elie was the Author of 57 books and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. The Norwegian Noble Committee even went as far as calling him a messenger to mankind. At the Noble Peace
Prize awards ceremony, Elie Weisel gave a speech describing his experience at the Auschwitz concentration camp in response to him receiving the Nobel
Peace …show more content…
He also cast those who chose to remain silent into the role of perpetrator. By reiterating the fact that the world did know and remained silent. He stated, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” The tone that these two sentences set was the same tone that resonated through his entire speech.
A few examples of this can be found throughout his short speech. His use of the term “Fiery Altar” is him referring to how the Nazis burned the bodies of the Jews. There is also significance in the title itself. It means, that we as a people should always keep the memory of the Holocaust alive.
Weisel takes this even one step further, by saying “if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.” Which roughly translates to, if you forget about the tragedy, you are helping the enemy and the Nazis that committed these terrible crimes against humanity. That you are helping in the killings and covering up the events. Weisel also goes as far as accusing the world of being silent about slavery, starvation, child labor, and bullying. This silence helped the holocaust continue without much interruption. Which means
Jewish in Romania and was five years old when the Holocaust began in 1928.
After the Holocaust was ended and all remaining Jews were released from their concentration camps, Elie would have been seventeen years old. The events that Elie endured, at the Auschwitz concentration camp, inspired him after the war to start writing. Elie was the Author of 57 books and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. The Norwegian Noble Committee even went as far as calling him a messenger to mankind. At the Noble Peace
Prize awards ceremony, Elie Weisel gave a speech describing his experience at the Auschwitz concentration camp in response to him receiving the Nobel
Peace …show more content…
He also cast those who chose to remain silent into the role of perpetrator. By reiterating the fact that the world did know and remained silent. He stated, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” The tone that these two sentences set was the same tone that resonated through his entire speech.
A few examples of this can be found throughout his short speech. His use of the term “Fiery Altar” is him referring to how the Nazis burned the bodies of the Jews. There is also significance in the title itself. It means, that we as a people should always keep the memory of the Holocaust alive.
Weisel takes this even one step further, by saying “if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.” Which roughly translates to, if you forget about the tragedy, you are helping the enemy and the Nazis that committed these terrible crimes against humanity. That you are helping in the killings and covering up the events. Weisel also goes as far as accusing the world of being silent about slavery, starvation, child labor, and bullying. This silence helped the holocaust continue without much interruption. Which means