Elie wiesel biography academy achievement

(1928-2016)

Who Was Elie Wiesel?

Born on September 30, 1928, in Sighet, Romania, Elie Wiesel pursued Jewish religious studies before his family was forced into Nazi death camps during WWII.

Wiesel survived, and later wrote the internationally acclaimed memoir Night. He also penned many books and became an activist, orator and teacher, speaking out against persecution and injustice across the globe. Wiesel died on July 2, 2016 at the age of 87.

Elie wiesel biography academy achievement award

Family & Early Life

Elie Wiesel was born Eliezer Wiesel on September 30, 1928, in Sighet, Romania to Shlomo and Sarah Wiesel. Wiesel, who grew up with three sisters and pursued religious studies at a nearby yeshiva, was influenced by the traditional spiritual beliefs of his grandfather and mother, as well as his father's liberal expressions of Judaism.

Surviving the Holocaust

In 1940, Hungary annexed Sighet and the Wiesels were among the Jewish families forced to live in ghettoes.

In May 1944, Naz