Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel dies, aged 87
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has died aged 87 in the US.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner was known for writing about living through the experience of Nazi concentration camps when he was a teenager.
Mr Wiesel lived in the US, and had been granted citizenship in the 1960s.
He lost his mother, father and younger sister in the Holocaust after being deported to Auschwitz from Romania when he was 15. His mother and sister were killed in Nazi death chambers and his father died of starvation and dysentery.
Two other of Mr Wiesel’s sisters survived.
His death was announced by Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance centre.
Mr Wiesel had been described by US President Barack Obama as “one of the great moral voices of our time”.
He became an author, writing more than 60 books. His debut was Night, a memoir which was based on his own experiences of the Nazi death camps.
“For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living,” he wrote.
“To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”
Mr Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for dedicating his life to speaking out against violence and discrimination.
He is survived by his wife Marion, also a Holocaust survivor and his son Elisha.
Today, Chad Griffin, President of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released a statement: “After surviving the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel committed his life to stopping hate, violence and discrimination.
“He lent his powerful voice to the struggles of countless people across the globe, and advocated for all those oppressed by discrimination and targeted for violence. Today, we mourn the loss of a hero whose commitment to justice, equality and love above all has set an example for us all to follow.”
