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JOHN GIELGUD
Actor
Talking about playing the classics, including Hamlet
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JUDI DENCH
Actor
Reflects on childhood and deciding to be an actress |
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Elie Wiesel b1928 |
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Born a Hasidic Jew in Sighet, Romania in 1928, his life changed dramatically in 1944 when all the Jews in his town were sent to Auschwitz. His mother and sister were both killed there and his father died later at Buchenwald camp from a combination of starvation and dysentery. Elie was later sent to Buchenwald as a slave labourer. After the war, he settled in France where he studied at the Sorbonne. He wrote for French and Israeli newspapers, and started his career as a novelist. In 1956 he moved to America and was naturalised in 1963. He taught at City College, New York and later became Professor of Humanities at Boston University. His first book La Nuit (1958, Night) follows a young boy's reaction to Auschwitz and is considered by some to be the most powerful expression of the Holocaust. All his novels struggle with the moral questions of the nature of evil and his morality is such that he refuses to profit from his work on Jewish suffering. All the proceeds from these works are given to charity. Later novels include Le Mendiant de Jerusalem (1968, A beggar in Jerusalem) which deals with the eternal question of why people kill, Le Mal et l'Exil (1988, Evil and Exile) and L'Oublié (1989, The Forgotten). But he has also written on other aspects of Jewish life, covering folklore and tradition, such as Célébration Hassidique (1972, Souls on Fire) which is a collection of Hassidic Tales and Célébration Biblique (1976, Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends). His condemnation of all types of violence, hatred and aggression has characterised his life. He has spoken for the sufferings of all those involved in the Holocaust and has never allowed his personal experience to overshadow those of others: he has always been concerned to promote human rights for all. It is this generosity of spirit and universal concern that led to his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was also awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1985, and established the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity in 1987.
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KEY WORKS INCLUDE:
La Nuit (1958, Night)
Le Mendiant de Jerusalem (1968, A beggar in Jerusalem)
Le Mal et l'Exil (1988, Evil and Exile)
L'Oublié (1989, The Forgotten)
Célébration Hassidique (1972, Souls on Fire)
Célébration Biblique (1976, Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends)
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