Elie Wiesel.

Sarah Feig and Shlomo Wiesel raised their son Eliezer in a traditional Jewish community in Sighet, Transylvania, then part of the Kingdom of Romania. The family spoke Yiddish at home. Eliezer was born in 1928. When World War II reached Sighet in 1944, the family was deported to Auschwitz. His mother and youngest sister were killed there. Elie and his father were sent to Buna and later Buchenwald. His father died in January 1945. After liberation, Wiesel spent time in French orphanages and eventually studied at the Faculty of Arts of Paris.

In 1956, Wiesel published his first major literary work, the autobiographical memoir Night in French as La Nuit. The book describes his experiences in Auschwitz and Buna camps. It gained widespread recognition after being translated into English in 1960. Wiesel wrote dozens of other books, including Dawn in 1961 and The Jews of Silence in 1966. He became the Andrew Mellon Professor of the Humanities at Boston University. In 1985 he received the Congressional Gold Medal, and in 1986 he won the Nobel Peace Prize. His activism included support for Soviet Jews, Cambodian refugees, and victims in former Yugoslavia and Darfur.

Wiesel married Marion Wiesel. They had a son, Elisha Wiesel, born in 1972. The family lived in New York City. Wiesel became a U.S. citizen in the late 1950s. According to his son, as his health deteriorated, Wiesel looked forward to being reunited with family members killed during the war. He died on July 2, 2016 in Manhattan.

In 1986 the Nobel committee called Wiesel a messenger to mankind when he won the Nobel Peace Prize. His memoir Night, published in 1956, is taught in schools worldwide and has sold millions of copies. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Wiesel’s advocacy extended to many causes; he spoke out against apartheid in South Africa and genocide in Darfur. Posthumous honors include an honorary doctorate from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. His work established a moral framework for human rights activism in the 20th century.