Elie Wiesel. Photo ©2000 Eddie Adams.

“Elie Wiesel was brought up in a closely knit Jewish community in Sighet, Transylvania (Romania). When he was fifteen years old, his family was herded aboard a train and deported by Nazis to the Auschwitz death camp. Wiesel’s mother and younger sister died at Auschwitz-two older sisters survived. Wiesel and his father were then taken to Buchenwald, where his father also perished. In his autobiography, Wiesel writes: “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreathes of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.”

It’s worthwhile reading this extensive interview, to contemplate to what depths God is calling each of us. Let your heart be touched by the deafening silence of the Night that is experienced by the most abandoned.

Rest in peace, Elie Wiesel.