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| NewsMonday, October 6, 2008 11:47 PM CDT |
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Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel to speak at ISU on Tuesday
NORMAL -- Elie Wiesel -- Nobel Peace Prize winner, Holocaust survivor, and prolific author -- visits Normal Tuesday (Tuesday). But don’t go to his lecture with preconceived notions he’ll spend the entire time analyzing World War II events or the culture that brought Adolf Hitler to power. “My feeling is I don’t know what I’ll talk about,” he said Monday from his Massachusetts office. Born in Romania, (part of Hungary during the war), a young Wiesel spent time in Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and other death camps. His father, mother and younger sister died, joining an estimated 6 million Jews who perished under the Third Reich. Eventually, Wiesel landed in a French orphanage, and later was reunited with his older sisters. Wiesel’s name inextricably became linked with Holocaust literature and activism after the 1958 publication of “Night,” and the 1986 peace honor associated with it. In the book, he recounted the harrowing experience of life in Nazi camps. But of his dozens of works, the author has used the Holocaust as a backdrop less than a handful of times, he said. Instead, the bulk of Wiesel’s novels reflect his fascination for ancient and religious texts. The Talmud, the Bible, mysticism and the religious prophets all fascinate him. “But I also love the Greek, Roman and Buddhist philosophers,” he added. As the chairman of Boston University’s humanities department and a full-time philosophy professor, Wiesel keeps busy. But one part of every day is writing. “I don’t believe one can ever be a former writer,” he said. It’s something from which one can’t retire. As for his message, as a witness of the Holocaust, Wiesel couldn’t bring himself to write about the experience for more than a decade after liberation. “I always knew I’d write about it. But, I was afraid I wouldn’t find the right words,” to share exactly what happened. “I’m not sure I did,” he said, but educators are continuing to tell the story. Despite people who insist the Holocaust never happened, more books than ever are being published on the subject and more high school and college lessons are focusing on that period, he said. At Illinois State University, a history course focusing on the subject began a few years ago when the university brought Holocaust expert Katrin Paehler on faculty. He also believes that with Holocaust survivors disappearing with age, people realize it’s a last chance to speak with survivors firsthand. Nobel Peace Prize winnerWho: Elie Wiesel; the Nobel Peace Prize winner is a Holocaust survivor, author of “Night” and more than 50 other books. When: 3:30 p.m. today, question-and-answer session, ISU Milner Library; 7 p.m., public lecture, ISU Braden Auditorium. Cost: Free; open to the public. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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