Patterico's Pontifications

7/2/2016

Elie Wiesel, 1928 – 2016

Filed under: General — Dana @ 9:50 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Death camp survivor, Nobel Laureate, prolific writer, and tireless fighter for human rights Elie Wiesel has died. From his obituary at the Jerusalem Journal:

Wiesel was a hollow-eyed 16-year-old when he emerged from the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945. He had been orphaned by the Nazis and their identification number, A-7713, was tattooed on his arm as a physical manifestation of his broken faith and the nightmares that would haunt him throughout his life.

Wiesel and his family had first been taken by the Nazis from the village of Sighetu Marmatiei in the Transylvania region of Romania to Auschwitz, where his mother and one of his sisters died.Wiesel and his father, Shlomo, ended up in Buchenwald, where Shlomo died. In “Night” Wieselwrote of his shame at lying silently in his bunk while his father was beaten nearby.

After the war Wiesel made his way to France, studied at the Sorbonne and by 19 had become a journalist. He pondered suicide and never wrote of or discussed his Holocaust experience until 10 years after the war as a part of a vow to himself. He was 27 years old in 1955 when “Night” was published in Yiddish, and Wiesel would later rewrite it for a world audience.

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed …,” Wiesel wrote. “Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live.”

It is utterly sobering to be reminded of what so many like Wiesel endured. And not just endured, but miraculously lived to tell, spending the remainder of his days confronting evil for the sake of righteousness.

He was often described as somber. An old friend, Chicago professor Irving Abrahamson, once said of him: “I’ve never seen Elie give a belly laugh. He’ll chuckle, he’ll smile, there’ll be a twinkle in his eye. But never a laugh from within.”

As his burden of pain and sorrow is lifted in passing, may he be surprised by laughter finally unloosed from the deepest reaches of his soul.

–Dana

30 Responses to “Elie Wiesel, 1928 – 2016”

  1. The dignity.

    Dana (995455)

  2. germans are so much more better now to where they only do holocaust if you brexit on them

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  3. As his burden of pain and sorrow is lifted in passing, may he be surprised by laughter finally unloosed from the deepest reaches of his soul.

    –Dana

    I second that.

    felipe (408c5f)

  4. Gerald Ford. Physical fitness officer, USS who cares.

    http://s6.photobucket.com/user/PhotozOnline/media/h60-3b.gif.html

    So, I guess I am mortal after all.

    Steve57 (ecac13)

  5. If fickle memory serves, Ford was also a Fighter Direction Officer and had something to do
    with the the wilder Wildcats, the FM-2s.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Ford#U.S._Navy_Reserve:_World_War_II

    …From the ship’s commissioning on June 17, 1943, until the end of December 1944, Ford served as the assistant navigator, Athletic Officer, and antiaircraft battery officer on board the Monterey. While he was on board, the carrier participated in many actions in the Pacific Theater with the Third and Fifth Fleets in late 1943 and 1944. In 1943, the carrier helped secure Makin Island in the Gilberts, and participated in carrier strikes against Kavieng, New Ireland in 1943. During the spring of 1944, the Monterey supported landings at Kwajalein and Eniwetok and participated in carrier strikes in the Marianas, Western Carolines, and northern New Guinea, as well as in the Battle of the Philippine Sea…

    Steve57 (ecac13)

  6. i don’t even understand how the gerald ford is involved in the death of the elie wiesel

    now i have to go to bed all perplexed and sh

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  7. You are not supposed to, Mr. feets.

    It is all working out as planned.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbzjC0O3H9k

    Johnny Law and the 53

    Steve57 (ecac13)

  8. oh.

    well ok then

    good work Mr. 57

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  9. I do not consider a man’s death, who lived until 87 and survived a holocaust, a sad event.

    This is a man whose very existence should be celebrated.

    Or, maybe I am wrong.

    Steve57 (ecac13)

  10. no you nailed it

    This is a man whose very existence should be celebrated.

    yes yes yes

    especially Mr. W

    he was tempted to suicide so so so many times

    and he chose afresh to endure again and again and again

    he was the best pickle

    food stamp will make mouth noises tomorrow

    but there’s very few worthy to truly eulogize the man

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  11. Also, Gerald Ford was the s***.

    I didn’t realize this until rented a shotgun in Maryland.

    Steve57 (ecac13)

  12. yes yes he came to my lil town once

    we all went to the dance hall on the loop and ate barbecue and then we stood when they played hail

    and there he was

    Gerald Ford

    the man

    the myth

    i get chills just remembering

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  13. I think it was Edgartown. Edgartown, MA.

    I stopped by to kill a few of the Surf Scoters. I made love to Gerald Ford’s niece. On the billiar table. And the balls went everywhere.

    Steve57 (ecac13)

  14. night

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  15. Steve57, I have read and I own several hundred books on WWII and the Holocaust. My last flight home from My Mothers native land of Scotland, I re-re-re-read the Diary of Ann Frank.
    My 15 year old son, has just finished “NIGHT” by Elie Wiesel. I was sad to tell my Wonderful son, that Mister Wiesel had passed. My own Grandfather was shot through both ankles, straight through boh ankles at El Alemein Egypt in 1942. He was imprisoned, he was crippled and he survived.
    The CONTEXT of WWII, the HORROR of THE GERMAN 3RD REICH, and THE complicity of nearly any or every faction of GERMAN SOCIETY cannot be forgotten nor mitigated.
    Our current American populace from 5 year old to 30 plus years old, HAVE BEEN SANITIZED.
    Steve, I pray we never forget nor respect and love those who endured more than is possible to understand. NEVER FORGET

    GUS (30b6bd)

  16. I did not mean to click on the “submit comment” tab. From the very bottom of my heart, sorry.

    Also, she wasn’t Gerald Ford’s niece. She was a stripper who went by the stage name Dusty.

    Steve57 (ecac13)

  17. we will never forget – that’s a promise – but for sure we’ll go out of our way to trivialize the holocaust by comparing trump to hitler

    that’s just the failmerican way anymore

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  18. Gerald Ford was the PRESIDENT of THE UNITED STATES. Mr Ford is and was an ASTERISK of MOST EPIC PROPORTIONS in AMERICAN HISTORY. Mister Ford was a HIGHLY RESPECTED middle of the road Republican Congressman from roughly Grand Rapids Michigan. Mister Ford has NEVER been accused or proposed to be anything other than HONORABLE. Congressman Ford was appointed to be the CHAIRMAN of the WARREN COMMISSION, the JFK ASSASSINATION commission. JFK was a DEMOCRAT, Gerald Ford was a Republican.
    Mister Ford has NEVER been known to be PARTISAN, nor DISHONEST.
    We as a NATION have become so so so so so MORE PARTISAN and POLITICAL than ever in HISTORY.
    THE DEMOCRAT PARTY is SICK and DISEASED. The GOP and REPUBLICAN PARTY is effete and pussified.
    I HAVE NEVER called myself a REPUBLICAN. However, I am sick and ASHAMED to say, that I once called myself a DEMOCRAT.

    GUS (30b6bd)

  19. R.I.P. Michael Cimino, director of “The Deer Hunter”

    Icy (11a042)

  20. we will never forget – that’s a promise – but for sure we’ll go out of our way to trivialize the holocaust by comparing trump to hitler

    that’s just the failmerican way anymore

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 7/2/2016 @ 11:37 pm

    That’s one point I do agree with you on, Happyfeet. I cannot, for the life of me understand the willful ignorance that equates Trump to Hitler. Perhaps it’s because I know Hitler a little too well to make that insane comparison. I don’t care for Trump at all, but I just cannot compare him to one of the 20th Century’s most dangerous psychopaths.

    Bill H (971e5f)

  21. Bill. It’s really quite simple.

    Who do you believe is more CAPABLE. Rodham or Trump.
    Is there ANYTHING in RODHAM’S life or resume, that is HONEST HONORABLE or in any way VALID???
    Has Rodham EVER accomplished an EFFING thing in her life??
    Do YOU have the ability to see and judge character??

    GUS (30b6bd)

  22. Bill, please note I am not the sort of individual who trivialized Trump.

    What I do hope is this. If I survive until 87, speak the truth. I got lot’s wrong.

    Well, even it I don’t survive.

    Steve57 (ecac13)

  23. Ford’s biggest problem was he was handed a gigantic pile of shit, and had just two years and a bit to sort it out. Love him, hate him or somewhere in between, you have to admit that Watergate all by itself would have made most grown manly men run away screaming into the night. Ford stepped up, and did what he could under what had to be horrendous conditions.

    Bill H (971e5f)

  24. Never again.

    Did I miss something? I laughed then. I laugh now.

    Pol Pot was doing his thang at the height of Elie’s prominence. All good libs cried out, “Never Again!!!!” So freaking cheap, their words. Yeah. The USA was the evil actor in Southeast Asia.
    Oh…unfettered argument and speech was sacred on campus, too!

    Am I signalling my virtuous contempt well enough?

    Oh well. Perhaps someone can give ISIS the memo. Never again!

    Rest ye well, Elie. Well done. We’ll not honor your likes again anytime soon. I’m glad you won’t be here to witness.

    Ed from SFV (3400a5)

  25. Bill. It’s really quite simple.

    Who do you believe is more CAPABLE. Rodham or Trump.
    Is there ANYTHING in RODHAM’S life or resume, that is HONEST HONORABLE or in any way VALID???
    Has Rodham EVER accomplished an EFFING thing in her life??
    Do YOU have the ability to see and judge character??

    GUS (30b6bd) — 7/3/2016 @ 12:05 am

    It’s very simple for me, Gus- I am a Never Trumper. I just cannot abide by the foul, lying hack. Now of course, some will attempt to tell me that If I don’t vote Trump, I am effectively voting for Sir Hilary. That is a false dichotomy if ever there was one. A pool of 1000 voters, I am one. I take myself out of the pool. You now have 999 voters. The votes will be split between that pool on two candidates. If I am not in that pool, my vote is not counted. “Aha!” you say. “We needed that one vote!” No- what needed to happen was either a) you work that much harder to get your guy elected or b)you stop calling me names like ‘traitor’ and convince me that Trump is the guy.

    I’m buzzing on a little wine, so please bear with me. I will attempt to answer your questions.

    1) I believe both of them are equally capable of wiping their asses with the Constitution, then setting it on fire to rid themselves of the waste. Both of them have tried this before, so there is a track record.
    2) No- I do not believe for a moment that Sir Hillary has EVER done anything even remotely honorable in her life. For chrissakes, she is the first major party candidate for President to have ever been interrogated by the FBI in a criminal investigation.
    3) I’m not sure what you mean by “accomplished”. If you mean being the first female crime boss in American history, you might have something.
    4) Like any other normal human, I’d like to think I do.

    Bill, please note I am not the sort of individual who trivialized Trump.

    What I do hope is this. If I survive until 87, speak the truth. I got lot’s wrong.

    Well, even it I don’t survive.

    Steve57 (ecac13) — 7/3/2016 @ 12:09 am

    I’m sorry if my comment lumped you in that category, Steve. I haven’t seen anything like that from you. I was just replying in general to Happyfeet. I’ve seen this sort of crap elsewhere on the net, and I knock it down where I can. It really irritates me that the Nazis and their crimes can be trivialized so easily. I think it all goes to that nasty old chestnut about how the “Nazis are right wing!!”

    And don’t sweat too much about getting lots wrong. Every damn one of us get lots wrong. Just some how, it works out.

    Bill H (971e5f)

  26. …Am I signalling my virtuous contempt well enough?

    …. Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 7/3/2016 @ 12:21 am

    Message received and understood.

    Steve57 (ecac13)

  27. Dipshit Max Blumenthal proves once again the apple don’t fall from the tree.

    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/07/elie_wiesel_a_giant_passes_and_a_wellconnected_leftist_disgraces_himself.html

    Jeff Lebowski (a37897)

  28. I feel bad about the death of Elie Wiesel. He was perhaps, the youngest well known survivor of the Nazis woo was a writer who wrote about the Nazi murder of the Jews.

    The other person, equally fanous, was Simon Wiesenthal , born 1908, lived till 2005. Some people confuse the two.

    Elie Wiesel was born in 1928, and was in what was then Hungary, and was taken to Auschwitz in 1944 -It happened later to Hungarian Jews and he was old enough not to killed immediately. This was what is now almost 72 years ago

    He married late (1969) and had one son (born 1972) His first book was published in English in 1960 and he started to become really famous around the late 1960s and he wrote dozens of books, including one on famous Chassidic Rabbis.

    I have two Biblical passages that occur to me:

    Psalms 90:10

    http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2690.htm

    יְמֵי-שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה, וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה– וְרָהְבָּם, עָמָל וָאָוֶן: כִּי-גָז חִישׁ, וַנָּעֻפָה.

    The days of our years are threescore years and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore years; {N} yet is their pride but travail and vanity; {N} for it is speedily gone, and we fly away.

    And Isaiah 57:1:

    הַצַּדִּיק אָבָד, וְאֵין אִישׁ שָׂם עַל-לֵב; וְאַנְשֵׁי-חֶסֶד נֶאֱסָפִים בְּאֵין מֵבִין, כִּי-מִפְּנֵי הָרָעָה נֶאֱסַף הַצַּדִּיק.

    The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart, and godly men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.

    I had hoped that he would live longer, and hiss on that he hoped he would live longer, that like Moses wanted to live, he wanted to live and to see more of the Twenty-First Century.

    Maybe this is better, because had he lived till, say, 2028. he would have been considered the last Holocaust survivor who was not a child, but this way they will just…fade away.

    Or is this a bad sign? Maybe only to the possibility.

    Sammy Finkelman (09e4a9)

  29. Meanwhile Clinton crony Sid Blumenthal’s antisemitic son Max has been flapping his filthy tongue against Wiesel.

    Milhouse (5a188d)


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