In honor of the passing of Elie Wiesel, I’d like to share a personal story about how I was affected by his work.
In the early 1980’s I found myself at a new school in the eighth grade. My English teacher required my class to read Wiesel’s major work “Night” as an assignment.
Despite years of education, I didn’t know much about the Holocaust.
Wiesel’s book changed that. I remember reading it very quickly and being unable to put it down. The horrors he described his family going through in a concentration camp stunned me and have stayed with me for my entire life.
Here’s a 2013 clip of Wiesel on the Holocaust:
I hate to invoke stereotypes like “kids today,” but it doesn’t seem like most eighth graders are even being taught the truth about American history, let alone this subject.
I hope that my former school still considers “Night” required reading.
It’s a book no reader will ever forget.
Featured image is a screencap.
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