ABSTRACT

Elie Wiesel: Humanist Messenger for Peace is part biography and part moral history of the intellectual and spiritual journey of Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, human rights activist, author, university professor, and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

In this concise text, Alan L. Berger portrays Wiesel’s transformation from a pre-Holocaust, deeply God-fearing youth to a survivor of the Shoah who was left with questions for both God and man. An advisor to American presidents of both political parties, his nearly 60 books voiced an activism on behalf of oppressed people everywhere. The book illuminates Wiesel’s contributions in the areas of religion, human rights, literature, and Jewish thought to show the impact that he has had on American life. Supported by primary documents about and from Wiesel, the volume gives students a gateway to explore Wiesel’s incredible life.

This book will make a great addition to courses on American religious or intellectual thought.

chapter |13 pages

Introduction

part I|125 pages

Elie Wiesel

chapter Chapter 1|33 pages

Shattering the Sacred Canopy

chapter Chapter 2|31 pages

Elie Wiesel and Jewish-Christian Relations

A Journey of Hope Against Despair

chapter Chapter 3|18 pages

The Second Generation

Memory and Jewish Identity

chapter Chapter 4|22 pages

Neo-Hasidism

A Contemporary Message

chapter Chapter 5|10 pages

Human Rights

chapter Chapter 6|7 pages

Wiesel’s Search for World Peace

part II|13 pages

Documents

chapter Document 1|2 pages

Night

chapter Document 2|1 pages

To Our Children

chapter Document 3|1 pages

How Do You View the Rise of Religion?

chapter Document 4|1 pages

Refusing to Give In to Despair and Hatred

chapter Document 5|1 pages

The Difference Between the Crusades and Auschwitz

chapter Document 6|1 pages

Buchenwald Concentration Camp

chapter Document 7|1 pages

Wiesel Receives the German Federal Cross of Merit

chapter Document 8|1 pages

Wiesel Receives the Nobel Peace Prize

chapter Document 9|1 pages

Elie Wiesel With President Ronald Reagan

chapter Document 10|1 pages

Elie Wiesel With President Barack Obama