Summary Of Perils Of Indifference By Elie Wiesel

628 Words3 Pages

Restoring Humanity Author Elie Wiesel in his moving speech “Perils of Indifference” argues that mass genocide is often overlooked by those who remain indifferent. Fifty four years later, Wiesel recalls memories of his time spent in the concentration camps of Buchenwald; along with nine million others who were brutally tortured and murdered. The haunting question remains in the back of his mind-- Why didn’t anyone attempt to stop it? Now, Wiesel directs this Question towards America and anyone else who looked the other way during those harsh times. Wiesel states “Those non- Jews, those Christians, that we called the ‘Righteous Gentiles,’ whose selfless acts of heroism saved the honor of their faith. Why were they so few? Why was there a greater effort to save SS murderers after the war than to save their victims during the war?” Unfortunately, Wiesel’s speech remains relevant to this day. Mass genocides are still happening around the world and the people remain indifferent to their problems. One …show more content…

What started as a peaceful protest escalated into a violent war between the civilians and the government. According to the 2011-2017 Free Syria Media Hub, the conditions are only getting worse. The organization stated “There are chemical weapons and tnt bombs being used on civilians, 500,000 dead, 1,600,000 injured, 11,000,000 displaced, and over 500,000 starving.” Meanwhile, the rest of the world remains silent. This is a prime example of indifference. While this mass genocide is in full effect, other countries are doing little or nothing to help. According to Wiesel, it only takes a few brave people to speak up and change the course of history. The author states “ Every minute one of them dies of disease, violence, famine. Some of them -- so many of them -- could be saved.” (par. 23) He believed that resistance can put an end to