The Importance Of Education In Ellie Wiesel's Night

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On March 19th, 1944, Nazi forces invaded Hungary, the following summer German forces deported roughly 500,000 Jewish people to various concentration camps. Ellie Wiesel was one of them, he writes about this in his book “night.” A harrowing and brave true story about a Hungarian Jewish boy surviving the holocaust and the horror of Nazi ideals. The simple act of writing is an immensely complex thing to harness and implement into a deeper meaning. Writing preserves memories and actions. Without writing, there is no memory and no acknowledgment of these actions. Furthermore, literature can and will remain a potent weapon in any situation. This book is one of the most significant pieces of education and history from the holocaust. Ellie received a Nobel peace prize for his work. In his acceptance speech, he says “I have tried to keep the memory alive. I have tried to fight those who would forget because if we forget we are all accomplices.'’(Wiesel, Nobel peace prize acceptance speech, 1986) This quotation emphasizes the importance of knowledge and education. The lack of those attributes can lead to oppression and lies. …show more content…

Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the small faces of the children, whose bodies I saw transferred into smoke under a silent sky. Never shall I forget the flames that changed my faith forever. Never shall I forget these moments, that murdered my god and my soul, and turned my dreams to ashes. Never shall I forget those things, even if I were condemned to live as long as God himself. Never” (Wiesel, Night, Page 34) The repetitive use of the phrase “never shall I forget” is the most integral part of this message; a message that can be conveyed through writing and