The Quotidian, September 11, 2010 ~ Rejecting Despair

“Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.” ~ Elie Wiesel (born September 30, 1928)

A Holocaust Survivor, Elie Wiesel is an American author, educator, and Nobel Peace Laureate. He has written over 50 books, including Night, based on his experiences in Hitler’s death camps. Wiesel is perhaps the preeminent chronicler and interpreter of the Holocaust.

In 1986, the Nobel Prize Committee described Wiesel as a ” ‘messenger to mankind’ … ‘delivering a powerful message of peace, atonement and human dignity.’ ”

[Sources: headline quote from BrainyQuotes.com, accessed September 10, 2010. Biographical information and quoted material from Nobel Prize Committee from Wikipedia, accessed September 10, 2010].