Elie Wiesel

Wiesel, Elie (1928– ), Romanian-born U.S. novelist. In 1944, with other Jews, he and his family were sent to Auschwitz, where his parents and sister died. He then was sent to Buchenwald, which was liberated in 1945. Wiesel later became the leading spokesperson for survivors of Nazi concentration camps. His autobiographical novel, Night (1958), recaptures the horrors he encountered. Other novels include The Jews of Silence (1966), Souls on Fire (1972), The Testament (1980), and The Fifth Son (1984). He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

See also: Concentration camp; Holocaust.