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Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel Quotes

Professor

A renowned Jewish author and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Elie Wiesel is known for his profound literary achievements and for recording and spreading the history of the Holocaust as a survivor. His works deeply reveal the terror of the Nazi Holocaust and the universal nature of human suffering.

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Famous Elie Wiesel Quotes

“I think he is condemned by himself to loneliness. God is One: he was, he is, he will be always One. One is so lonely. Maybe that is why he created human beings--to feel less lonely. But as human beings betray his creation, he may become even lonelier.”

Thinking Feels Humans May God Human Beings Loneliness Creation Lonely Betray So Lonely

Author:Elie Wiesel

“The most important question a human being has to face... What is it? The question, Why are we here?”

Humans Important Faces Human Beings Important Questions

Author:Elie Wiesel

“Every single human being is a unique human being. And, therefore, it's so criminal to do something to that human being, because he or she represents humanity.”

Humans Humanity Human Beings Unique Criminals

Author:Elie Wiesel

“The more we know, the more pain we have. But because we are human beings, this must be. Otherwise we become objects rather than subjects.”

Knows Humans Pain Human Beings Subjects Objects Endurance

Author:Elie Wiesel

“I think that human beings are capable of the worst things possible and they show that there were times, and there probably are times, that it is human to be inhuman.”

Thinking Humans Shows Human Beings Worst Capable Worst Things Inhuman

Author:Elie Wiesel

“I think that human beings are capable of the worst things possible.”

Thinking Humans Human Beings Worst Capable Worst Things

Author:Elie Wiesel

“Still I believe that Hanna Arendt, she was wrong when she tried to say that we are all actually capable of this, it's not true. I think it's not true. There are certain things human beings are not capable of. I mean people, even normal human beings. You have to do certain things in order to become what the enemy was and I didn't accept her philosophical outlook on that.”

People Thinking Believe Humans Mean Stills Certain Order I Believe Human Beings Accepting Enemy Normal Capable Philosophical Outlook Mean People

Author:Elie Wiesel

“In Talmudic literature, certainly in the beginning, he was like a human being - except he was a serpent. But he was talking and walking and probably dreaming.”

Humans Dream Literature Human Beings Talking Walking Serpent

Author:Elie Wiesel

“Except that a human being is both the public and the private. We are both, private and public in the same person.”

Humans Persons Human Beings

Author:Elie Wiesel

“I believe a human being - if he or she wants to remain human, then he or she must do something with what we have seen, endured, witnessed.”

Ifs Want Believe Humans I Believe Human Beings

Author:Elie Wiesel

“Naturally, the human being wants to forget pain.”

Want Humans Pain Human Beings Forget

Author:Elie Wiesel

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

Source: From the Kingdom of Memory: Reminiscences

“Human beings should be held accountable. Leave God alone. He has enough problems.”

Should Humans Enough Problem Human Beings

Author:Elie Wiesel

“Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.”

Inspirational Humans Hope Given Human Beings Positive Despair Motherhood Recovery Uplifting Hard Times Encouraging Difficult Times Hope And Despair Uplifting In Hard Times Help With Depression

Author:Elie Wiesel

“No human being is illegal.”

Humans Human Beings Illegal

Author:Elie Wiesel

“I have learned two lessons in my life: first, there are no sufficient literary, psychological, or historical answers to human tragedy, only moral ones. Second, just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.”

Firsts Humans Two Given Human Beings Answers Moral Lessons Despair Encouragement Tragedy Historical Psychological Sufficient I Have Learned

Author:Elie Wiesel

“They are committing the greatest indignity human beings can inflict on one another: telling people who have suffered excruciating pain and loss that their pain and loss were illusions. (v)”

People Humans Pain Human Beings Loss Illusion Indignity Pain And Loss Excruciating Pain

Author:Elie Wiesel

“Suffering pulls us farther away from other human beings. It builds a wall made of cries and contempt to separate us.”

Humans Made Suffering Human Beings Cry Wall Contempt

Book:Day: A Novel

Source: Day: A Novel

“Man prefers to blame himself for all possible sins and crimes rather than come to the conclusion that God is capable of the most flagrant injustice. I still blush every time I think of the way God makes fun of human beings, his favorite toys.”

Thinking Men Way Humans Stills Fun Human Beings Sin Crime Capable Blame Injustice Conclusion Toys

Book:Day: A Novel

Source: Day: A Novel

“A Jew must be sensitive to the pain of all human beings. A Jew cannot remain indifferent to human suffering... The mission of the Jewish people has never been to make the world more Jewish, but to make it more human.”

People World Humans Pain Suffering Human Beings Compassion Jew Missions Sensitive Indifferent Human Suffering

Author:Elie Wiesel

“God made (human beings) because he loves stories.”

Humans Made Stories Human Beings Love Story Thought Provoking Provoking

Author:Elie Wiesel

“Gratitude is a word that I cherish. Gratitude is what defines the happiness and humanity of the human being.”

Humans Humanity Human Beings Gratitude Cherish

Author:Elie Wiesel

“Human beings all change. Not what they are but who they are. We have the power to change what we do with our life and turn it into our destiny.”

Humans Turns Human Beings Destiny Our Lives Our Destiny Power To Change

Author:Elie Wiesel

“No human being is illegal. That is a contradiction in terms. Human beings can be beautiful or more beautiful, they can be fat or skinny, they can be right or wrong, but illegal? How can a human being be illegal?”

Humans Beautiful Term Human Beings Fats Contradiction Illegal Skinny

Author:Elie Wiesel

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.”

Humans Suffering Human Beings Silence Silent Endure Holocaust Remembrance Silence Is Humiliation Neutrality Human Suffering Bystanders Darfur Holocaust Memorial

Book:Night

Source: Night

“How can a human being be illegal?”

Humans Human Beings Illegal

Author:Elie Wiesel

About the Author

Born: September 30, 1928
Died: July 2, 2016
Known for: Professor
Quotes: 584

Related Topics

People Ifs Men Holocaust Humans Knows Thinking World Mean War Human Beings Persons Stories Book Want Memories Should Believe Children Suffering

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

NightRelated source material

From the Kingdom of Memory: ReminiscencesRelated source material

Elie Wiesel: ConversationsRelated source material

The ForgottenRelated source material

The Judges: A NovelRelated source material

Legends of Our TimeRelated source material

Night: with related readingsRelated source material

Night ; Dawn ; DayRelated source material

Open HeartRelated source material

All Rivers Run to the Sea: MemoirsRelated source material

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