# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WeVideo is a cloud-based video creation tool that allows sales and marketing teams to inspire, educate and convert their customers.

# data[].attributes.body
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/elie-wiesel

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.Never shall I forget that smoke.Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself.

-Excerpt from Night by Elie Wiesel 1

Who was Elie Wiesel?

2016) was one of the most famous survivors of Elie Wiesel (1928 - the Holocaust and a world-renowned author and champion of human rights. His first book, Night , recounts his suffering as a teenager at Auschwitz and has become a classic of Holocaust literature. In 1986, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Wiesel was born on September 30, 1928, in Sighet, Transylvania ( Romania, from 1940-1945 part of Hungary). In 1944, he and his family were deported to Auschwitz. Only he and two of his three sisters survived the Holocaust.

After World War II, Wiesel became a journalist, prolific author, professor, and human rights activist. He was Distinguished Professor of Judaic Studies at the City University of New York (1972-1976). In 1976, he became the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, where he also held the title of University Professor. During the 1982 - 83 academic year, Wiesel was the first Henry Luce Visiting Scholar in the Humanities and Social Thought at Yale University.

Wiesel advocated tirelessly for remembering about and learning from the Holocaust. He was a driving force behind the creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. His own experience of genocide drove him to speak out on behalf of oppressed people throughout the world. The Nobel Committee awarded him the peace prize "for being a messenger to mankind: his message is one of peace, atonement and dignity."

Elie Wiesel died on July 2, 2016, at the age of 87.

Elie Wiesel's Imprisonment during the Holocaust

In March 1944, Nazi Germany occupied its ally Hungary. Between May 15 and July 9, 1944, Hungarian officials in cooperation with German authorities deported nearly 440,000 Jews primarily to Auschwitz, where most were killed. Among the first to be deported were the Jews of Sighet, including Wiesel, his parents, and his three sisters. He was 15 years old.

The Wiesel family was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, which served as both a concentration camp and a killing center. When the family arrived, Wiesel's mother Sarah and younger sister Tzipora were selected for death and murdered in the gas chambers. His two older sisters, Beatrice and Hilda, were selected for forced labor and survived the war.

Wiesel and his father Shlomo were also selected for forced labor. Wiesel was assigned to work in the Buna (synthetic rubber) factory in Auschwitz III (Monowitz). He and his father were later transported from Auschwitz to Buchenwald, where his father died.

Elie Wiesel

Wiesel's First Book: La Nuit ( Night )

After the war, Wiesel studied in Paris and eventually became a journalist there. For almost a decade, he remained silent about what he had endured as an inmate in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald camps. During an interview with the French writer François Mauriac in 1954, Wiesel was persuaded to end that silence. He subsequently wrote La Nuit ( Night ). Since its publication in 1958, La Nuit ( Night ) has been translated into 30 languages and millions of copies have been sold.

In Night , Wiesel writes about his experiences at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Among other things, he describes:

the roundup of his family and neighbors in the Romanian town of Sighet;

deportation by freight car to the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau;

the selection process during which his mother and younger sister were chosen for immediate death in the gas chambers;

the same selection process during which he, his father, and his two other sisters were chosen for forced labor by camp personnel;

the death march from Auschwitz-Birkenau to the concentration camp at Buchenwald.

In addition, Wiesel describes the mental and physical anguish he and his fellow prisoners experienced as they were stripped of their humanity by the brutal camp conditions. He also writes about his spiritual struggles and crisis of faith.

Elie Wiesel as Author

Wiesel was a prolific writer and thinker. In addition to Night , he wrote more than 40 books for which he received a number of literary awards, including:

the Prix Medicis for A Beggar in Jerusalem (1968)

the Prix Livre Inter for The Testament (1980)

the Grand Prize for Literature from the City of Paris for The Fifth Son (1983)

His writings also include a memoir written in two volumes. The first volume is entitled All Rivers Run to the Sea (1995). The second is entitled And the Sea is Never Full (1999).

Elie Wiesel as Human Rights Activist

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter appointed Wiesel as Chairman of the President's Commission on the Holocaust. Wiesel wrote the Commission's report, which recommended that the United States government establish a Holocaust memorial and museum in Washington, DC.

In 1980, Wiesel became Founding Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which was responsible for carrying out the Commission's recommendations. Wiesel believed that the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum should serve as a "living memorial" that would inspire present and future generations to confront hate, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity.

In 1992, Wiesel became the founding president of the Paris-based Universal Academy of Cultures, a human rights organization.

Wiesel's efforts to defend human rights and peace throughout the world earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States Congressional Gold Medal and the Medal of Liberty Award, and the rank of Grand-Croix in the French Legion of Honor. He received more than 100 honorary degrees from institutions of higher learning.

In 1986, Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In a press release, the Nobel Committee described Wiesel as follows:

Wiesel is a messenger to mankind; his message is one of peace, atonement and human dignity. His belief that the forces fighting evil in the world can be victorious is a hard-won belief. His message is based on his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps. The message is in the form of a testimony, repeated and deepened through the works of a great author. 2

Three months after he received the Nobel Peace Prize, Elie Wiesel and his wife Marion established The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. Its mission is to advance the cause of human rights and peace throughout the world by creating a new forum for the discussion of urgent ethical issues confronting humanity.

The Elie Wiesel Award

The Elie Wiesel Award is awarded annually by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The award recognizes internationally prominent individuals whose actions have advanced the Museum's vision of a world where people confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Established in 2011 as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Award and renamed for inaugural recipient Elie Wiesel, it is the Museum's highest honor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Elie Wiesel find his sisters?

Wiesel reunited with his older sisters, Beatrice and Hilda, following liberation. After the war, Wiesel was first sent to children's homes in France, where he was photographed. Hilda saw her brother's image in a newspaper, and the pair reunited in Paris. Several months later, they learned that Beatrice had also survived. Wiesel's younger sister, Tzipora, was murdered at Auschwitz.

Did any of Elie Wiesel's family survive?

Wiesel's older sisters, Beatrice and Hilda, survived. His parents, Sarah and Shlomo, and younger sister, Tzipora, were killed.

When did Elie Wiesel die?

Elie Wiesel died on July 2, 2016, at the age of 87.

Why did Elie Wiesel win the Nobel Prize?

Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to defend human rights and peace around the world. In 1986, the Nobel Committee wrote, "Wiesel is a messenger to mankind; his message is one of peace, atonement and human dignity."

How old was Elie Wiesel at the end of Night?

Elie Wiesel is 16 years old at the conclusion of Night .

What were all of the concentration camps Elie Wiesel went to?

Wiesel was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau in May 1944. He was then sent to forced labor at Auschwitz III, also called Monowitz, located several miles from the main camp. In January 1945, Wiesel was transported to the Buchenwald concentration camp.

How did Elie Wiesel describe his belief in God before and after the Holocaust?

Elie Wiesel reflected on his relationship with God in writings, speeches, and interviews. He opens his memoir Night by writing about his devout faith and religious education as a young boy. As he witnesses the inhumanity of Auschwitz in Night , Wiesel explains that he began to question God. More than 50 years after liberation, he reflected on this: "What about my faith in you, Master of the Universe? I now realize I never lost it, not even over there, during the darkest hours of my life." 3

Last Edited: Apr 9, 2021

Author(s): United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Elie Wiesel was a human rights activist, author, and teacher who reflected on his experience during the Holocaust in more than 40 books. Learn more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
These short lines from Wiesel's memoir Night are some of his best-known. They encompass the transformative nature of that one horrifying evening and what it meant for his future. Wiesel wrote this passage after realizing that he and his father have survived the first selection at Birkenau.

'Never Shall I Forget' by Elie Wiesel is a harrowing passage recounting the first night he spent at Birkenau from Wiesel's famous memoir Night.

In these lines, Wiesel moves away from his traditional narration style that's used throughout the rest of the book and considers how this one night of his life changed him forever. He speaks on the smoke, the stillness and quiet, and how if he lived as long as God he'd never forget what he saw and felt.

You can read the full passage here.

'Never Shall I Forget' by Elie Wiesel is a thirteen-line passage that is contained within a single paragraph. The lines have been translated from the original French. Therefore, there are very likely rhythmic differences between these lines and what Wiesel intended. But, that doesn't mean that there are techniques and devices that should go entirely unmentioned.

This specific passage is the best-known from Night, Wiesel's haunting memoir of his experiences during the Holocaust. The structure of this piece is such as to call forward connections to Psalm 150, a part of the Bible in which each line begins with "Hallelujah" or "Praise God". This is just one more connection to religion and the part, or lack thereof, that it played in Wiesel's experiences. Wiesel questions the existence of God in these lines, along with reflecting on his experiences, juxtaposing these lines against those from the Psalm.

Literary Devices

Wiesel makes use of several poetic techniques in 'Never Shall I Forget'. These include but are not limited to repetition, anaphora, and end-punctuation. The first of these, repetition is seen through the use and reuse of words, images, or emotions within a work. In this case, it is obvious that Wiesel repeated certain phrases, such as "Never shall I forget" several times in the poem. There is also a repeated allusion to the Holocaust which is never mentioned by name and is only described by its nature.

Wiesel also makes use of anaphora, or the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, usually in succession. This technique is often used to create emphasis. A list of phrases, items, or actions may be created through its implementation. In this case, the anaphora is quite obvious, the phrase "Never shall I forget" starts seven of the thirteen lines. The last line also begins with "Never".

The last line of the poem is also a good example of end-punctuation. There are numbers lines that are enjambed, and several others are short and therefore more impactful in a different way. The last line is the best example of this but other examples include line three.

Lines 1-6

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long
night seven times sealed.

(...)

transformed into smoke under a silent sky.
Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith for ever.

In the first lines of 'Never Shall I Forget' the speaker begins with an allusion to the Holocaust and his personal experiences in "camp". When a reader is aware of Wiesel's personal history it is quite clear that he is referring to a Nazi concentration camp and how it "turned [his] life into one long night". In context, the allusions are even clearer as this particular passage can be found in the third section of Wiesel's famous memoir, Night.

Wiesel is reflecting, in this very famous passage, on the terror of the first night in the concentration camp, Birkenau, and how it changed him forever. There is a powerful use of imagery in these lines that helps those, who have never and never will, experience anything like this feel something of what Wiesel experienced at that time. He mentions the "smoke" and the "face of children" who were "transformed into smoke under a silent sky". By repeating the phrase "Never shall I forget" the Wiesel is creating a mantra of sorts that feels as though it will truly remain in his thoughts forever.

Lines 7-13

Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the
desire to live.

(...)

Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live
as long as God Himself.
Never.

In the next lines of the passage, the speaker goes on to refer to all the things, which were once integral to his existence, which is never going to be the same again. These include his faith and the "desire to live". His "God and...soul" were turned to "ashes" as were those around him. If this is the only passage that one reads from Night a reader can get a clear idea of how horribly powerful these realizations were for Wiesel and what it means for him to transform his way of thinking about himself and the world he is living in.

Despite stating that he has lost all faith in God earlier on in the passage, the last nights allude to the truth that he is still struggling with his faith. He refers to God's existence as something ongoing and eternal. His heritage and religion is still a part of him, but the way he considers it has changed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Never Shall I Forget by Elie Wiesel - Poem Analysis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These short lines from Wiesel's memoir Night are some of his best-known. They encompass the transformative nature of that one horrifying evening and what

# data[].attributes.body
Links:

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/elie-wiesel

Info about Elie Wiesel:

Born in Transylvania (Romania) on September 30th 1928

Deported to Auschwitz in May of 1944 with his entire family

Selected for forced labor

Went to concentration camps like Monowitz and Buchenwald

# data[].attributes.body
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JZvNVCb-G_12iSwr19g4exIxZbmrG0ZtqS5k8ECVL2I/edit?usp=sharing

# data[].attributes.body
BEFORE you begin creating your video poem, you need to analyze it. This, just like the research you conducted on your poet and the poem's subject, should inform the decisions you will be making in your video.

The TPCAST analysis notecatcher is REQUIRED for this project (see below for link). No analysis, no grade. The analysis is user friendly and pleasant to complete, so you shouldn't have any problem getting it done.

# data[].attributes.body
As you research biographical information about your poet:

1. Attach relevant web links to this category as you find them.

2. Attach literal images, if possible.

After you are done researching:

1. Create a Google document in which you summarize your background research. Summarize the research you found so it doesn't count as plagiarism. If you use resources not linked to this category, include those links on your Google doc, as well.

2. Share the document so I can view it.

3. Include a link in this category to your Google summarized research so I can access it.

# data[].attributes.body
As you research biographical information about your poet:

1. Attach relevant web links to this category as you find them.

2. Attach literal images, if possible.

After you are done researching:

1. Create a Google document in which you write a short biography about your poet. Summarize the research you found so it doesn't count as plagiarism. If you use resources not linked to this category, include those links on your Google doc, as well.

2. Share the document so I can view it.

3. Include a link in this category to your Google biography so I can access it.

# data[].attributes.body
Create a video poem about a poem that relates to the Holocaust that metaphorically reflects your poem's meaning. To do this you must - in this order - complete the following:

1. Choose a poem that relates to the Holocaust and is worthy of deep analysis.

2. Find biographical information about the poet.

3. Research the poem's subject and any other relevant background information.

4. Complete an analysis of the poem using TPCAST.

5. PLAN YOUR VIDEO!! Before you start filming, make sure you know what you want to film and what film angles and film shots you want to use.

6. Fuse visual (video, images), auditory (background music), and narrative (overlaid narration) elements to create a video poem that metaphorically reflects your poem's meaning.

7. Write an artists' statement about your video poem.

8. Premiere your video on Friday, December 15 (white day final)!

# data[].attributes.headline
Questions to Consider While Researching Background

# data[].attributes.subject
Questions to Consider While Researching Background

# data[].attributes.body
What is the subject matter of your poem?

Is there a place associated with it? What was/is that place like?

What experience did people have/do they have with your subject?

What makes this subject worthy of having a poem written about it?

Are there photographs or images of your poem's subject?

# data[].attributes.headline
Questions to Consider While Researching Poet

# data[].attributes.subject
Questions to Consider While Researching Poet

# data[].attributes.body
When did the poet live?

Where did the poet live?

What kind of poetry did he or she write?

Did they write a lot of poems, or was this the only one? Why?

What were the poet's demographics (gender, age, religion, place of residence, education, job)?

What was his or her experience during the Holocaust?

What was his or her experience after the Holocaust? Did they survive?

What made the poet write this poem or influenced the writing?

# data[].attributes.body
Our video poem is visually striking, cohesive, and showcases exceptional effort, significantly enhancing the meaning of the poem through innovative and impactful visual, auditory and narrative elements.

# data[].attributes.body
We demonstrate an extensive understanding of the poem's historical context and/or relevant background information, offering comprehensive insights and well-established connections to the unit's two Essential Questions.

# data[].attributes.body
We demonstrate an extensive understanding of the poet's biography, offering comprehensive insights and well-established connections to the unit's two Essential Questions.

# data[].attributes.body
We deliver an intricate analysis of the poem's structure, themes, and literary devices, providing profound insights and establishing comprehensive connections. We demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the poem's tone and word choice, effectively articulating their impact on the poem's meaning with profound explanations and well-established connections

# data[].attributes.body
An artist statement is a piece of writing written in the first person by you that helps the audience understand your video poem. IT IS NOT AN ESSAY, so relax and enjoy talking about your video poem! It should be written collaboratively with all group members.

Paragraph 1: Introduce your video poem

1. In this paragraph, you explain the video poem to the audience. Start by defining your central line of inquiry. For example: Our video poem titled "____________" combines images of ________, the song _______, and voice narration in a _____ tone to investigate the theme ____________________. It is metaphorical in that ___________.

2. Then talk about what you want us to notice. What went well? What was challenging? Are you satisfied with your video poem? If not, what would you like to change?

Paragraph 2: Explain your essential decisions

1. This is where you explain how your background and biographical knowledge influenced the decisions you made in your video poem. Be precise by identifying certain pieces of background and biographical information and then explaining how those specifically influenced the imagery, music, and/or narration.

2. This is also where you explain how the poem analysis influenced the decisions you made and the theme you pursued. Be precise by identifying certain words, phrases, or lines of poetry and then explaining how those specifically influenced metaphorical decisions and overall tone.

Paragraph 3: Address the essential questions

All semester we have been looking at how one's philosophy influences one's meaning. In this unit, we have been looking at how poetry connects us to the human experience. So, you must respond to the following questions in your last paragraph.

1. How does poetry serve as a valuable historical record, offering fresh perspectives on the human experience and condition?

2. What was the poet's philosophical outlook, and how did it influence his or her poem?