On the Passing of Elie Wiesel

Publication Date: July 5, 2016
Publication Location: WASHINGTON
Contact: Kathryn Schoenberger   |   [email protected]

Writer, human rights activist, Nobel Prize laureate, Holocaust survivor, journalist, teacher

World Learning joins the world in mourning the loss of Elie Wiesel, who survived the Holocaust and dedicated the rest of his life to giving voice to the voiceless and defending human rights.

He taught us that the world could not end injustice and suffering without the cooperation of all. Wiesel reminded us that silence, apathy and inaction allow violence, racism and repression to take hold in society and called on each one of us to stand up and protect one another. As Wiesel put it: “The opposite of good is not evil; it is indifference.”

World Learning CEO Donald Steinberg had the privilege of working with Wiesel in 2012 to establish the White House Atrocity Prevention Board. “He provided the intellectual rigor and the moral compass that guided our efforts to address war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity through that institution.” Steinberg said.

Although he lived through one of humanity’s unimaginable atrocities, calling his book about the experience “Night”, Wiesel was a beacon of hope for the world. Hope that we could be better. Hope that we could do better. He believed that educating others was the way prevent the horrors he witnessed from ever happening again. “Whoever listens to a witness, becomes a witness”, he said at the Legacy of Holocaust Survivors conference in 2002.

We at World Learning are dedicated to continuing Wiesel’s efforts to promote peace and justice around the world. The people we work with around the world inspire us and give us hope that together we can achieve Wiesel’s dream of a world free of hate and injustice. We must honor his legacy by continuing this work of creating a better world and ensuring that despite the darkness, his light never goes out.

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented,” — Elie Wiesel, 1986, Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize