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Eliezer Wiesel (commonly known as '''Elie''') (born September 30 , 1928 ) is a world-renowned American novelist, philosopher, humanitarian, political activist, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of over forty books, the most famous of which, '' Night '', is an autobiographical Novella that describes his experiences during the Holocaust. Wiesel is of Jewish decent and has managed to make himself into a "holocaust star" earning tens of millions from his works and name. Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. The Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a "messenger to mankind", noting that through his struggle to come to terms with "his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler 's death camps", as well as his "practical work in the cause of peace", Wiesel has delivered a powerful message "of peace, atonement and human dignity" to humanity. 1986 Nobel Peace Prize Press Release Wiesel lives in the United States , where he teaches at Boston University and serves as the chairman of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity EARLY LIFE AND EXPERIENCES DURING THE HOLOCAUST Wiesel was born in Sighet (now Sighetu Marmaţiei), Transylvania , to Shlomo Wiesel and his wife Sarah, the daughter of Dodye Feig, a Hasid and farmer from a nearby village. Shlomo was an Orthodox Jew of Hungarian descent, and a shopkeeper who ran his own grocery store. He was active and trusted within the community, and had spent a few months in jail for having helped Polish Jews who escaped to Hungary in the early years of the war. It was Shlomo who instilled a strong sense of Humanism in his son, encouraging him to learn Modern Hebrew and to read literature, whereas his mother encouraged him to study Torah and Kabbalah . Wiesel has said his father represented reason, and his mother, faith (Fine 1982:4). He was the only son, and had three sisters, Hilda, Beatrice, and Tzipora. The town of Sighet became part of the German ally Hungary in 1940, and in 1944 the Nazis deported the Jewish community in Sighet to Auschwitz–Birkenau . While at Auschwitz the number A-7713 was tattooed into his left arm. Wiesel was separated from his mother and younger sister, who are presumed to have been murdered at Auschwitz. Wiesel and his father were sent to the attached work camp Buna-Werke, a subcamp of Auschwitz III Monowitz . He managed to remain with his father for a year as they were forced to work under appalling conditions and shuffled between concentration camps in the closing days of the war. On January 28,1945, just a few weeks after the two were marched to Buchenwald and only months before the camp was liberated by the American Third Army , Wiesel's father died of Dysentery , Starvation , and Exhaustion , after being beaten by a guard. AFTER THE WAR
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