"It is a marvelous series that should be seen and re-seen in the homes of believers and non-believers."
Review by:
Dr. Ted Baehr, Movie Guide

Ellie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Romania, a predominantly Jewish town, on September 30, 1928. He deeply loved and admired his father, but felt distant to him. They spent little time together except the weekly walk to the synagogue for Sabbath services. In contrast, Elie was emotionally very close to his mother. He had two older sisters and one younger. He and his older sisters were to survive the holocaust, the only members of his family to do so.

Elie grew up in a culture of anti-Semitism. In the first half of the twentieth century, it permeated European life for all Jews with few exceptions. But no one could imagine the horror that was to become the holocaust. Six million Jews died in the death camps of the Nazi war machine before it was crushed by the Allied armies. Elie=s mother and younger sister died in Auschwitz. Elie, along with his father and two older sisters were among those relocated to Buchenwald, in the heart of Germany, as the Allies advanced across Poland. His father died there. Elie lost contact with his sisters until after the war.

On April 11, 1945, the morning before the Allies liberated Buchenwald, the prisoners themselves revolted and freed themselves. After several days in the former camp hospital, Elie was among several hundred orphaned children who were sent to France to begin new lives. It was there he eventually reconnected with his two older sisters. In Paris, he learned French and eventually entered the famed Sorbonne University, developing the skills of a writer and lecturer that would make him a prolific author, speaker, and educator in the years to come. Eventually, he came to understand his mission in life was to make certain the world did not forget what it had done and was still capable of doing when hate overpowers all other emotions.

For his work, Elie Wiesel has been awarded the highest accolades known to man, receiving the Congressional Gold Medal of Achievement at the White House in 1985, America's highest civilian award, and the coveted Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Elie Wiesel continues his work today through the Elie Wiesel Foundation, and through his writings, lectures, and conferences around the world.

©2006 American Trademark Pictures