"What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander."
About Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor, author, and human rights advocate whose experiences during World War II profoundly shaped his worldview. His seminal work, 'Night,' recounts his harrowing journey through concentration camps, serving as a powerful testament to the horrors of the Holocaust and the importance of memory. Wiesel's core philosophy revolves around the necessity of bearing witness to suffering; he famously stated, 'To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.' This quote encapsulates his belief that remembering the past is essential to prevent future atrocities. Wiesel's writings reflect a deep commitment to humanity and the moral imperative to confront indifference. He argued that 'the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference,' highlighting how apathy can perpetuate suffering. His insights challenge readers to engage actively with the world around them, advocating for compassion and action in the face of injustice. Wiesel's legacy is not just in his literary contributions but also in his relentless pursuit of human rights and dignity for all. Today, Wiesel's quotes and ideas continue to resonate, reminding us of the importance of standing against oppression and the need to remember our shared history. His work serves as a call to action, urging individuals to speak out against injustice and to ensure that the lessons of the past are not forgotten.
Quote collection
533 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander."
"Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Whenever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe."
"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."
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference."
"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest."
"Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim."
"For the dead and the living, we must bear witness. Not only are we responsible for the memories of the dead, we are responsible for what we do with those memories"
"I still believe in man in spite of man. I believe in language even though it has been wounded, deformed, and perverted by the enemies of mankind. And I continue to cling to words because it is up to us to transform them into instruments of comprehension rather than contempt. It is up to us to choose whether we wish to use them to curse or to heal, to wound or to console."
"... True, we are often too weak to stop injustices; but the least we can do is to protest against them. True, we are too poor to eliminate hunger; but in feeding one child, we protest against hunger. True, we are too timid and powerless to take on all the guards of all the political prisons in the world; but in offering our solidarity to one prisoner we denounce all the tormentors. True, we are powerless against death; but as long as we help one man, one woman, one child live one hour longer in safety and dignity, we affirm man's [woman's] right to live."
"Young people want to learn, they are thirsty for knowledge, they want to understand and remember. The main thing is to teach them where not to go. Oppression, not to go; dictatorship, not to go; racism and prejudice, absolutely not to go. This is a moral plan [for society]."
"I believe that all the survivors are mad. One time or another their madness will explode. You cannot absorb that much madness and not be influenced by it. That is why the children of survivors are so tragic. I see them in school. They don't know how"
"The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. Indifference creates evil. Hatred is evil itself. Indifference is what allows evil to be strong, what gives it power."
"Even in darkness it is possible to create light."
"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?"
"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation."
"To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all."
"All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them. No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior."
"Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair."
"In the word question, there is a beautiful word - quest. I love that word. We are all partners in a quest. The essential questions have no answers. You are my question, and I am yours - and then there is dialogue. The moment we have answers, there is no dialogue. Questions unite people."
"Every moment is a new beginning."