How Does Elie Wiesel Keep Memory Alive

Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel gave a speech called, “Keep Memory Alive.” This speech shares the message: “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormented.” Which basically means that staying neutral, or silent helps the “bad guy” or “bully.” And if we keep silent we are encouraging the silence of the victims. Elie Wiesel is a Romanian-born Jewish writer, professor, and political activist. He spoke this speech in Oslo on December 10, 1986. Elie speaks about how someone should not stay silent in any wrong doing. He speaks not just for himself but for the survivors and the children of the survivors. He himself is a holocaust survivor who doesn’t want people to forget what him, his family, his friends, and even complete strangers had to go through, therefore, he created the speech “Keep Memory Alive.” The writer illustrates his theme of this speech by giving a memorable tone using a flashback with a young boy and his father going through the tragedy of the holocaust.

Nations keep tragedies alive so that we remember them as a part of history to never forget. There’s truth behind the remark “History repeats itself.” If history ever does repeats itself we should have the knowledge to conquer through the hardships and know how to approach the situation in a better and more productive matter because we will not have forgotten, because we kept the memory