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Talking With Wiesel
Nobel laureate talks of the Holocaust and human nature.
HARRY KIRSBAUM
Staff Writer
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18
lie Wiesel, Holocaust sur-
vivor, Nobel Peace Prize
winner, author and profes-
•
sor, will deliver the com-
mencement address at Michigan State
University today, May 7.
Earlier in the week, he spoke with
the Jewish News by phone about the
Holocaust, human nature and God.
Following are excepts from that con-
versation:
to recover what was theirs, or their fam-
ily's or the Jewish people. Not for things
to continue as if nothing happened.
The question that I ask is, "Why so
late? Why so late? Why didn't they
think of it in 1945, 6, 7," and so forth.
What should happen to unclaimed
reparations? I think it should go to
Jewish communities all over the world.
Will we ever learn from history or is
it just in our nature to destroy each
other?
It's in our nature to learn and
then to destroy. The problem is it's
What has sparked American interest
inhuman to be human,
in the Holocaust? Is it
and it's human to be
because the Jewish presence
human. That's the philo-
in this country is so strong?
sophical enigma that we
No, the Jews themselves
are confronting.
weren't interested for so
Was Eichmann human
many years. No, I think it's
or not? It's human to
simply because it takes some
learn, and it's human not
time for an event to reach the
to learn. And ultimately
consciousness of a person. It
the choice is ours.
takes a generation or two. In
Ultimately, human beings
psychiatry, they call it latency.
are free in their souls, in
The American slogan is,
their minds, in the core
`Where were you during the
of their being, they are
Elie Wiesel
war? What did you do?'
free. And therefore they
What happened there, of
are responsible.
course, was centered in American
If Jews are the Chosen people, is
Jewish communities. The young espe-
their
separateness and persecution
more
than
oth-
cially wanted to know
part of their being chosen?
ers. And slowly, it penetrated the collec-
I don't think that persecution is
tive awareness of the American nation.
something that we wanted, but it was
With Schindler's List a few years ago,
imposed on us. At-no time did Jews
and now Lift is Beautiful, do you see
want to be persecuted. And they didn't
a cultural shift in the view of the
want to be chosen either. I don't think
Holocaust? In both movies, we seem
that Jews should consider themselves
to have won something.
to be superior or inferior to any other
I am not a movie critic. I believe in
people. We are different.
words more than I believe in images,
How has your concept of God
but I belong in the minority in that.
changed over the years?
Many novels are being written, many
That's not on the telephone he
films are being made, many plays are
We could just talk and talk.
laughs).
being produced. And, of course, more
That's
too
serious. When I left my
and more books appear.
town I was very, very religious. I am
I favor, of course, testimonies of sur-
less now, but I still consider myself to
vivors or their children. There must be
be a religious person.
some personal relation to the subject. So
surely it shows the subject has become
What do you say to survivors who
something which cannot be ignored.
still think that God does not exist
Are you interested in survivor repa-
rations?
It's not my field. I was offered, I
was even pressured, to have the presi-
dency of a fund in Switzerland, but I
refused because it's not my field. I'm
not a finance expert.
I think it's important for the victims
after what they've been through?
I don't know. I think the survivor
has all the right to think so, as do
the other survivors who think God
does exist. Man's relation to God is
so personal, I would never dare to
interfere, or to judge. Who am I to
judge them? ! 1