All this week many Jews and many others, too, have mourned the death of Elie Wiesel, who died last weekend (July 2) at the age of 87. Most of Wiesel’s family had perished in the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. But he survived, a teenager who grew up to write his powerful book Night, describing the atrocities he had seen. He then devoted his life not only to remembering the Nazi genocide against Jews but to opposing persecution everywhere. For his work against oppression, worldwide, Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace. He said then, “I swore never to be silent whenever, wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.” He had also observed that the opposite of love is not hate but indifference. Among his projects—such as writing nearly 60 books—Wiesel helped create the Holocaust Museum in Washington. He spoke there to the memory of those who had been killed:

Elie Wiesel: “We have kept our promise. We have not forgotten you.”

Among those praising Wiesel this week was President Obama, who called him “the moral conscience of the world.”