Abraham Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said before the service that Wiesel had written dozens of books. "'Night' really put Elie Wiesel's personal memories into our personal consciousness and it ended up spawning a global remembrance movement that is very vital today," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, remembered visiting Auschwitz with Wiesel in the 1980s and was struck that Wiesel's response was not one of hate, but of "great sadness." On Sunday, mourners shared personal memories. Millions first learned about the Holocaust through Wiesel, who began publishing in the 1950s, a time when memories of the Nazis' atrocities were raw and repressed.

Source: New Zealand Herald July 03, 2016 15:37 UTC