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The Survivor

Roddy Craig | Ohio | 12/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent portrait of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. It includes archival photographs, a narrative of portions of Wiesel's writings (read by actor William Hurt) and an interview with Wiesel himself.

We see Wiesel talking w/ one of his classes at Boston University, and hear him speak of the events in his extraordinary life. He talks of the horrors of Auschwitz, and of what happened to him when the war ended. He also comments on the abuse of religion to justify acts of terrorism on 9/11, and speaks out against racial and ethnic hatred, regardless of the source.

Two remarkable stories, which I will quote as best as memory will allow: "When the American soldiers came and liberated the camp, they first cried when they saw what was happening there. Then they started cursing, really cursing at all humanity, and their curses were like prayers."

"In 1995, I went back to Sighet, the city where my family lived when the war began. I saw the train station, and I went back to the house where we lived. It was late at night when I went through the gate. It had the same squeak I remembered as a child. The night before we knew we were going to be taken away, we each buried something. I buried the gold watch my grandfather had given me for my Bar Mitzvah. I remembered how I had buried it under a certain tree. I dug with my hands and found it there. It was dirty, and I brushed off the dirt. Then, I do not know why, but I put it back, and covered it again. It is still there.""

A moving portrait of a remarkable man.

Roddy Craig | 10/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Elie Wiesel's life is a miracle. He not only survived the death camps as a child, but lived to become a witness who inspired thousands of other survivors to respond to the crippling effects of memories of the Holocaust by breaking their silence. He has written essays, plays, novels exploring the greatest horrors ever visited on human beings, and of their effects on the individuals involved. And he has been a tireless defender of the rights of humans in every corner of the world to live in dignity and free of brutal oppression. Those who want the remarkable experience of spending an intimate hour in the presence of this Nobel Prize winner should see this film, and should also spend time on the companion website at www.pbs.org."