Arguably the world’s most famous holocaust survivor, Elie Weisel dedicated his life to prevent a repeat of it. Following up on a lifelong dream to write, he started as a journalist in Paris in 1945 before moving to the United States in 1956 and publishing his first novel And the World Has Remained Silent, recounting his wartime experiences. Weisel followed up with more writings to confront Europe with a past many would have rather buried, as well as advocating for better treatment of Jews currently living in the Soviet Union. For his unfailing drive to reckon with the past, Elie was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

On this day, in 1986, the Nobel Prize Committee announced they chose Elie Wiesel as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. In an age still marked by “violence, repression and racism,” the Committee said, Wisel’s “message is one of peace, atonement and human dignity.”

Wiesel’s first book, Night, stands to this day as moving testimony of the Jews in WW II. In one of his most celebrated passages, he writes “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night. Never shall I forget those moments which … turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.” He hoped with his writings that the world would never forget, either.