Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views,
that place must—at that moment—become the center of the universe.
The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
—Elie Wiesel
On July 2, 2016, activist, professor, and Nobel Peace Prize-winning author Elie Wiesel passed
away at 87. Born into a Jewish family in a village in northwestern Romania, Wiesel found
himself a target of the Nazi Final Solution as a teenager. Confined first to ghettos, Wiesel,
along with his whole family, were then deported to the death camps at Auschwitz in 1944. The
horrors he witnessed and suffered at the hands of the Nazis in Auschwitz and Buchenwald—
including the deaths of his sister, mother, and father—are documented in Wiesel’s seminal
autobiographical work, Night. Since its first publication, Night has been translated into more
than 30 languages and is regularly read by millions of students each year.
Wiesel earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for his human rights activism and campaigns
against worldwide genocide and violence. To commemorate the life, courage, and
achievements of Wiesel, The National WWII Museum is asking middle and high school
students to respond to a quote by Wiesel about his life and legacy.
For your essay, middle and high school students will each respond to a different quote by Elie Wiesel from your point
of view as a young person coming of age in the 21st century. Do you agree or do you disagree with his view? Use the
events of World War II and The Holocaust as your starting point, basing your essay in part on America’s involvement
in the war. But don’t stop in the past. Use specific examples from your own experiences and/or current events to
support your ideas. This is NOT a research paper, and the best essays will NOT be summaries of the past 70 years
of American history or foreign policy. Your essay will be judged foremost for its originality, clarity of expression, and
adherence to contest theme, as well as its historical accuracy, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Museum staff
will read and evaluate entries.
REQUIREMENTS
Contest is open to all middle school (grades 5–8) and high school students in the United States, US territories,
and US military bases. The submission deadline is 5:00 p.m. CST December 2, 2016.
For complete eligibility and formatting guidelines, and to submit your essay, visit
nationalww2museum.org/essaycontests.
AWARDS
Cash prizes will be awarded for the winning essay from each middle school grade and for the first, second, and
third-place high school essays. Winning essays will also be posted on The National WWII Museum’s website,
along with honorable mentions. Visit nationalww2museum.org/essaycontests for more details on awards.