![]() ![]() But for this, Abel might never have felt the need to do the same. He shares with his younger brother, Abel, the generous idea of offering gifts to the Lord. It haunted mankind then and still does, working its way into our nightmares.Īt first we become attached to Cain. Why do they hold such an important place in our collective memory, which the Bible represents for so many of us? Mean, ugly, immoral, oppressive-their story disturbs and frightens. Photo: © Estate of Georg Grosz/Licensed by Vaga, New York, NY.Ĭain and Abel: The first two brothers of the first family in history. Grosz’s paintings present a biting satire of German society, criticizing militarism, blind obedience to political leaders, and moral corruption. The final lesson, according to Wiesel: Killing a man is killing a brother.īorn in Berlin, Georg Grosz (1893–1959) emigrated to the United States in 1933, just a few days before Adolf Hitler took office as German chancellor. As Elie Wiesel points out in the accompanying essay, the first death in biblical history is a difficult one, raising questions not only about Cain’s responsibility for the death of his brother, but about Abel’s own culpability and God’s role in the killing. Chaotic skeletons struggle at Cain’s feet in Grosz’s painting, titled Cain, or Hitler in Hell. On NovemWiesel received an honorary knighthood in London, England in recognition of his work toward raising Holocaust education in the United Kingdom.Mankind’s first murderer, a weary Cain contemplates the death of his brother, Abel, who lies face down (at right) in this 1944 painting by the German-born artist Georg Grosz. ![]() The Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a "messenger to mankind," noting that through his struggle to come to terms with "his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps," as well as his "practical work in the cause of peace," Wiesel has delivered a powerful message "of peace, atonement and human dignity" to humanity. ![]() Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was the author of over 40 books, the best known of which is Night, a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps. On Eliezer Wiesel was a Romania-born American novelist, political activist, and Holocaust survivor of Hungarian Jewish descent. Eliezer Wiesel was a Romania-born American novelist, political activist, and Holocaust survivor of Hungarian Jewish descent. ![]()
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