The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
Elie WieselRead
Sometimes I am asked if I know 'the response to Auschwitz; I answer that not only do I not know it, but that I don't even know if a tragedy of this magnitude has a response.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Elie Wiesel reflects on the incomprehensibility of the Holocaust and the challenges in finding an adequate response to such immense tragedy.
In this quote, Elie Wiesel acknowledges the profound and unanswerable nature of the Holocaust's tragedy, suggesting that some events are so catastrophic that they defy adequate comprehension or response. He expresses the notion that there may not be any answer or resolution that can truly address the grief and suffering caused by such atrocities, highlighting the limitations of human understanding in the face of unimaginable suffering.
Themes
HolocaustTragedyResponsePainSuffering
In practice
Example use cases
During a memorial service for victims of genocide, this quote would emphasize the complexity of deep grief.
More from Elie Wiesel
All quotes →With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the angel of death.
Elie WieselRead
Certain things, certain events, seem inexplicable only for a time: up to the moment when the veil is torn aside.
Elie WieselRead
We're alone, but we are capable of communicating to one another both our loneliness and our desire to break through it. You say, 'I'm alone.' Someone answers, 'I'm alone too.' There's a shift in the scale of power. A bridge is thrown between the two abysses.
Elie WieselRead
No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has escaped the kingdom of night.
Elie WieselRead
My loyalty to my people, to our people, and to Israel comes first and prevents me from saying anything critical of Israel outside Israel… As a Jew I see my role as a melitz yosher, a defender of Israel: I defend even her mistakes… I must identify with whatever Israel does – even with her errors.
Elie WieselRead
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