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The problem of ethics or morality in human conduct is as old as humanity itself. What makes us moral? Hereditary beliefs? Unusual circumstances? Epiphanies? Moments of great fear or pain? On the other hand, what makes someone immoral? Did the SS Killers of Jewish children feel gulity at all? How do we weigh the destruction of war against the noblest of all commandments-"not to stand idly by"? How many good men and women raised their voices forcefully enough to defend victims of racism and fanaticism in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur? What lessons are we teaching our young people? Have we taught them to stand against indifference? Have we taught them to develop an ethical compass within? In the Ethics Prize essays, students draw from their collective memories-that of their parents and sometimes their grandparents-to reflect on a personal experience or perhaps a gnawing, unresolved question from long ago. Preface, Elie Weisel: An Ethical Compass: Coming of Age in the 21st Century: The Ethics Prize Essays of the Elie Weisel Foundation for Humanity.
Elie Wiesel, Holocaust Survivor, and the author of Night, his famous memoir of his terrifying and tragic experiences during the Holocaust. He was 15 years old when he and his family were deported to Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi death camp and symbol of genocide and terror. His mother and younger sister died there, while his two older sisters survived. Wiesel and his father were later transported to Buchenwald, where his father died shortly before the camp was liberated in April 1945.
The internationally acclaimed Night has been published in more than 30 languages. Wiesel has received more than 100 honorary degrees from institutions of higher learning. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He has also been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal and the Medal of Liberty Award. President Jimmy Carter appointed him as chairman of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust. He also became the founding chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
Shortly after receiving the Nobel Prize, he and his wife, Marion, established The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, an organization dedicated to combating indifference, intolerance, and injustice though international dialogues and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding, and equality. http://www.viterbo.edu/ethics.aspx?id=14560
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