Language:
English
Year of publication:
1998
Titel der Quelle:
Journal of Church and State
Angaben zur Quelle:
40,4 (1998) 827-846
Keywords:
Wiesel, Élie,
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
Abstract:
In 1978 Elie Wiesel was appointed chairman of the President's Commission on the Holocaust (later the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council). Contends that, despite his proclaimed distancing from politics and determination to preserve the purity of Holocaust remembrance, Wiesel utilized Holocaust memory in relation to U.S. foreign policy in the Reagan era. In his "Sanctuary" speech, held in 1985, Wiesel used Holocaust symbols in order to express solidarity with the refugees from Central America. He exploited Holocaust remembrance to legitimate U.S. political actions, both in the past and in the present. In 1984-85 Wiesel clashed with Reagan on the Bitburg Affair, protesting against the equation of SS-men who died in the war with the victims of the Holocaust. However, after receiving a gold medal from Reagan's aides during the President's visit to Germany, Wiesel responded with a conciliatory speech. The examined cases show that Holocaust remembrance ceased to be the ultimate end for Wiesel.
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