Invitation from Shimon Peres to Elie Wiesel for "Facing Tomorrow" Conference

The document is a brief, handwritten note from Elie Wiesel to a woman named Martine, written on the letterhead of The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity in New York and dated August 6, 2010. In French, Wiesel expresses heartfelt thanks to Martine for all the help she provided to his sister before and during her illness. The note also includes the Hebrew phrase "תודה רבה" (Toda Raba - Thank you very much) and is signed "Amicalement, Elie Wiesel," conveying a warm and personal tone of gratitude.

This document outlines a proposal from Elie Wiesel to Jean-David Levitte and Maurice Lévy for an international colloquium titled "Nobel Prize International Colloquium: Where is the 21st Century Heading?". Planned for May-June 2010, the event aims to bring together approximately fifty Nobel Laureates and other influential personalities from various disciplines for a two-to-three-day program. The colloquium is proposed to be organized by L'Elysée, Publicis, and the Elie Wiesel Foundation. The agenda includes four commissions focusing on politics, economy, history, crises, power, ethics, media, and human rights, along with daily plenary sessions and evening concerts featuring notable musicians. Invitations, mirroring the practice of 1988, would be extended by the President of the Republic and Elie Wiesel himself. The document suggests that the sessions will conclude with the publication of a manifesto addressing major challenges of the current generation. A handwritten postscript, signed by "Marim + Elie", adds a personal "Shana Tova" greeting to Maurice and his loved ones, wishing them profound joy.

This document is a formal letter from Shimon Peres, as President, to Professor Elie Wiesel, inviting him to be a guest speaker at the "Fourth Presidential Conference Facing Tomorrow." The conference is scheduled to take place in Jerusalem from June 19-21, 2012, and will be organized by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Peres highlights the success of previous conferences in fostering stimulating dialogue on critical issues. The letter emphasizes the timely importance of the upcoming conference, noting recent sweeping changes in the Arab world, social protests in Israel, global economic shifts, political upheavals, and scientific advancements. It stresses the conference's goal to bring together leaders from various fields to brainstorm and shape a better future for the world, the Jewish people, and the State of Israel, expressing a desire for Professor Wiesel's participation and valuable contributions.

Herbert Broh was born in Berlin, Germany in 1930. He shares his childhood memories of his life in Germany and his family’s journey to Shanghai. Herbert relates several experiences of abusive antisemitism by his friends and his teacher, as well as his impressions of Kristallnacht. His family left Germany for Shanghai in April of 1939 to join family members already living on Seward Road in the Hongkew section of Shanghai, under Japanese occupation. Herbert was enrolled in the Kadoorie School and later a cheder. He talks about his Jewish education at the cheder and the Yeshiva Katana in great detail, as well as the effect of his growing orthodoxy on his life and his family. He describes his family’s living conditions and life in Shanghai and states he was very happy there. He was only dimly aware that other refugees had a more difficult existence. His father worked for a Chinese factory managed by Japanese; his mother worked as a cook at the Komor Kindergarten. After Pearl Harbor, his family was evacuated to the Kadoorie School. He mentions interaction between Japanese and refugees. He vividly describes the events during and after the Japanese capitulation and the arrival of Chinese Nationalist and later American troops. He witnessed the departure of the entire Mirrer Yeshiva to Canada in 1946. Herbert and his family went to the United States in 1947. He describes his life in the United States and his feelings about his years in Shanghai. He is now a Cantor in Sun City, California. Interviewee: BROH, Herbert Date: October 15, 1999

This letter, dated October 30, 1997, is from Kjell Magne Bondevik, the Prime Minister of Norway, to Professor Elie Wiesel. Bondevik expresses gratitude for Wiesel's encouragement following his nomination as Prime Minister and acknowledges Wiesel's inspirational influence on his political work, especially concerning moral and ethical standards. He informs Wiesel of his Government's intent, as articulated in his inaugural address to Parliament, to launch a broad-based debate on ethics in society due to concerns over the erosion of values and morals. The Government plans to establish a commission to engage public opinion on social ethics and suggests that Wiesel's expertise could be valuable in this initiative.