Trains and Tracks

This document is a faxed letter from Jack Lang to Elie Wiesel, dated July 13, 1999, from Paris. Lang invites Wiesel to a significant cultural meeting titled "Nouvelles Dimensions de la Culture en Europe," scheduled for September 16 in Barcelona. He expresses his enthusiasm for the initiative, organized by Pasqual Maragall, the former mayor of Barcelona, which aims to gather intellectuals and creators globally. Lang praises Maragall's work in transforming Barcelona into a modern and dynamic city, highlighting its restoration and renovation efforts, partly undertaken for the Olympic Games. The meeting is set to take place in Ciutat Vella, the historic heart of Barcelona, and Maragall's leadership of the "Generalitat" is noted as a historically important event for European culture and spirit. Lang hopes for Wiesel's participation. A handwritten note on the fax cover indicates the fax is incoming for Elie Wiesel, suggesting he may wish to respond from New York City.

This letter, dated May 22, 1984, is from Eli Pfefferkorn of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council to Professor Leo Eitinger in Oslo, Norway. Pfefferkorn sends Professor Eitinger a copy of the Dubnov lecture delivered at Yale University in November 1982, stating it makes an outstanding story in the 'long journey into darkness.' He mentions that this lecture is sent 'in lieu of the Oslo speech that has not been recorded.' Pfefferkorn also states his current capacity as a researcher with the Council and encloses an article of his on a subject previously discussed with Professor Eitinger in Haifa, recalling their conversation fondly.

This document is an invitation from OSE (Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants), represented by its President Jean-François Guthmann and Director General Roger Fajnzylberg, and Handicap Amitié Culture (H.A.C), represented by its President Josette Keisermann. They invite the recipient to the inauguration of the iconographic exhibition "Sauver les enfants, 1938-1945". The event, held under the High Patronage of Monsieur François Hollande, President of the Republic, is scheduled for Monday, October 15, 2012, at 7:30 PM. The venue is the Salle du Parc du 26ème centenaire, located on Avenue Jules Cantini in Marseille. The exhibition is dedicated to the rescue of Jewish children in France during World War II and is part of the centennial celebration of OSE. It will run from October 15 to 24, 2012, open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM, except Friday afternoon and Saturday. The invitation provides contact details for RSVP and includes a quote from Elie Wiesel. Numerous supporting organizations are also listed with their logos on the reverse side of the invitation.

This letter, dated May 10, 1983, is addressed to 'Dear Friend,' identified in the text as Elie. The author discusses the 'psychological cost' of testimonies from the Ringelblum Archive losing their emotional depth, particularly the 'dirge sing-song' inherent in Yiddish expressions. The letter emphasizes the critical need to restore this 'lost dimension' to the originals, comparing it to a scribe restoring the splendor of charred Torah letters. The author appeals to Elie to lead this 'operative venture,' viewing it as a shared 'historic mission' to reinvest emotional pulse into the Ringelblum archival materials.

This is a letter dated August 9, 2010, from John Silber, President Emeritus of Boston University, to "Elie." Silber shares an excerpt from a term paper written by his 13-year-old granddaughter, Olivia Mock, who is identified as one of Alexandra's children and a Protestant Christian. The excerpt describes Olivia's profound engagement with a Holocaust unit in class, emphasizing her realization that figures like Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel were real and that the events truly happened. She includes a powerful passage from her paper depicting the suffering of Jews in a truck during the Holocaust. Olivia expresses her desire to capture the Jewish experience during the persecutions and to spread a message of peace, hoping to humble others as she was humbled by learning about "Hitler's wrath."