The death of Elie Wiesel means that we have not only lost a great author, philanthropist and scholar, but above all a person who fought tirelessly against hatred, intolerance and violence.

Deported to a concentration camp by the Nazis as a teenager, he experienced the worst side of humankind. After surviving the horrors of the Holocaust, he devoted his life to fighting against indifference and ensuring the past was not forgotten.

In an impressive speech to the German Bundestag in the year 2000, he expressed his faith in young Germans, who he believed would create a better society than the one he himself was forced to experience during his childhood. This was a profoundly moving message of hope and responsibility, which we should take to heart now in particular.

I am saddened by the death of this outstanding person and pay tribute to his life’s work.