I looked up at my father’s face, trying to glimpse a smile or something like it on his stricken face. But there was nothing. Not the shadow of an expression. Defeat.
The ghetto was ruled by neither German nor Jew; it was ruled by delusion.
To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.
His last word had been my name. A summons. And I had not responded.
All the dictionary had to offer seemed meager, pale, lifeless.
Why did I write it? Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of madness, the immense, terrifying madness that had erupted in history and in the conscience of mankind?
Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.
I have not lost faith in God. I have moments of anger and protest. Sometimes I’ve been closer to him for that reason.
I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.
Emphasis must be put on learning: there is no substitute to education. It can be briefly formulated in a few words: always, whatever you do in life, think higher and feel deeper.
Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.
Even in darkness it is possible to create light.
Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope. If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future.
What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.
Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself.
One person of integrity can make a difference.
I write to understand as much as to be understood.
Human beings should be held accountable. Leave God alone. He has enough problems.
Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies.
There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.