Life is not a fist. Life is an open hand waiting for some other hand to enter it.

I belong to a tradition that believes that the death of a single child is a blemish on creation.

At Auschwitz, not only man died, but also the idea of man. To live in a world where there is nothing anymore, where the executioner acts as god, as judge-many wanted no part of it. It was its own heart the world incinerated at Auschwitz.

I wanted to come back to Sighet to tell you the story of my death. So that you could prepare yourselves while there was still time. To live? I don't attach any importance to my life any more. I'm alone. No, I wanted to come back, and to warn you. And see how it is, no one will listen to me.

I do not recall a Jewish home without a book on the table.

There are real people behind the [Bible] stories.

What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.