A small square in Bucharest named after Romanian-born American Jewish writer, Holocaust survivor, and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel was inaugurated on Monday.

The Elie Wiesel Square is located in Bucharest’s District 1, at the intersection of Sofia and Emil Zola streets.

Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea attended the inauguration, together with US Ambassador to Romania Hans Klemm, and the Ambassadors of Italy, Austria, France, and China.

“Elie Wiesel was a defender of the human rights, of human dignity and freedom. He was the one who spoke for all of those who died in the Holocaust, but also for all of those who suffered because of unjust regimes. He was a symbol of hope and gave hope to all those who knew him. He was a true messenger to humankind, as the Norwegian committee that gave him the Nobel Prize characterized him. Naming a public space in Bucharest after him is a gesture of homage and recognition of the outstanding personality that was Elie Wiesel,” Firea said at the inauguration ceremony.

Elie Wiesel died on July 2 this year, aged 87. He was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, dedicating his life to promoting human rights and peace. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. The National Institute for Studying Holocaust in Romania bears his name.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Gabriela Firea on Facebook)