Abby Santora

Mr. Soeth

AP Enlgish 3

Feb. 2, 2011

Rehugo Analysis: Historical Speech

A. Elie Wiesel delivered a speech called "The Perils of Indifference" on April 12, 1999 in

Washington D.C.

B. Elie Wiesel was by known as one of the only men still living to survive the holocaust. Most of
his books and speeches are surrounded around his experiences and other about what
happened during that time and war. In this speech he brings up the topics and relates them to
how the world today is, and what has changed and what hasn't. He gives this speech out of
concern for others and young people now and in times to come. He doesn't want anyone to have
to deal with what he had to deal with as a child.


C. Today we are still experiencing a lot of segregation and war. It isn't quite as extream as the
concentration camps that he was used to and how they burned people. But still in our would
today a lot of people are suffering as he did. His main goal is to try to convince people to not
follow those acts. He wants to change the world and have every one move forward from this
instead of resulting back to war. This speech mostly relates to how the Jews gained freedom
with the help of the United States, and how they kept their freedom.


D. During the middle part of his speech, Wiesel has a flashback. He starts talking about an
experience he had sixty years ago while he was in a concentration camp. He talks about the
1,000 Jews in Nazi, Germany in the concentration camps. It is more like a mini story inside his speech helping him to show his point. Another strategy he uses is comparison. He relates the world today to the world he once knew. He gives details about how the war effected him and how far the world has come from that time.


E. Citation:

Wiesel, Elie. The Perils of Indifference. Millenium Lecture Series. Washington D.C., April 12,
1999.