Credit: Tim Boxer/Getty Images
Marion Wiesel, translator, strategist, and wife of Elie Wiesel, passed away at the age of 94. A key force behind his legacy, she co-founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. She also spearheaded the creation of the first Beit Tzipora Center in Israel, in partnership with WIZO, providing vital academic support to more than 1,000 Ethiopian-born children each year. Her quiet strength and unwavering dedication left an indelible mark on the world.
She translated 14 of her husband's books from French to English, including the final edition of his magnum opus, Night. She also encouraged him to pursue a broad public career, helping him become the most renowned interpreter of the Holocaust.
Credit: The Wiesel family
Additionally, she wrote and narrated the documentary film Children of the Night, about children murdered during the Holocaust.
She produced several television programs, including A Passover Haggadah, The World of Elie Wiesel, and The Oslo Concert: A Tribute to Peace.
Mary Renate Erster was born in Vienna on January 27, 1931. Her family fled when the Nazis took power, escaping to various parts of Europe. Eventually, thanks to a maternal relative with Swiss citizenship, they managed to smuggle themselves into Switzerland in 1942.
They immigrated to New York in 1949.
Credit: The Wiesel family
In the late 1950s, Marion married F. Peter Rose and had a daughter, Jennifer. As her marriage was coming to an end, she met Elie Wiesel. They married in 1969 and had a son, Elisha.
Marion Wiesel passed away on Sunday, February 2, at her home in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Sources: The New York Times and Jewish Chronicle