Elie Wiesel dead: World mourns loss of Holocaust survivor, Nobel laureate

Elie Wiesel Dead

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel dead at 87 00:26

Reaction poured in from around the world Saturday to news of the death of Elie Wiesel. The Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor was 87.

The U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. -- of which Wiesel was a founding member -- confirmed his death to CBS News. No other details were available.

"Elie, the artist of words, expressed, through his unique personality and his extraordinary books, the triumph of the human spirit over the cruelty and evil," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "In the darkness of the Holocaust, which killed our brothers and sisters - the six million - Elie Wiesel was a beam of light and served as a model of humanity that believes in the good of the human kind."

Elie Wiesel was a great moral voice of our time and a conscience for our world. He was also a dear friend. We will miss him deeply.
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 2, 2016

"Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair."- EW pic.twitter.com/x3cvJjzWK1
— ElieWieselFoundation (@eliewieselfdn) May 18, 2016

The Jewish people and the world lost a larger than life individual - Holocaust Survivor, Author and Noble Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel.
— Shimon Peres (@PresidentPeres) July 2, 2016

One of the most memorable experiences of my life was to visit Buchenwald with Elie Wiesel. His stunning words of witness will live forever.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) July 2, 2016

Elie Wiesel is proof that you don't need formal authority to change the world, all you need is the moral authority. pic.twitter.com/bzFRjzxYDW
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 2, 2016

Elie Wiesel's "Night" gave me vocabulary for resistance. Mtg him taught me we need daily reaffirmation. Never forget pic.twitter.com/xcy6w95gXH
— Ambassador Gaspard (@patrickgaspard) July 2, 2016

Elie Wiesel: "No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them."
— Michiko Kakutani (@michikokakutani) July 2, 2016

Deeply saddened by the passing of Elie Wiesel, who remained optimistic in the darkest days and pushed us to see beauty in humanity.
— Melinda Gates (@melindagates) July 2, 2016

Elie Wiesel's life is a testament to peace and human dignity, and his legacy lives on. https://t.co/aY9mYTde8t
— Rep. Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) July 2, 2016

Elie Wiesel, one of the greats of this world, has died. Baruch dayan haEmes. pic.twitter.com/4FR9nGYViB
— Mayim Bialik (@missmayim) July 3, 2016

"Will the world ever learn?"
- Elie Wiesel #RIPElieWiesel pic.twitter.com/TT5OUHkMar
— Lennox Lewis (@LennoxLewis) July 3, 2016

Saddened to hear of the death of Elie Wiesel. A brave soul who saw humanity at its worst & made it his mission to make the world better.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) July 2, 2016

More from CBS News