Its name recalls the memory of Elie Wiesel (1928-2016), a French-speaking American writer and teacher. Born in Transylvania into a religious Jewish family, he was deported at the age of 15 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, from which he escaped alive. His first novel, Night, based on his memories of the deportation, was published in 1958 and enjoyed worldwide success. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.