About This Stamp
The 18th stamp in the Distinguished Americans series honors Elie Wiesel (1928–2016), a survivor of Nazi concentration camps whose writing about the Holocaust is forever seared on the public consciousness.
This two-ounce stamp features a 1999 black-and-white photograph of Wiesel in a suit and tie with a pensive expression on his face.
Embodying the struggle and urgency of the Holocaust, Wiesel became the voice for victims and survivors, fighting for human rights at every opportunity. He wrote Night (1960), which would become one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust. Using his devastatingly minimalist style, Wiesel published dozens of works throughout his career that focused on the Holocaust and the Jewish experience.
Wiesel became a United States citizen in 1963. He was appointed chairman of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust in 1978, which led to the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 as a “messenger for mankind.” Wiesel and his wife Marion established the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity with the prize money.
Wiesel’s remarkable body of work ensures future generations will bear witness to the Holocaust while his resilience and compassion continue to be a source of inspiration.
Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp with a photograph by Sergey Bermeniev.
The words “Two Ounce” on this stamp indicate its usage value. Like a Forever® stamp, this stamp will always be valid for the rate printed on it.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Ethel Kessler
Ethel Kessler is an award-winning designer and art director who has worked with corporations, museums, public and private institutions, professional service organizations, and now, the United States Postal Service.
After earning a B.F.A. in visual communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Kessler worked as a graphic designer and project manager for the exhibits division of the United States Information Agency. Her work was distributed internationally on subjects such as Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Renovation of American Cities, and the Bicentennial of 1976. She was also responsible for exhibits in Morocco, Botswana, and El Salvador.
In 1981, she established Kessler Design, Inc., for which she is creative director and designer. Clients have included the Clinton Government reorganization, the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Television, the National Park Service, and the American Institute of Architects.
She has been an art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program for more than 25 years. As an art director for USPS, Kessler has been responsible for creating more than 500 stamp designs, including the Breast Cancer Research stamp illustrated by Whitney Sherman. Issued in 1998, the stamp is still on sale and has raised more $98 million for breast cancer research. Other Kessler projects include the popular and highly regarded Nature of America 120 stamp series, a collaboration with nationally acclaimed nature illustrator John Dawson, the 12-year Lunar New Year series with Kam Mak, the American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes 10 stamps issued in 2003, a 2016 pane of stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the 2023 stamp honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And many, many others.