CONDOLENCES: Leslie KleinmanHolocaust survivor Leslie Kleinman z”l was born in 1929 in Ambud, Transylvania. When Leslie was 14, the Nazis invaded the region, arriving in his hometown on a Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. A German soldier cut off his father’s beard, which was a terrible insult and humiliation for a religious man. That spring, Leslie and his family were forced to live in the ghetto before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. They arrived at the camp on Leslie’s 15th birthday and he was selected for work, while the rest of his family, except for one sister, was taken straight to the gas chambers. Leslie spent months building a railway before being sent on a death march to the Sachsenhausen and Flossenbürg concentration camps. From there, the remaining prisoners were sent on a second death march, during which they were liberated by American troops. While recuperating at a monastery, Leslie learned that his sister Gitta had died shortly after liberation. He was then told that the British government was allowing over 700 teenage survivors into the UK. Leslie was one of this group, which became known as ‘The Boys.’ He went on to marry, build a family, and create a new life. In 2011, Leslie returned to Auschwitz for the first time and continued to return year after year with students from across the globe. He passed away last week at the age of 92. May his memory forever be a blessing.
Source: American Society for Yad Vashem
Photo: JRoots Journeys
