Bookverdict.com

Gr 5–8—Leyson describes his childhood prior to the Nazi invasion of Poland as "a world defined by the love and warmth of family." In 1938, he moved with his mother and four older siblings from a small village to join his father, who was working in the city. But soon after, everything changed as the Nazis "tightened their grip on Kraków." Through luck, skill, and tenacity, Leyson's father became one of Oskar Schindler's first Jewish workers and managed to secure a place on his notorious list for his wife and children. Throughout his six years of immense suffering, including i...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Leon Leyson (born Leib Lejzon in 1929) acknowledges that he was "an unlikely survivor of the Holocaust," saved from extermination by hi...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

In a moving story, Leon Leyson, who passed away in January 2013, conveys the overwhelming odds against his survival as a Jewish teenager during WWII, as well as Oskar Schindler’s ability to outwit the Nazis with every setback. In 1943, for example, Schindler “cajoled and bribed” SS leaders to build a sub-camp for his factory workers (including young Leyson) outside the Plaszow concentration camp. The matter-of-fact writing is approachable without exc...Log In or Sign Up to Read More