Schindler’s list survivor shares his story

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This article was published 04/03/2010 (6044 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AT the end of acclaimed Steven Spielberg opus Schindler’s List, colour fades in, singing fades up and 1,200 Holocaust survivors march on the horizon.

For Leon Leyson, that’s not how the Schindler story ended. For the spry 80-year-old, the story is still very much alive. “That (the movie ending) doesn’t happen in real life,” Leyson chuckled, speaking for more than an hour before a capacity crowd at the University of Manitoba’s Drake Centre Wednesday afternoon. “In real life, we didn’t know what to do.”

Born in Poland as Leib Lejzon, the Los Angeles resident is the youngest survivor from German manufacturer Oskar Schindler’s famous list. He is in Winnipeg at the behest of Asper School of Business professor Reg Litz, who invited the survivor to testify to Schindler’s heroism as part of an MBA course on executive responsibilities.

The audience for Wednesday’s first public talk, which included scholars, seniors, students and tweens, listened raptly as Leyson relived a tightening Nazi stranglehold on Krakow’s Jewish residents, the lethal strolls of feared Nazi captain Amon Goeth, and the personal intervention by Schindler that saved the Leyson family from being shipped to death camps.

For many in the room, the stories struck deep. “It’s one of those occasions that I can’t actually believe is real, because it’s history in the flesh,” said Lesley Hughes. “It’s profoundly moving to be so close to a person who hasn’t just survived, but transcended the unthinkable.”

Business student Benji Rothman, 21, stood in line to shake Leyson’s hand after the speech. “I thought it was very emotional,” said Rothman, whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors. “Anytime you hear (survivors’) experiences, it’s pretty shocking. This felt very real.”

Since arriving in Winnipeg on Friday, Leyson has spoken to more than 600 high school students at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute. He will reprise his talk tonight at the U of M University Centre’s multi-purpose room.

Admission is free. The speech is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. and seating is limited.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca