Thread by @ABMFusa

October 18, 1928 | Benjamin Lesser, a Polish Jew, was born in Krakow.

In May 1944, he was deported to #Auschwitz. Most of his family was murdered in the war.

Ben survived, and today is his 94th birthday. Please join us in wishing him a wonderful day!

Ben was born into a Jewish, middle-class family of seven. He had an older brother, Moishe, two older sisters, Lola and Goldie, and a younger brother, Naftali, whom they called Tuli.

Ben’s parents came from well-known Orthodox Jewish families. His father was a very driven man who worked hard to provide for his family. He owned two successful businesses, a kosher wine, a fruit syrup manufacturing business, and a chocolate factory.

Growing up, Ben lived in two separate homes depending on the season. During the school year, the family lived in Kraków. During the summer, they lived in Munkács to spend time with their mother’s family.

Before Germany invaded Poland, Ben’s life was not much different from children in other middle-class families. He had the opportunity to practice his religion, pursue an education, and participate in abundant cultural life.

Until the occupation began on September 1, 1939, the Leser family remained mainly unfazed by the antisemitism that existed throughout Europe at the time, though they were aware of it.

18 months after the invasion, in March 1941, Ben and his family left Kraków for Niepołomice. In 1942, the family escaped to Bochnia in the middle of the night. In November 1943, Ben and his brother Tuli were transported to the border and reunited with family members in Budapest.

In May 1944, Ben and his entire family were forced to leave their homes and crowded into cattle cars for deportation to the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The following month, Ben was sent to a rock quarry labor camp in Durnhau. Ben and his cousin, Isaac, survived a death march to Buchenwald, then a death train ride to Dachau. They were liberated from Dachau in April 1945. Tragically, Isaac died in Ben’s arms.

Ben lost consciousness, waking up four months later in St. Ottilien Hospital in Germany. He joined a young Zionist group and moved to Feldafing, Germany. In December 1945, Ben was reunited with his sister, her husband and nephew. The four shared an apartment in Munich.

On September 21, 1947, Ben boarded the SS Ernie Pyle and immigrated to the US. He moved to Brooklyn, NY, where he attended night school. To gain an income, Ben peddled hosiery on Delancey Street.

In 1949, Ben decided to board a bus from New York to Los Angeles, where he met and married Jean Singer. Ben and Jean welcomed their first daughter, and shortly after that, Ben became a US citizen. The couple was blessed with two more daughters.

Ben successfully opened his own business, Ben Lesser & Associates, in Los Angeles. He eventually moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, after retirement, where he still lives today.

Ben did not speak of his experiences until he spoke at his grandson’s school in 1995. In 2015, Ben met and began a joint mission for peace with Rainer Hoss, grandson of Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Hoss. The following year he participated in the Nazi War Crime Trial in Germany.

Ben has devoted his life to Holocaust education. He founded the ZACHOR Holocaust Remembrance Foundation. Ben established I-SHOUT-OUT.org, encouraging others to speak out against intolerance, racism, and bullying. He also launched his teacher/student online curriculum.

In January 2020, Ben came with our Foundation's delegation to @AuschwitzMuseum to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation.

You can learn more about Ben in his book, “Living a Life that Matters: From Nazi Nightmare to American Dream,” and on our website: preserveauschwitz.org/survivor/benja…