30th Anniversary Guardians Commemorative Book - Book - Page 118
Born in Gorlice,
Poland, my father, Leo
Grunbaum, was the sole
What would I have
done? My father left
his family in eastern
As a historian, I have
dedicated my entire
career to the study
surviving member of
the Grunbaum family.
He worked in belowzero weather in several
concentration camps,
including Plaszów and
Buchenwald, installing
railroad tracks, building
barracks, breaking stones
down and other hard-labor
jobs. Leo weighed about
65 pounds when he was
finally liberated and suffered
nightmares for many years.
Despite all those he lost,
Leo was totally committed
to his family, three
generations continuing the
Grunbaum legacy today.
His experiences gave us the
passion and inspiration to
commit ourselves to the
Museum, and to honor
Leo’s memory, our departed
family and all the others—
Jews and non-Jews—who
perished in the Holocaust.”
Germany at the age of 16.
It was 1932. He saw Hitler
youth coming to power
and things changing.
What would I have done?
His parents escaped. His
sister chose to stay with
children in the orphanage
where she worked, all of
whom were murdered by
the Nazis. I think of my
mother’s journey from
Białystok, Poland, and from
her family, to Haifa, in 1938.
What would I have done?
Her sister and parents
were killed by the Nazi
troopers a year later. I am
involved and committed
to promote tolerance
and to Never Again let
this happen anywhere.”
of the Holocaust and seen
firsthand that the Museum’s
impact on the development
of Holocaust research is
second to no institution
in the world. Through this
gift, Voltaire and I want
to enable the Museum
to continue its work and
inspire the next generation
of historians and scholars to
leave their mark on the field
of Holocaust studies. The
angle of vision that every
new generation brings is
different. There will always
be new methods of telling
the story, but the Holocaust
will remain pertinent as
long as we continue to tell
the story well and correctly.”
SHEILA AND JOSEPH GUTMAN
PETER HAYES AND
VOLTAIRE MIRAN
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois
VIVIAN AND CHARLES
GRUNBAUM
Jensen Beach, Florida
116 l UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM LEGACY OF LIGHT GUARDIANS
