30th Anniversary Guardians Commemorative Book - Book - Page 223
PERPETUATING
THIS HISTORY
My stepfather, Leon
Weiss, was born in
1930 in Czechoslovakia.
We know he lost his
mother, father, sister, and brother,
but little else about his experiences
or family. By the time he was
liberated from Auschwitz, Leon
was a 14- or 15-year-old orphan
with a serious head injury, likely
inflicted by a German soldier’s
rifle. The US Army and Jewish
organizations got him to New
York City and top-notch medical
treatment, including neurosurgery
and a year of hospital rehabilitation.
A year later, he was living alone
in New York, partially paralyzed
on his right side, and struggling
to get by. But he was determined
and driven throughout his life to
overcome anything with hard work.
Leon was adamant about
perpetuating this era of history
and maintaining this memory as
a learning tool. He supported the
United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum as his way to prevent the
horrors of the Holocaust from
happening again. He recognized
that the Holocaust isn’t just a Jewish
story; it’s a story about human nature
that must never be forgotten.
As we see similar atrocities occurring
right now in multiple areas of the
world, we need to remind ourselves
that the Holocaust happened
because a lot of good people did
nothing. The Museum also reminds
us how precious democracy is, why
we support countries going through
that process, and what Jews have had
to endure just to have a place to live.
As the generation that experienced
the Holocaust continues to diminish
in number, and as so many others
actively try to erase that memory, our
family is concerned about keeping
it alive. Leon didn’t talk a lot about
the Museum; he didn’t go there
more than once or twice, because
travel was difficult for him. But he
was clearly determined to help the
Museum live on and tell the story
so that others learn from it.”
—Steve Chudy, in memory of Leon Weiss
SAFEGUARDING TRUTH FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS l 221
