The Boy on the Wooden Box

Wow.  Just wow. This is the true story of Leon Leyson, a young man whose family lost almost everything in Poland during the Holocaust, yet made it through alive thanks to Oskar Schindler and his famous list. This is a story of the survival of humans through the generosity of those who seem least likely to offer it, and it is a story of bold chances taken and grateful, hopeful people. 

From the first words, Leon draws us into his story of life as a young boy in Krakow, and how that life changed as the Nazis invaded; how his family managed to stay together (mostly) for the duration of the war, and how he was reduced to digging through garbage for food and lying to soldiers to stay alive. But it is a fortuitous meeting of Leon's father with Schindler that ultimately keeps Leon's family alive; one by one they are taken from their camp and brought to work in Schindler's factory. The fact that young Leon, small in body from his years of starvation, was taken into Schindler's group attests to the good this one man was able to do right under the noses of the Nazis hungering for death for all Jews. Leon is mindful of his good fortune but doesn't shy away from the hard, brutal details of life in the Krakow ghetto and the internment camp. The fact that many times it all might have gone even more horribly wrong than it already had is proof of the triumph of spirit, and it is beautiful.

Leon Leyson was a gifted storyteller, and his story is one that will capture you, enlighten you, and uplift you. This is a look at Schindler's List from one of the workers who was saved, and it's a story that we need to know.

~taminator40