Kestenberg Archive

SL was born in Przytyk, a small village near Radom, in 1926. His family was well respected, although not rich. SL had one brother and one sister. His parents were religious and also strong Zionists. Relations between the Poles and Jews in the village were always very volatile and often erupted into violence. During the German occupation no ghetto was established and SL and his family remained in their home until they were expelled along with the village's entire population in 1941. They relocated to a smaller village. SL and all his family found jobs working for the German forces. For some time SL was in a small camp and in 1943 when this camp was closed was taken to Starachowice. In June 1944 SL and his remaining family were taken to Auschwitz. SL and his father told the guards that they were painters and were sent to work in Buna. SL's hand was injured in an allied bombing attack. SL and his father were marched to Gleiwitz and then moved around by train until they managed to escape and hide until the area was liberated. The two returned home but found the village decimated and moved to Radom. Although SL at first wanted to join the British Army he agreed to go with his father to Israel through Aliyah Bet and they made their way through Europe in order to do so. In Eretz Yisrael, SL joined the underground and then served in the army. As a child SL had dreamed of being a Jewish officer but a military career did suit him. He worked as a dock laborer in Haifa before becoming a school janitor and returning to study. SL married and has two sons, who have both served in the army. He is now a writer and translator of literature into Hebrew. SL believes that life is a war. He has also lived in Brooklyn, New York.