Kestenberg Archive

LP was born in Berlin in 1926, the only son to a Polish mother and German father. Their home was a basic Orthodox home and his father worked as a tax lawyer. In 1933 LP's mother died from nicotine poisoning and his father remarried six months later. LP describes his rowdy rebellious childhood, for example he remembers beating up members of the Hitler Youth during the 1936 Olympics. After Kristallnacht in November 1938 LP and his father left to Brussels, but his step-mother stayed behind in Germany. In Brussels they were supported by the Jewish community as refugees, and LP graduated high school there in 1940. When war was declared with Germany in May 1940, Belgian authorities arrested LP's father for being a foreigner. LP was left alone in Brussels and his father was sent to Gurs labour camp in southern France. LP never found what exactly happened to his father, but he definitely arrived in Auschwitz in September 1942. LP was arrested in June 1942 and was sent to Boulogne-sur-Mer labour camp in northern France. In October 1942 he was taken back to Brussels and transported to Mechelen. LP jumped from the train that was most likely heading to Auschwitz near the German/Belgian border. ; LP returned to Brussels and was arrested again in April 1943. LP was transported to Auschwitz Buna. Towards the end of the war LP was hospitalised with TB in both his lungs, and therefore was liberated by the Russians in Auschwitz. He recovered and worked as an interpreter for the Russians, staying in Auschwitz until June 1945. The Red Cross of various European countries helped LP to get to Germany, where he remained under the care of UNRA and IRO. In October 1950 LP married a non-Jewish Polish woman. They moved to America in 1951. LP has a good and healthy marriage with his wife and they have one son, who also married a non-Jew. LP has written a book on his experiences and wants to raise the awareness amongst Jews today of current anti-Semitism, and supports groups such as the ADL and JDL. He blames the Jews themselves for not noticing the danger signs in the run up to the Holocaust.