Kestenberg Archive

RL was born in February 1937, in Belgrade, Serbia. RL's grandfather was the Chief Rabbi of Yugoslavia. In April 1941, when RL was 4 years old, German forces bombed Belgrade. The family hid in a neighboring house cellar. During Nazi occupation, 50 famous Croats and Serbs were killed and hung in the main square. RL's extended family were the last Jews to be arrested and taken prisoner. She was cared for by paternal grandparents while the family was detained. RL's maternal grandmother died in a local concentration camp and an aunt was killed while a political prisoner. RL's mother's obtained forged documents for the family after her release. In December 1942, RL and mother fled Belgrade using assumed identities. They reunited with the grandfather and spent the next five years in an isolated area of Seen, Croatia. Her father joined the partisans in the forestss. From 1943/1944 RL did not leave the house as a result of the German occupation. She was afraid and always hungry during that time. After the war, RL's father met the family and returned them to their home in Belgrade. Only a few of the extended family, 77 individuals, survived. Today, RL is an International Law expert and lectures throughout the world. She has re-ocurring rheumatic fever and is a compulsive eater.