Leo Silberman (M / Poland, 1928-2015), Holocaust survivor

Leo Silberman (M / Poland, 1928-2015), Holocaust survivor

• KEYWORDS : Hidden Children

Biography

Leo (Leyzer) Silberman, 86, of West Hartford, and Holocaust survivor, died Saturday February 21, 2015. Born in Pszemysl, Poland, on 12/13/1928, he was the son of Joseph and Dresla (Krieger) Silberman. In 1941 he and his family were forced into the Pszemysl Ghetto and by the end of one year, half of the population had died and the remainder was sent by a cattle car train to the Belzec Concentration Camp. As the train carrying his family neared, his mother pushed him out a small window while others were shot attempting the same. Her last word's he always carried, "tell the world what was done to the Jews". A Polish woman found him and hid him until liberation. Fifty one members of his family died in the Holocaust. After the War he arrived in the US and attended night school, learned the dry cleaning and tailoring business. He served as a US Army Sergeant during the Korean War. He became the owner/operator of the Ashley Cleaners in Hartford for 35 years. He was a member of Congregation Teferes Israel in Bloomfield and later a member of the United Synagogues in West Hartford. He was a member of the Hidden Children Holocaust Survivors of Ct. He is mentioned in Alexander Zapruder's book, "Salvage Pages" and was featured in the Holocaust documentary "One in Ten." He was interviewed for Stephen Spielberg's historical library.