A Holocaust survivor saved by Oskar Schindler has died in Melbourne.
Leo Rosner, an accordionist, died Oct 10. He was 90.
Born in Krakow, Poland, Rosner was interred in a nearby ghetto where he played his accordion in exchange for food. On the night of his wedding in 1943, he was taken to Plaszow concentration camp, where he was
selected by camp commandant Amon Goeth, who ordered him to play music at parties to “celebrate” the mass murder of “Juden.”
Fortunately for Rosner, he was noticed by Schindler and his name was placed on the famous list of Jews who were sent to Schindler’s factory in Brinnlitz. Schindler also managed to rescue Rosner’s wife Helen, but Rosner’s parents and four of his eight siblings were murdered by the Nazis.
Leo and Helen Rosner arrived in Australia in 1949. In the 1990s, Rosner joined Holocaust survivors at Schindler’s memorial at Yad Vashem to be filmed for the end of Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-
winning film, Schindler’s List.
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