Leitner Franz

Leitner, Franz Franz Leitner was born in 1918 in Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria. Because he was active in the communist party, the local Gestapo imprisoned him, and in September he was sent to Buchenwald, where he remained until the liberation of the camp. He was put to work at various kinds of forced labor, and was one of the leaders of the camp underground. In July 1943, the leaders of the inmates convinced the camp authorities to create a housing block especially for the children age 14 and under (actually older children were transferred there as well). Leitner was appointed head of this block. At first, Block 8 had some 160 youngsters, and during 1944, the number grew to 400. With the help of the leadership among the inmates, Leitner managed to significantly improve work conditions for children in the block. He also managed to release children aged 14 and under from work altogether. Leitner got additional, illegal food rations for the children from the camp kitchen, and procured extra food from camp prisoners from Western Europe, who were allowed to receive packages. He also provided the children with warm clothing, which he got from the camp warehouse. Leitner’s attitude toward the children was warm and loving, but at the same time, he managed to establish discipline that allowed the underground to successfully carry out its activities in the block, and helped the children to survive under the camp’s conditions. He established an underground school where the children learned various subjects from adult prisoners. Leitner saved a number of Jewish children who had been smuggled into the camp by their parents, who had difficulty finding food and a safe place for their children to stay. Leitner hid the children in Block 8, making sure that they received food and clothing, despite the fact that they were not officially registered in the camp. In the summer and fall of 1944, many Hungarian Jews, including children, arrived in Buchenwald, mostly fromAuschwitz, and were put to work at hard labor in conditions that were inhumane even by Buchenwald’s standards, and the mortality rate was particularly high. With the help of the underground and some of the camp’s political prisoners, Leitner managed to smuggle 150 Hungarian children into his block, which was reserved for political prisoners, not Jews. When SS guards asked about the children, Leitner told them that they were being held in “reserve” for future transports. Later he bribed the SS guard responsible for the block, as well as other camp workers, with cigarettes and other means, so that they would turn a blind eye to the children’s presence. When other members of the SS came to check the block, the Hungarian Jewish children were hidden in a prepared space under the floor. Remaining in Leitner’s block saved the lives of many of these children. In addition to the Hungarian children, Jewish youngsters from other countries were smuggled into Block 8 as well, as were a number of adult Jews. In the beginning of October 1944, between 12 and 15 Jewish children from Poland arrived in the block, all between the ages of seven and 12. By hiding in the block, they were saved from hard labor. In October 1944, Leitner was put into solitary confinement together with other communist leaders, and remained in solitary for over 100 days. In the meantime, another prisoner was put in charge of the block of children, and continued to act as Leitner had before him. Additional Jewish children were smuggled in to the block, including Israel Lau, who would later become the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. In February 1945 Leitner was released from solitary confinement and was made the registrar (Schrieber) of Block 40, in the “little camp” of Buchenwald. In this position, he continued to direct Jewish children from the “little camp” to the relative safety of Block 8. After the liberation of the camp, Leitner returned to his home city of Wiener Neustadt where he took toppositions in the communist party and eventually became vice mayor. On October 29, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Franz Leitner as Righteous Among the Nations.