Leopold Rosner (26 June 1918 – 10 October 2008) was a Polish-born Australian musician. Rosner, who was Jewish, survived the Holocaust in Nazi concentration camps during World War II by playing his

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

for Nazi officials. This earned the attention of Oskar Schindler, who saved his life by having him placed on his famous list. His story became known after Australian author

Thomas Keneally Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel ''Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, wh ...

's 1982 novel, ''

Schindler's Ark ''Schindler's Ark'' is a historical novel published in 1982 by the Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The United States edition of the book was titled ''Schindler's List;'' it was later reissued in Commonwealth countries under that name as we ...

'', was adapted into

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

's Oscar-winning film, '' Schindler's List''. He appeared in the epilogue of the film at the Schindler's grave on

Mount Zion Mount Zion ( he, הַר צִיּוֹן, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; ar, جبل صهيون, ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew ...

Life

Early life

Rosner was born in Kraków, Poland on 26 June 1918. He was one of nine children in a family that performed in the music business.

The Holocaust

Rosner was a successful cabaret artist and entertainer in Kraków, Poland by the time the country was

invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1939. The Rosner family fled to the rural town of

Tyniec Tyniec is a historic village in Poland on the Vistula river, since 1973 a part of the city of Kraków (currently in the district of Dębniki). Tyniec is notable for its Benedictine abbey founded by King Casimir the Restorer in 1044. Etymology ...

e, where they played in barns for food. They were soon caught and sent to the

Kraków Ghetto The Kraków Ghetto was one of five major metropolitan Nazi ghettos created by Germany in the new General Government territory during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It was established for the purpose of exploitation, terror, an ...

, where they lived in cramped and dangerous conditions. Leo continued to play music with his brother, Henry Rosner. Leo played the accordion, and Henry played the violin. They played at the ghetto's cafes, where he met his wife, Helen (born 1924). They were married on 17 January 1943, but on his wedding night Leo was deported to Płaszów concentration camp without her. Helen and her sister, Janka, was deported to the Płaszów that March. While at Płaszów, Rosner, along with his brother Henry, were forced to perform for the notorious camp commandant Amon Göth. Rosner's talent with his accordion earned him the attention of Oskar Schindler. Schindler had Rosner and his surviving family members moved to his

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

Brněnec Brněnec (german: Brünnlitz) is a municipality and village in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Chrastová Lhota, Moravská Chrastová and Podlesí are ...

, Czech Protectorate, in 1945. However, Rosner's wife, Helen, along with the other female '' Schindlerjuden'', including Henry's wife Manci, were transferred to the notorious

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. After a harrowing few weeks, Schindler was able to bribe camp officials to have them transferred out. The couple was reunited at Schindler's camp, the

Brünnlitz labor camp The Brünnlitz labor camp () was a forced labor camp of Nazi Germany which was established in 1944 just outside the town of Brněnec ( in German), Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. It operated solely as a site for an armaments factory run by t ...

, where they remained in relative safety until the end of World War II, when the camp was liberated by the Red Army.

Post World War II

Leo and Helen Rosner immigrated to Australia in 1949 and settled in Melbourne. The couple had two daughters, Frances Rosner and Anna Rosner Blay. He worked as a musician and eventually fronted a twelve piece band. He continued to perform into his eighties. He was well known in the Melbourne musician business as well as in the Australian Holocaust survivors community. He traveled to

in Jerusalem for the 1993 film '' Schindler's List'' to appear in the film's epilogue with other ''Schindlerjuden'' paying their respects at the grave of Oskar Schindler. Rosner suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

in his later years, but was still able to perform at his and Helen's 65th wedding anniversary celebration in 2008.

Death

Leo Rosner died on 10 October 2008, at the age of 90, of complications from

in Melbourne, Australia. He was survived by his wife, Helen Rosner, who was 84 years old at the time of Leo's death. Rosner was also survived by his two daughters, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His funeral was held at Melbourne Chevra Kadisha Cemetery in Springvale, Victoria. His wife, Helen Rosner, died in 2010 after suffering from heart problems and Parkinson's disease, at age 86.

References

External links

Australian Jewish News: Musician saved by Schindler dies at 90

The Age: A hit on Schindler's music list
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosner, Leo 1918 births 2008 deaths Polish Jews Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Naturalised citizens of Australia Jewish Australian musicians Polish emigrants to Australia Musicians from Melbourne Musicians from Kraków Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp survivors Kraków Ghetto inmates Schindlerjuden Polish musicians Neurological disease deaths in Victoria (state) Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Australia Burials in Victoria (state)