|
|
Article: Holocaust Survivor Thrived in U.S., Aided Refugees
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 13, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
|
Leon Jolson, 96, a Polish-born concentration camp survivor who
achieved success as a sewing machine entrepreneur in the United
States after World War II and provided financial help to other
refugees, died Aug. 7 at his home in Manhattan, N.Y. The family did
not disclose the cause of death.
He was born Leon Joselzon in Warsaw in 1912. Before the Nazi
invasion of Poland in 1939, he found moderate success by following
his father into the sewing machine import business in Warsaw.
After the invasion, Mr. Jolson was among thousands of Jews forced
into a ghetto in the Polish capital.
When word came that the Nazis were planning to send Jews to labor
camps, Mr. Jolson heard from a friend that ...