Mojszes Leder 1903 - 1944

Born 19.10.1903 in Tarnów
Died 30.11.1944 in Gusen

Biography

A Name with No Face: Mojszes Leder

There are no pictures of our uncle, Mojszes Leder. His story is one of courage and the will to survive. In sharing his story, we celebrate his life and remember his name.

Moshe (Mojszes) Leder was born in October 1903 in Tarnów, Poland. His parents were Baruch and Idessa (Judes) Leder. He was married to Rojze Rosner in April 1938. Moshe owned a store called Mosleta in Tarnów at 27 Walowa Street. He was very talented tailor and brilliant businessman. In addition to his store, he owned real estate in Tarnów. He was a devoted son and loving brother to our mother, Frania Leder, who survived the war. Moshe and Rosie had two sons, Jakub Leder (born in 1940) and Wolf-Dov Leder (born in 1941).

When the Nazis occupied Poland, Moshe and Rosie were forced into the Tarnów ghetto by the Nazis. The fate of the two little Leder children is unknown, but they probably died in 1942. Rosie was sent to Plaszow.

Moshe’s life during the war took a different course. In 1942, Moshe was granted special permission to work in a non-Jewish firm in Tarnów while he was imprisoned in the Tarnów ghetto. He was granted a pass by the Nazis that allowed him to work in the workshop of Gans & Hochberger, a textile business outside the ghetto. He later was sent from Tarnów to the Plaszow ghetto in Krakow, where he was reunited with his wife and his sister, Frania.

Moshe was transferred to the death camp, Mauthausen, on 10 August 1944. At that point he was 41 years old. His prison number was 87799. A man of great courage with an amazing will to survive, he lived for three months there. Moshe died in Mauthausen on 30 November 1944 of ‘circulatory insufficiency’, according to the official camp death certificate, but likely he died of malnutrition, disease or was worked to death. His whereabouts during the war were unknown as they were documented in records stored in Russia. In 1992 the records were made available to our family by the International Red Cross. We honour his memory by sharing his story with others. May his name and memory be blessed forever.

 

Jill Kornmehl

 

Translation into English: Joanna White

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