Why read The Boy on the Wooden Box?

Book cover of The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible....on Schindler's List

Book description

Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Boy on the Wooden Box as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Elaine Orr

Author

As a child, Leon Leyson (originally Lieb Lejzon) and his family of observant Jews moved from rural Poland to Krakow, where they became part of the Jewish ghetto and were eventually sent to Nazi concentration camps. Cruelty and near starvation would have led to death had not Oskar Schindler added them to his employees, first at an enamelware plant and later at an armaments factory.

Lieb had to stand on a box because he was so small. As Leon Leyson, he wrote the book as an older man, long a U.S. citizen, and educator. Through a child’s eyes, the horrors…

From Elaine's list on World War II for teens who love a good story.

Allan Zullo

Author

This is the only published memoir by a child on Schindler’s List. As a scrawny undersized 15-year-old, Leon (born Leib Lezjon) needed to stand on a box to reach the controls of the machine he operated in Oskar Schindler’s factory. From this unique perspective, Leon weaves a personal, heartrending true story of persecution, bravery, and survival. He also presents a portrait of a courageous man who risked everything to save the lives of 1,200 Jews.

From Allan's list on about children in the Holocaust.