Leo Rosner - Schindler's List

Schindler's List

Rosner was a successful cabaret artist and entertainer in Poland by the time Hitler launched his blitzkrieg and occupied the country in 1939. He and his wife, Helen Rosner, were deported separately to the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in 1943. While at Plaszow, Rosner was forced to perform his accordion for commandant Amon Goeth, who was portrayed in the 1993 film Schindler's List by actor Ralph Fiennes.

Rosner's talent with his accordion earned him the attention of Oskar Schindler. Schindler personally had Rosner moved to an enamelling factory in Brinnlitz, Czechoslovakia, in 1945. However, Rosner's wife, Helen, was transferred to the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp. Rosner was able to successfully persuade Schindler to have Helen Rosner removed from Auschwitz. The couple were reunited in Brinnlitz, where they remained until the end of World War II.