Nate Leipciger

Prepared by the Witnesses of War team

Nate Leipciger was born on 28 February 1928 in Chorzów, Poland, into a Jewish family. He grew up with his parents, Jacob and Leah, and his older sister, Linka. Following Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939, the family was forced from its home and moved to Sosnowiec, later enduring confinement in the Środula ghetto.

In August 1943, fifteen-year-old Nate and his family were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. His mother and sister were murdered. During the selection, his father managed to bring Nate into his own line, keeping them together and saving his life. Later, Jacob persuaded the Germans that Nate had electrical skills, enabling his son to accompany him on a transfer for forced labour.

Nate survived imprisonment in Fünfteichen, Gross-Rosen, Flossenbürg and Leonberg, before reaching the Mühldorf camp complex, part of the Dachau concentration camp system. He endured forced labour, hunger and evacuation marches. Throughout their captivity, the bond between father and son became essential to their survival. They were liberated by American troops on 2 May 1945.

In 1948, Nate and his father immigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto. Nate resumed his education, became an engineer and built a family with his wife, Bernice, raising three daughters.

Nate subsequently devoted decades to Holocaust education, sharing his testimony in schools and accompanying young people on the March of the Living. In 2016, he guided Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau through Auschwitz-Birkenau. His memoir, The Weight of Freedom, recounts both his wartime experiences and the difficult task of rebuilding a life after liberation.