Joseph Schleifstein, Date of Birth, Place of Birth

Joseph Schleifstein

Polish-born American, Buchenwald survivor at age 4

Date of Birth: 07-Mar-1941

Place of Birth: Sandomierz, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland

Nationality: United States, Poland

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Joseph Schleifstein (born March 7, 1941) is a Polish-born American who survived Buchenwald concentration camp at the age of four, one of the youngest to survive the Holocaust.
He was hidden by his father in a large sack, enabling him to avoid detection by SS guards when arriving at the camp.
Other prisoners helped his father keep him hidden and Schleifstein survived until the Americans liberated the camp.
After the war, Schleifstein and his parents emigrated to the United States.
He did not discuss his wartime experiences for decades, even with his children.
His case was discovered by chance in 1999 with the anniversary of the movie Life is Beautiful being celebrated.
It was discovered Schleifstein's story was inspiration for the script.
This led to a search for him and an eventual newspaper interview.