The Boy on the Wooden Box

THE BOY ON THE WOODEN BOX By:Leon Leyson

Leon Leyson is a ten year old Jewish boy living in Narewka, Poland with his mother, Chanah, father, Moshe, along with his four siblings, Hershel, Tsalig, Pesza, and David. His father had always been determined to provide a better life for him and his family.

His father worked in a glass factory in order to reach his goal.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

The glass factory that his father worked at began to expand the business by moving it to Krakow, a city about 350 miles southwest of Narewka.

His father’s plan was to go first and when he had gotten enough money, bring them all to Krakow.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

In the meantime his father came home about every six months and usually brought them presents from the big city. His father’s visits always felt like holidays for the family. Leon loved spending time with his father when he was home, Leon enjoyed walking with his father to his grandparents’ house and walking past his friends along the way.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

Shortly later, his father decided that his rebellious brother, Hershel who had rebelled to go to school should join him in Krakow. Hershel preferred city life and rarely came home with his father on visits. Being jewish, Leon looked forward to going to synagogue services with his grandparents. For the most part, Christians and Jews lived side by side in Narewka, except during Holy Week, when Christians would yell things at him and other jewish people.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

In September through May, Leon went to public school and to Jewish school in the afternoon. Narewka lacked many necessities and electricity reached them in 1935, his parents decided to bring the new invention into their home.

Although, they have no indoor plumbing, and one large room that functioned as their kitchen, living room, bedroom and dining room.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

In their home, they all slept in one bed and had to collect water from the well. Leon was close to his family, especially his parents, whom he learned German from, knowing German proves to be more useful than he ever imagined.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

Leon loved reading his father's stories that painted a glittering image of Krakow.Finally in 1938, five year after his father had moved to the big city, his father sent for Leon and his family to move to the city with him. Leon got to experience his first train ride, he was fascinated by everything he saw from the moment he got on the train till the moment he got to the city. They arrived in Krakow well past 11 o’clock, they piled into a street car and soon were off to arrive at their new home.

Their new home was different from their first, this home had two rooms, a bedroom and a living room, but what excited them most was the indoor plumbing, even though they did have to share it with three other families.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

Leon and David went on new adventures everyday, and always found something new to discover. Soon Leon had a few friends, they were a mischievous bunch, but they enjoyed spending time with each other making up games. The fact that Leon was Jewish and his friends were not didn’t seem to matter to his friends either. Krakow had about 60,000 Jews, which was approximately one quarter of the population. Although, they were still occasionally picked on. October 1938, news that Adolf Hitler, leader of Germany and also of the Nazis, was beginning to make the Jews “the other.”

Hitler blamed Jews for many of the problems that Germany in the past and present.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

Germany had already annexed Austria in March of 18938 and occupied an area of Czechoslovakia six months later. Before they had a chance to absorb the news, Hitler ordered as many as 17,000 Polish Jews to be expelled from Germany.

Leon’s parents downplayed the seriousness of the events in front of him. They then got the worse news yet, in Germany and Austria, Jews were killed, beaten and robbed.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

Leon’s father and Hershel had attempted to travel back to Narewka, but they decided that Hershel will continue since he is younger and stronger than his father. Soon after, the Nazi’s had taken over Krakow, and would beat Jews in the street.

Soon, there was barely anything Jews could do, although the German’s did anything they wished. The German’s burst through their apartment door, broke dishes and furniture, along with beating Leon’s father, in front of them, and they dragged him with them.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

In December 1939, Jews could no longer attend school. Several weeks later, Leon’s father was released from prison. Leon’s father cracked open a safe for the Nazi’s and Oskar Schindler offered him a job at his enamelware factory, his father accepted right away. His father was one of the first Jewish workers at the company.

His father wasn’t able to bring them home money, but he was able to bring them a little food that he stuck in his jacket.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

Meanwhile in Krakow, the Germans tightened their grip. One day, someone told the soldiers that Leon had conversations with that he was a Jew, the soldiers ended up beating him in the middle of the night since he had failed to tell them. Soon after, the Germans forced all but 15,000 Jews out of the city. Things only got worse in the following months, they began to hear rumors about a section of the ghetto being enclosed with high walls and guarded by soldiers, and the remaining Jews in the city would be forced there.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

In March 1941, they piled up their belongings and headed to the ghetto. They now shared a house with Mr. and Mrs, Luftig with a blanket separating them. Food was their biggest concern, since they had no money, they all tried to bring home food from work. A little time later, in May 1942, the Nazis announced there would be a transport to the countryside and asked for volunteers, but by June, they demanded the “nonessential� Jews leave.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

On June 8, German soldiers burst into their home and took Tsalig since he failed to have a work permit. His father’s boss tried to get Tsalig off the train but he stayed for his girlfriend. Shortly later, in October, news of another train reached Schindler, all the factory workers stayed at their jobs in order to keep them safe from deportation. Leon and Mrs. Bircz’s sons hid in the storage shed behind their building, after a few days, it was finally safe to exit their hiding place.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

In December, Leon and his mother were moved from Ghetto B to Ghetto A, but they waited till the very last minute to move, therefore there was no place to stay except for an attic. Then, in March 1943, the Nazi’s liquidate the entire ghetto sending the remaining Jews to Plaszow.

Leon had trouble getting through with one of the guards but on his third attempt, he succeeded to cross, and off he was headed to the camp that he soon realized wasn’t as great as he imagined. Leon had no clue if his father and brother were still alive, but soon, he learned from men in his cabin where the company workers were and Leon was able to see his brother and father, he also found his mother a week later.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

In late 1943, Schindler bribed the leader of the SS to make a new sub-camp, the list Schindler made of who was moving there had Leon and his mother on the list. Someone crossed his name off, but he still snuck to the sub-camp. They were there for a while, and Schindler had conversations with them typically even though it was against the rules.

But soon, the factory was to be closed and relocated in Czechoslovakia, Leon and his family there had been selected to stay at the factory and help close up instead of go back to the camp.

Although they were sent back to Plaszow, they soon left for the last time on October 15, 1944 and headed to Schindler’s new factory. They first went to Gross-Rosen ConcentrationCamp for a brief time.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

Leon became close to Schindler, and soon was moved from the night to the day shift. In early 1945, Schindler saved them from death again, but then decided to set them free and escape without being seen by the Soviets. !,200 of them were saved and now free. Leon and his family headed back to Krakowwhere they were able to stay with a friend for a while, soon David, Pesza, and Leon went to Czechoslovakia, but Leon had to return becaue his mother wanted one og them with her and Leon was the youngest. Leon, his mother, and father then moved to a displaced persons camp in Germany and got in touch with their family in the United States. They would receive CARE packages from ther family and then finally, one daytheir immagration request had been excepted and Leon and his parents headed to the new world. They first rode a train to another city in Germany and then loaded a boat till they arrived in the United States, they boarded another train until they arrived in California. Leon received his American name and how to count money, and with that, he stepped off the train into the California sunshine, leaving everything in his previous life behind.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

New Begginings of Life The Boy on the Wooden Box

Theme of Hope in The Boy on the Wooden Box Leon was a young boy who grew up knowing how much his family cared for him. His love for his family keeps him going throughout all the things he faces in his life. He edured the Holocaust and still had glimpses of hope, even if he didn’t know when his last day was, he still managed to stay positive and hope for the best in his circumstances. He had so much hope that his family would be safe and stay together that eventually, that happened and they were finally safe at last. Leon and his family remained hopeful during the entire ordeal and that hope might be what kept him and his family alive.