Leyon Leyson, Holocaust Survivor on 'Schindler's List' Dies

By Kimber Liponi, NBC Los Angeles

Credit: NBCLosAngeles

Leyon Leyson, Holocaust Survivor on 'Schindler's List' Dies

January 13, 2013 Updated Jan 13, 2013 at 12:31 PM PDT

Leon Leyson, who was among the youngest of the refugees to be saved from the Holocaust by German businessman Oskar Schindler, has died.

He was 83.

Leyson was 10 years old when Poland was invaded by the Nazis and 13 when he started to work for Schindler, the hero in Steven Spielberg's 1993 Oscar-winning movie, "Schindler's List."

Many of Leyson's family members died in the Holocaust. Leon, his parents, older brother and sister survived.

Leyson and his family moved to the United States in 1949.

It wasn't long before he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He often spoke about how grateful he was to serve his new country.

A counselor at Los Angeles City College helped him get his education, and he became a teacher at Huntington Park High School.

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