The Weight of Freedom

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Nate Leipciger, a thoughtful, shy eleven-year-old boy, is plunged into an incomprehensible web of ghettos, concentration and death camps during the German occupation of Poland. Demonstrating incredible strength of character as he struggles to survive, he forges a new, unbreakable bond with his father and yearns for a free future. With memories that remain etched in tragedy and pain even as he looks optimistically to the future, Nate builds a new life in Canada. Introspective and raw, yet ever hopeful, The Weight of Freedom is Nate’s vivid journey through a past that can never be left behind.

Introduction by Debórah Dwork ©

At a Glance
Poland
Ghettos and concentration camps
Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp
Postwar Germany
Arrived in Canada in 1948
Adjusting to life in Canada
Educational materials available: Nate Leipciger Activity
The Human Experience of Auschwitz
2019 honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Toronto

360 pages, including index

Recommended Ages
16+
Language
English

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Photo of Nate Leipciger

About the author

Nate Leipciger was born in Chorzów, Poland, in 1928. He immigrated to Toronto in 1948, where he eventually obtained a university degree in engineering. Nate was a member of the International Council of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum for fifteen years and has been an educator on March of the Living for nineteen years. Nate Leipciger lives in Toronto.

Explore this story in Re:Collection

To avoid thinking I repeated the words “after the war.” The words stuck in my mind like a mantra. After the war. The words blended into the clang of the wheels. Would there ever be an end to the war?