Leon Metzler (z”l)

May 18, 1928 – July 21, 2016

Birthplace: Sobernheim, Germany
Religious Identity: Jewish

“When the Nazis came into our house they had axes and broke up all the furniture and the windows and then they arrested my father and took him away, to Dachau, and we never saw him again.”

Leon Metzler (z”l) was a child when WWII began. He was 10 years old when Kristallnacht occur. He could remember men coming into their house, breaking the furniture and windows with axes, and destroying their attached business. He also recalled trying to save his father from being arrested and a Nazi putting a knife to his throat. That night his father was taken to Dachau and that was the last time Leon ever saw him. The family wasn’t allowed to repair the
windows; instead they had to live in their ruined home.

Leon, his sister and his grandmother were sent to France. Leon’s mother stayed behind. The trio was arrested and sent to a nearby internment camp called Gurs, where they remained for a period of time. After leaving Gurs, they lived in a synagogue in Marseille before continuing their journey to Spain, Portugal, and finally the United States. Leon’s mother was arrested and taken to Theresienstadt, where she died.

In the U.S., Leon and his sister lived with their grandmother. Leon attended school and worked simultaneously,
and his sister began cleaning houses. The pair was very close all throughout their lives. He met his late wife, Annette, a Pittsburgh native, and the pair married and had one daughter.

Since Leon was robbed of the opportunity to have a Bar Mitzvah when he was 13, at the age of 83 he joined his 13 year old grandson in becoming a Bar Mitzvah. According to Jewish tradition, 83 is the age when one could have a second Bar Mitzvah.

Leon passed away on July 21, 2016.

“I come from Germany that’s true, but I’m an American now. See my uniform, I’m an American now.”

-Biography adapted from “In Celebration of Life: The Living Legacy Project” (2016)