Auschwitz survivors around the world are happy to be sending their best wishes today to their friend, fellow sufferer and companion Leon Schwarzbaum in Berlin. And they are expressing their deepest gratitude on his 100th birthday. In Berlin Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, said:

"For Holocaust survivors it is a special occasion and a great pleasure to know that their former fellow prisoner Leon Schwarzbaum is able to celebrate his 100th birthday as an alert and open-minded centenarian.

Throughout his life Leon Schwarzbaum has been accompanied by his memories of his murdered family members and the agonies of Auschwitz and the other camps. But these memories have never paralysed him. Instead they have motivated him to share these memories with the world and to tell especially young people about his experiences. In this way he has become an important witness of the times who has touched the hearts of many people. This also applies to his filmic journey through life, which he completed together with director Hans Erich Viet in the shape of the film Der letzte Jolly Boy (The Last of the Jolly Boys).

Over the decades, and to this day, Leon Schwarzbaum has never become resigned. He has remained an angry and sensible world citizen. To him, anti-Semitism, populist hatred and the return of right-wing extremist movements and parties are a constant source of outrage and opposition. He took the witness stand at the Detmold Trial against the former SS man Hanning who he repeatedly and urgently requested to give personal explanations and to describe what he saw in Auschwitz. The letter that he passed on to the accused in court remains one of the most incisive indictments in the history of the prosecution of Nazi perpetrators.

Leon Schwarzbaum is a boon to our society who holds an important key in our ability to remember. We are very grateful that he is here with us."