Holocaust survivor Ben Lesser wears the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany as he poses for a photo at his home in Las Vegas Friday, March 24, 2023.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Jewish community in Nevada
Holocaust survivor Ben Lesser remembers a time when German people fueled by hatred had turned into “monsters.”
It was his traumatic experiences during the Holocaust that drove the Las Vegas resident to create the Zachor Holocaust Remembrance Foundation. The foundation provides a free and interactive curriculum utilized by thousands of schools around the globe to educate students about the Holocaust.
His work caught the eye of the German government, who this month presented him with the Cross of the Order of Merit — the country’s highest citizen honor — for his work making sure the atrocities Germany committed nearly 90 years ago will never be forgotten.
“I feel like it was a historic moment for me,” said Lesser, 94. “If I would have gotten the Order of Merit, let’s say from the United States or some other country, it wouldn’t matter. But Germany shows you that there is some good there, and they’re good people.”
In a ceremony at the German Consulate building in Los Angeles, Lesser was recognized for his work in teaching people about the events of the Holocaust, the “systemic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazi regime” that occurred between 1933 and 1945.
Lesser was selected to receive the Cross of the Order of Merit by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president. The honor is considered the highest tribute Germany can give to individuals for achievements in the political, economic, social or intellectual realm. It can also be given to those who have made “outstanding services” to Germany through social, charitable or philanthropic work.
The Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Los Angeles, Stefan Schneider, presented Lesser the award. Lesser was surrounded by his family and German officials.
“Dear Benjamin Lesser, your contribution to keeping awareness of the Shoah alive is just wonderful and simply inspiring, especially your pivotal role in its commemoration and your tremendous endeavors in reconciliation,” Schneider said at the ceremony. “It is truly touching how you reach out to the German people. We all remember together. Zachor!”
Zachor means “remember” in Hebrew.
The Poland-born Lesser was chased out of his home country during the first wave of antisemitic attacks preceding World War II. He escaped to Hungary, where he was captured by German soldiers six months later in 1944 and sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
He survived a seven-week death march and four different concentration camps — Auschwitz-Birkenau, Durnhau, Buchenwald and Dachau. On the train from Buchenwald to Dachau, Lesser said he spent three weeks in a cattle car with no water, surviving on only crumbs of a bread roll he had smuggled on.
Of the 5,000 prisoners on this train, Lesser was one of only 18 who survived and is the last one alive today, said his daughter, Gail Lesser Gerber. Lesser and one of his older sisters were the only two of their seven-person family to see liberation.
Lesser immigrated to New York in 1947, started a family and built a successful career in real estate. But he now spends all of his time making sure that the world doesn’t “contract amnesia” about the Holocaust.
That’s why he launched the Zachor Holocaust Remembrance Foundation in 2009. He funds the program on his own and runs it as a family affair. It has since expanded to include more programs to promote anti-bullying and tolerance, such as its I-SHOUT-OUT website. People can “shout out against bullying” on the website by leaving a note and their name.
Lesser said he hopes to gather 6 million “shout-outs” to represent the 6 million people killed during the Holocaust.
“I feel that my 6 million dearly departed ones who left us are crying out in a single word: zachor, remember as we were here (and) do not forget us,” Lesser said.
Remembrance is a sentiment that Lesser continues to emphasize today amid a rising tide of antisemitism and lack of knowledge about the Holocaust.
According to the Anti-Defamation League’s Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, last year there was a 36% increase in antisemitic incidents throughout the United States, up from 2,717 in 2021 to 3,697 in 2022. Nevada saw 30 of the recorded antisemitic incidents.
Antisemitic harassment and vandalism has increased the most, but one person was killed as a result of antisemitic assault, according to the ADL.
The reason for these increases cannot be attributed to one cause. Organized white supremacist propaganda activity might be one of the biggest perpetrators, though. The spread of antisemitic propaganda by white supremacist networks doubled in 2022 from the previous year, said the ADL.
The world also saw a slew of high-profile individuals regurgitating antisemitic messages, like Ye — the rapper formerly known as Kanye West — and former President Donald Trump, who hosted Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago property on Nov. 22, 2022.
But Lesser and Lesser Gerber believe hatred and bigotry are the root of these issues.
“We feel that hate is the cause of all these problems, even today with all this antisemitism,” Lesser said. “Hitler and the Nazis did not start with killing; it all started with hate, and hatred was able to convert ordinary human beings in Germany to become monsters.”
That’s why Lesser doesn’t miss any opportunity to speak about his experience and the atrocities of the Holocaust, Lesser Gerber said. From sixth-grade classrooms in Las Vegas to viewers at an online event for the United Nations, Lesser said he had shared his story with millions of people.
He has also written blog posts, a book and columns in addition to the Zachor Foundation curriculum and his speaking engagements — each one detailing how important it is to not only remember the Holocaust, but choose love over hate.
“There are a lot of Nazis (in Germany), and there are a lot of Nazis right here in the United States, and this is so important that we point out that the memory has to be alive,” Lesser said. “People would love to forget about the atrocities that happened during the Holocaust, but as long as I’m alive, I won’t let them.”
