One In The Eye For Hitler

The following is a synopsis of Leonard Kaufman’s book which recounts his life before, during and after the Holocaust.

Leonard was born in Germany on 7 April 1935 to a family of cattle dealers. He had an older brother and sister.

His mother’s brother, Arthur came to England in 1938. Arthur settled in Manchester. Following the onset of war, Arthur managed to secure sponsorship for Leonard to come over on the Kinderstransport. Unfortunately, it became too difficult to arrange this for the older siblings and so they stayed behind in Germany.

Leonard arrived in England in April 1939 and his first memory is of sitting on a barstool and waiting to be collected. Leonard didn’t know who was coming for him and he didn’t speak any English. His sponsors, Alice and Ronald Argles collected him.

The Argles were wonderful to him and treated him like a son. They sponsored many other children too. He lived with them in their home in Sharpcliffe Hall in Staffordshire until nearly the end of the war. Sadly, his parents and siblings all perished in the Holocaust.

Leonard later moved to Manchester to be with his uncle Arthur and get a Jewish education. He lived in a hostel at first and then, when Arthur got married to Hilde in 1945, he moved into a house in Didsbury with them.

When Leonard finished school, he went into the family business, manufacturing egg slicers, which later developed into a wholesale business.

Leonard married Ruth on 1 January 1961 and they went to live in Gatley in South Manchester. Leonard branched out on his own working for a clothing manufacturer, for ten years. Then later re-joined the manufacturing business. When it closed in 1997, Leonard became the administrator for Yeshurun Synagogue.

Leonard and Ruth have two daughters and five grandchildren.

“I don’t remember my mother; I don’t remember any of my family.”

Leonard Kaufman

“You could tell the sound of the English planes and the German planes. The English planes had a complete humming constantly. But the German planes had a humming and a break, humming and a break, humming and a break, so you always knew what type of aircraft were flying overhead.”

Leonard Kaufman

“I look back at it all sometimes and think, ‘One in the eye for Hitler!’ I mean we were two single people (Ruth and I). And then we were four. Now we’re eleven!”

Leonard Kaufman

One In The Eye For Hitler

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