Bálint, Lea

1938?-

Polish-Israeli survivor of the Shoah

Balint spent part of World War II living under an assumed name in a Polish convent in Brwinow, near Warsaw. Her parents placed her there when she was five and she emerged at the end of the war. Unusually, her father survived the war.

After the war she emigrated to Israel where she is director of The Bureau of Children without Identity which attempts to help other child survivors of the Shoah trace their original identities and families.

References

Lappin, Elena. "The Man with Two Heads," Granta, 66 (Summer 1999), pp. 7-65
Pyrich, Elzbieta. "Jewish Convent Children Thanking their Christian Saviors," Warsaw Voice, 21 September 1997. Also available at: http://www.jcrelations.com/res/convsurv.htm

Indexes

European
Jewish
Israel
Poland
20th Century
Civil Rights, Advocacy
Social Services and Social Sciences
Birth Identity Disputed or Deliberately Concealed
Ethnic or Religious Identity Confused or Concealed, Racism
Exile or Persecution (religious, Political or Social)
Pre-school Years
War or Persecution
Priest, Religious, Teacher, Coach, Mentor, Patron, Apprentice Master or Owner
Others ("Strangers")
Trans-Racial, Trans-Tribal, International or Trans-Cultural Adoption or Fostering
Temporary Care
Institutional Care
Parents Married (or Partnered) to Each Other
Always in Contact or Knew Identities