Lee Schweitzer was born in Vienna, Austria on April 16, 1915. Early on in the Nazi occupation of Austria, he was able to move to Palestine because he had relatives there. While in Palestine, he worked on a kibbutz (collective farm). Wanting to immigrate to New York, Lee went to the German consulate in Haifa for a passport to leave. His request was granted, and his passport was stamped with a Nazi swastika (a rarity for a Jew). Once in New York, he worked to arrange for Gertrude, whom he had known in Vienna, to meet him there. Gertrude came to New York in 1942. Lee had borrowed money from relatives to help bring her to New York, which he paid back as soon as he was able. The ship arrived in New York on Gertrude’s birthday, August 15. They were married on August 29, 1942. Soon after Lee was drafted into the American army, and he served from August 1942 to November 1945.
Gertrude and Lee lived in New York for eight years and had their son, Jeffrey, there. They moved to Amarillo, Texas and then eventually to El Paso. Lee was a downtown merchant and tax preparer.
Lee died on June 7, 2012.
Connecting Stories: Gertrude Schweitzer