Skip to main content

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Site
    • English home page
    • المصادر بالعربية
    • Πηγές στα Ελληνικά
    • Recursos en español
    • منابع موجود به زبان فارسی
    • Ressources en français
    • Gyűjtemény és tudástár magyar nyelven
    • Sumber Bahasa Indonesia
    • Materiali e risorse in italiano
    • 日本語のリソース
    • 한국어 자료
    • Recursos em Português (do Brasil)
    • Материалы на русском языке
    • Türkçe Kaynaklar
    • اُردو ری سورسز
    • 中文参考资料
  • Events
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Support the Museum
  • Connect
  • Donate
  • Learn About The Holocaust
  • Remember Survivors and Victims
  • Confront Genocide and Antisemitism

  • Home
  • Learn about The Holocaust
Holocaust Encyclopedia

We’ve been reworking our Holocaust Encyclopedia, and we would love for you to explore the new experience. Click the button at right to start using the new version. The version you are viewing now will remain online until June 30, 2018.

  • Introduction to the Holocaust
  • Information for Students
  • Timeline of Events
  • Holocaust Encyclopedia
  • Holocaust and Related Maps
  • The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students
This page is also available in:
  • عربيArabic
  • EspañolSpanish
  • فارسیFarsi
  • FrançaisFrench
  • ItalianoItalian
  • TürkçeTurkish

Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia — ID Card

Back to Article

Leon Franko

Born: ca. 1920, Bitola, Yugoslavia

Leon Franko

Leon was born to a large, Ladino-speaking, Sephardic-Jewish family. The Frankos lived in a large house in ethnically diverse Bitola, a town located in the southern part of Yugoslav Macedonia, near the Greek border. Leon's father, Yiosef, was a successful fabric merchant. The Frankos' children attended Yugoslav public schools where they learned to speak Serbian.

1933-39: Upon completing his schooling, Leon became a fabric merchant in Bitola. A handsome man from a well-to-do family, Leon was popular. His friends often remarked that he looked like a movie star. His younger brother, Dario, idolized him.

1940-44: In April 1941 the Germans invaded Yugoslavia, and Macedonia was annexed to Bulgaria. The Bulgarians introduced anti-Jewish laws and cooperated with the Germans. Leon and Dario fled to Kastoria, a town in Italian-occupied Greece. There, Leon met and married Rebecca Pissirilo. After Italy surrendered, the Germans deported Kastoria's 700 Jews to Salonika, where they were assembled for deportation to Auschwitz. In Salonika, Leon's wife, who was nine months pregnant, was taken by the International Red Cross to a hospital.

Leon was one of 700 Jews deported by train from Salonika to Auschwitz on April 1, 1944. Both he and his wife perished. Their baby, Esther, was saved by a nurse in the hospital.

Browse all ID Cards

Browse all Oral Histories

Related Holocaust Encyclopedia Articles

  • Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia
  • Bulgaria
  • Italy
  • Sephardi Jews during the Holocaust
  • Previous
  •  
  • Next

Copyright © United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

This page is also available in:

  • عربيArabic
  • EspañolSpanish
  • فارسیFarsi
  • FrançaisFrench
  • ItalianoItalian
  • TürkçeTurkish

Museum Information

  • Today at the Museum
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Exhibitions and Collections
  • Traveling Exhibitions

Resources for Academics and Research

  • Ask a Research Question
  • Research in Collections
  • Research about Survivors and Victims
  • Academic Programs

Resources for Educators

  • Teaching about the Holocaust
  • Programs for Teachers
  • Teaching Materials
  • Holocaust Encyclopedia

Resources for Professionals and Student Leaders

  • Law Enforcement
  • Military
  • Judiciary
  • Faith and Interfaith Communities
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
Main telephone: 202.488.0400
TTY: 202.488.0406

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Plus
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • About the Museum
  • Contact the Museum
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
  • Legal
×

#USHMM #AskWhy

FirstPerson

Conversations with Survivors
of the Holocaust

Watch Now

Join us right now to watch a live interview with a survivor, followed by a question-and-answer session.