Abram Zeleznikov was born in Vilna on May 25, 1924. In 1943, he escaped the ghetto of Vilna through more than 30 miles of sewers and joined the United Partisan Organization, a Jewish resistance group first formed in the ghetto. Zeleznikov was the only one of his family to survive the war. In 1945 he moved to Lodz, Poland, where he studied at Lodz University and met his wife-to-be, Masha. From 1948 the couple lived in Paris, until in 1951 they immigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where they opened a cafe that was a popular gathering place for Holocaust survivors. Zeleznikov died in Melbourne on June 8, 2013, survived by his wife; his son, John; and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his two daughters.
Biography
Abram Zeleznikov was born in Vilna on May 25, 1924. In 1943, he escaped the ghetto of Vilna through more than 30 miles of sewers and joined the United Partisan Organization, a Jewish resistance group first formed in the ghetto. Zeleznikov was the only one of his family to survive the war. In 1945 he moved to Lodz, Poland, where he studied at Lodz University and met his wife-to-be, Masha. From 1948 the couple lived in Paris, until in 1951 they immigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where they opened a cafe that was a popular gathering place for Holocaust survivors. Zeleznikov died in Melbourne on June 8, 2013, survived by his wife; his son, John; and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his two daughters.