Franz Leitner
Biography
An Austrian sent to Buchenwald at twenty-one for belonging to the communist youth league, who at twenty-five became block elder of the barrack where the camp resistance sheltered children.
Committed in 1939
Born at Wiener Neustadt on 12 February 1918, Leitner was committed to Buchenwald in 1939 because he was a member of the communist youth league.[1] That is the whole stated reason: not an act, an association. He was twenty or twenty-one, depending on the month, and the biography does not give one.
Block 8, 1943–1945
At twenty-five he became block elder of Block 8, in which the camp resistance had established a kind of protected space for minors — of whom more and more were arriving from 1943 onwards. To improve the young prisoners' situation he obtained additional food, clothing and medicines, and he taught them. A block elder was a prisoner functionary: the SS delegated internal order, and what a man did with that position was the difference between one kind of camp and another.
Over 370, 1945–2005
More than 370 children and young people were liberated in Block 8 alone. After returning home Leitner stayed politically active, and in 1999 he was honoured as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for what he had done.[1] He died at Höf-Präbach in Austria on 20 October 2005.
Questions visitors ask
- What is Franz Leitner's connection to Buchenwald?
- He was committed to Buchenwald in 1939 as a member of the communist youth league.[1] At twenty-five he became block elder of Block 8, where the camp resistance had established a protected space for minors.
- What did Franz Leitner do as block elder of Block 8?
- He obtained additional food, clothing and medicines for the young prisoners and taught them. More than 370 children and young people were liberated in Block 8 alone.
- Was Franz Leitner recognized for what he did?
- Yes — in 1999 he was honoured as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.[1]
- Can I learn more about Block 8 at Buchenwald?
- Yes, at the Buchenwald Memorial, which preserves the camp where Block 8 stood.
Sources
- Franz Leitner — Gedenkstätte Buchenwald, retrieved 29 August 2026
Connected Places in Weimar
Buchenwald, 99427 Weimar
Block 8 stood in the camp the memorial preserves; more than 370 children and young people were liberated in it.
Historical Context
Committed to the camp in 1939 as a member of the communist youth league, and there until the liberation.
The regime wanted Weimar for what its name meant, and it built a concentration camp on the hill above the town. Both facts belong to the same twelve years.
Read more about this period →Quick Facts
1918
2005
Austrian
In Weimar's history
In Weimar's history
From July 1937 the SS had prisoners build a camp on the Ettersberg, the wooded hill above the town. 277,800 people from more than fifty countries were held there; 56,000 did not survive.
He was a prisoner of the camp from 1939 and became block elder of Block 8 at twenty-five.
In January 1945 prisoners set up a second children's block at the far end of the Small Camp and kept the boys in it alive. 904 children and young people were in Buchenwald when it was liberated.
Block 8 was the earlier of the camp's children's blocks; Barrack 66 was set up as a second one in January 1945.
On 11 April 1945, with armoured divisions of the US Third Army approaching, the SS were ordered out and armed prisoners took the camp gate.
More than 370 children and young people came through to the liberation in his block alone.