“The boy from Zborowice”, Marcus Leuchter used to call himself, has passed away. It was by an accident my wife and I have found that Marcus used to be a neighbor of my wife’s grandfather Konarski in the village of Zborowice south of Tarnow in Poland.

“Let’s hurry to love people, so quickly they pass”
Polish poet and priest Jan Twardowski wrote.

With Marcus passing I have lost a dear friend a friend I found well passed the prime time of making friends, those that last for life. Among many things we shared was a deep feeling for the country of our ancestors and our younger years. Although decades and experience apart we both left Poland in our mid thirties the prime time of our lives. With that in mind I now better understand the love he had for Poland, Her history, culture and the landscape in which he grown mature, received his education and met his beloved wife Theresa.
In paraphrase great Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz has glorified once lost home:
“The country of our youth will always remain pure and beautiful like the first love. It is like wellness, you realize how much you have loved, cherished, and enjoyed only after you no longer have it.”
The pure, romantic almost image of childhood years was shaken deeply by the horrors of War and the Holocaust but the feelings to his country although somewhat distant remained the same. After his retirement the main focus of his life became the Holocaust education and devotion to the Houston Holocaust Museum. Tirelessly Marcus defended the memory of those who perished, including his parents, but with the same persistence he celebrated the Righteous Gentiles who risked their lives to save Jews. Despite his experience as the Survivor he rejected hate, he spoke for tolerance and finding the good in everyone. Putting the blame aside , focusing on a thousand years of mutual history, it was Marcus’s vision of the foundation of bridges between Jews and Poles and how they should be constructed for the future.
His continuous efforts of building bridges between the Polish and Jewish communities in Houston earned Marcus Amicus Poloniae (Friend of Poland), the prestigious award given to him by Consul General Krystyna Tokarska-Biernacik on behalf of the Polish Government in January 2004.
He remained very much involved in the life of Polish community (Polonia) in Houston participating in cultural events and celebrations of Polish national holidays. He was always behind and in the middle of Polish -Jewish events at the Houston Holocaust Museum and outside of it. I loved to work with Marcus on projects to benefit our communities but his enthusiasm far surpassed my abilities to catch-up with him.
We all enjoyed very much Marcus’s company, he seemed to radiate an invisible ways of peace, tranquility and security.
Less then two months ago while visiting the graves of my parents and grandparents in Poland I noticed the tombstones had a one or two word description of the deceased. Life of events and place only for two words. A columnist, a poet, an educator, a scientist, a doctor of law, a community activist. These all apply to Marcus. Whole life in one or two words.
Marcus David Leuchter 1909-2008. What should we write on his grave? The Survivor will fit him naturally, If I could I would ad: friend and mentor.
Czesc Jego pamieci (Hail his memory)

Zbigniew Wojciechowski, MD
Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Houston