Where I stand—Brian Greenspun: Keeping ‘List’ alive

Friday, March 16, 2001 | 3:44 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

HE HAD a story to tell. And he told it, retold it and told it again until somebody not only listened but did something about it.

This is not news. It is the American way. The way of persistence, determination, perseverance and, in the end, a good bit of luck. It is only a little bit ironic that this particular story about one man's never-ending quest to tell about the goodness of a decent human being -- in a world gone mad -- became one of the greatest and best known stories of all time.

The man about whom I speak died last week. He was born Leopold Pfefferberg, but since coming to America in 1947 he has been known as Leopold Page. Still don't know? It is OK, because what he did he did for another, not for himself. That he died with a good part of the world knowing of his great act is only incidental to the wonderful life he led following the horror he lived through during the Holocaust.

When Mr. Page died at age 87, he left a family and a legacy that would not have been but for one man. His name was Oskar Schindler. And the book and, later, the movie that bore his name, "Schindler's List," will forever bear witness to the indefatigable spirit of Leopold Page, the same spirit that allowed him to survive when so many others perished, and the same spirit that enabled him to convince others of a story that needed to be told. The result is a world connected through a story of madness and personal heroism that has sent a message of tolerance that might not have survived another generation.

It is a fact of life that the remaining survivors of Hitler's inhumanity are dwindling. Like Mr. Page, those who were once children and young adults during the worst of world history are now well into their senior years. It is just a matter of time before those who suffered through the Holocaust will no longer be among us to tell of those terrible years and the lessons the world should have learned. It will only be from history books, personal written accounts and movies like "Schindler's List" that future generations will be able to learn of the horrors that must never be repeated.

I have been thinking about Leopold Page because shortly after the movie became a megahit and Paul, as he was called, became a Hollywood "celebrity," he set out on his own mission to make sure that the movie and the story would be part of classroom curriculums around the world. It is only through education that the young people, he would say, can learn what they need so they will recognize not only the ugliness in people but the good that they can do.

As part of his speaking tour, he came to Las Vegas to address a group of young businessmen and -women at our home. It was one of the warmest and most memorable evenings I can remember in a lifetime of warm and memorable evenings. That sentiment was shared in a note I received from a friend who was partly responsible for bringing Paul Page to our community.

Bruce Merrin has spent his adult life placing fascinating speakers with appreciative audiences through the public relations and advertising company that bears his name. Some of the big names that he has booked, I am sure, are worthy of their billing and their fees. Some, as we might expect, are not. Bruce can probably tell you which of all of them fit into the various categories.

Booking Mr. Page into Las Vegas was a labor of love, though, and Bruce will be the first to tell you that. He will also be the first to say, as he said to me, that "during the 27 years I have operated my celebrity speakers and entertainment bureau, one of the most memorable, emotional and incredible bookings I ever initiated was Leopold Pfefferberg ..."

I know the kind and quality of speakers who have been booked by Bruce Merrin. For him to single out Mr. Page the way he did is no surprise. Everyone who listened and spoke to him that night would say the same thing. What does surprise me, though, is the ease with which Paul Page surpassed some of the great names in modern speaking times. Actually, it shouldn't surprise anyone that a person's efforts on behalf of others is one of the great qualifiers in a world that appears confused about what and who is a hero.

In Leopold's eyes -- and now the world's -- Oskar Schindler was a hero because, as flawed as he was as an individual, he placed the lives and well-beings of hundreds of other humans above the safety and security of his own life. He fits the definition of hero -- warts and all.

In my eyes and, obviously, in those of Bruce Merrin and I suspect, Steven Spielberg and millions of others around the world, Leopold Pfefferberg is also one of the people we must call hero. Even though he didn't do what Oskar Schindler did in placing others lives above his own -- or at least that is not a part of his story about which we know -- he allowed, through sheer force of spirit and determination, the story of Schindler to be told. His efforts have enabled the education of generations.

He will be missed, to be sure. But he will also be remembered. For his was a life well spent.