Liselotte Weil, Holocaust survivor, philanthropist dies at 92

LISELOTTE LEVY WEIL, a Holocaust survivor, who was forced to flee Nazi Germany in 1939, but who became a well-known figure in New Orleans, died October 11 at her home. She was 92.

Weil was an active volunteer at Touro Infirmary and was a member of the Board of Directors at Willow Wood Auxiliary. She was a tireless promoter of their annual raffle and regularly played bingo with residents there.

An energetic woman with a warm, engaging smile, Weil was noted for her understanding and kindness. A generous philanthropist, she established memorial funds in honor of her family members at the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, the National World War II Museum, The Southern Institute for Education and Research at Tulane University. She was a longtime member of Temple Sinai.

She was born in Neuwied, a German city located along the Rhine River that had been noted for tolerance and acceptance of Jews for centuries. Her father was a veteran and decorated hero of World War I, who later became a kosher butcher.

Following the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, her father began a letter writing campaign to relatives living in Mississippi. The letters, which sought to save his three children, went unanswered but were eventually forwarded to her cousin Issac Greenwald, who was living in nearby Winnsboro, LA. Greenwald obtained U.S. visas for Weil and her brother Leo, just prior to November 10, 1938, the night now known to Holocaust students as “Kristallnacht,” or “the night of the broken glass.” It was during Kristallnacht that their home was ransacked and their father was assaulted and killed in full view of his family members. Weil and her brother left Germany two months later, leaving their mother and younger sister behind.

Adopted by another cousin, Amelia Greenwald, Weil came to Eunice, LA and worked for several years at La Vogue, a ladies dress shop. It was after the war she learned that both her mother and sister had died while interred in a Nazi concentration camp.

After moving to New Orleans, she married her husband Leo Weil in June 1959. A fellow refugee, Leo Weil had been married previously and had a daughter they raised together. Both Weils enjoyed traveling, visiting West Germany and Israel on several occasions.  

Funeral services were held at the Temple Sinai sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 15. Rabbi Edward Paul Cohn and Cantor Joel Colman officiated. Burial followed in the Jewish Cemetery in Lafayette, LA.

Weil is survived by a stepdaughter, Linda Weil Alsberg (Steve), two step grandsons and two step great-grandchildren.

Kindly omit flowers.  Memorials are suggested to Temple Sinai, the Jewish Endowment Fund of Louisiana and The Southern Institute for Education and Research at Tulane University.