Miriam Wofsoniker, who later became Harry Haft’s wife, reassured him that they would find his former girlfriend Leah together.
Harry Haft, also called Herschel Haft, lived through the horrors of Auschwitz by boxing other prisoners to stay alive.
In 1942, Harry Haft was sent to several Nazi labor camps because he was Jewish, where he endured extreme abuse, including beatings and starvation.
Highlights
- Harry Haft turned professional in boxing to track down his family and his girlfriend, Leah, whom he had lost during the war.
- A few months after Harry Haft’s defeat by Rocky Marciano, which turned out to be the final fight of his professional boxing career – he married Miriam in November 1949.
- In 1963, Harry Haft finally found his former love, Leah. By this time, he and his wife Miriam had three children: Alan, Helene, and Marty.
By 1943, his physical strength caught the attention of an SS officer, who forced him to become a boxer.
Haft was made to fight other prisoners in life-or-death matches for the entertainment of the Nazis.
These brutal fights took place at the Jaworzno camp, near a coal mine north of Auschwitz, where he fought a total of 76 times.
As the Soviet army advanced in 1945, the camp was shut down, and the surviving prisoners, including Haft, were sent on death marches toward Germany. Haft escaped from one of these marches in April 1945.
Against The Odds: The Life and Love of Harry Haft and Miriam Wofsoniker
Harry Haft turned professional in boxing—not for fame or fortune, but hoping the publicity would help him track down his family and the girlfriend, Leah, he had lost during the war.
A few months after Harry Haft’s defeat by Rocky Marciano, which turned out to be the final fight of his professional boxing career – he married Miriam Wofsoniker in November 1949.
Enter Rocky Marciano.
— Terry Kim (@projectkim) November 26, 2024
On July 18, 1949, Harry faced the future champion.
The secret?
Mobsters had threatened Harry in the locker room, demanding he take a fall.
The choice was familiar – survive or fight. pic.twitter.com/tKKxXK9cZL
Harry and Miriam opened a fruit and vegetable store in Brooklyn, where they settled after the war.
By then, Harry worked various jobs over the years, including as a professional driver.
Eventually, he became a business owner, opening several fruit and vegetable stores and selling produce from a pushcart.
Dopo la sconfitta contro Marciano mi sono ritirato.
— Johannes Bückler (@JohannesBuckler) July 17, 2019
Ho sposato Miriam Wofsoniker e aperto un negozio di frutta e verdura a Brooklyn.
Abbiamo avuto tre figli. Ed è proprio al maggiore Alan che ho raccontato la mia storia. E lui ne ha fatto un libro. pic.twitter.com/2AozCtvMWb
They welcomed their first child, Alan Scott, in 1950, followed by a daughter, Helene, and another son, Marty.
Alan Scott Haft revealed that despite the challenges Miriam faced in their marriage, including the abuse she suffered, she always stood by Harry.
She understood his troubled past and forgave his actions because of what he had been through.
Before William B. Helmreich’s book Against “All Odds: Holocaust Survivors and the Successful Lives They Made in America” was published in 1992, Harry Haft opened up about his life during an interview on June 28, 1990.
He recalled first noticing Miriam when she lived in the same building as him.
Harry shared that he and Miriam eloped just a few weeks after meeting, although they had a traditional Jewish wedding about six months later.
He also explained that moving in with Miriam felt natural, as the elderly woman he had been living with had passed away by then.
Miriam and Harry stayed married until he died at the age of 82 in 2007 due to cancer.
Almost 12 years later, Miriam passed away in the summer of 2019.
Finally, Harry Haft Met His Former Girlfriend Leah, Who Was Already Married At That Time
In 1963, Harry Haft finally found his former love, Leah. By this time, he and his wife Miriam had three children.
Harry had discovered that Leah was living in Miami, so he surprised his family with a trip to Miami Beach.
The nightmares never left. PTSD consumed him.
— Terry Kim (@projectkim) November 26, 2024
He became a fruit vendor in Brooklyn, married, had kids.
But the past haunted him. The anger and depression stayed.
Only in his final years did he break his silence: pic.twitter.com/oaGWtDN4TQ
They traveled by train, and once they arrived at their hotel, Harry called Leah’s husband, Michael.
Michael had been unclear on the phone, saying that Leah couldn’t speak, but after Harry mentioned his name, Michael called back and told him that Leah wanted to meet.
Harry rented a car the next day and drove to see Leah and his son Alan.
When they arrived, Harry learned that Leah and Michael had two children—a teenage daughter named Sarah and a son named David.
He also found out that Leah was suffering from terminal cancer.
A frail Leah took Harry to the backyard, where they talked privately. Sadly, that turned out to be the last time he saw her.
Additional Information
- His father died when he was only three years old in 1928.
- Haft alleged that he was threatened by the Mafia and coerced into losing the fight against Marciano.
- In 2018, it was announced that Barry Levinson would direct The Survivor, a movie about Harry Haft, with Ben Foster starring as Haft.
