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Leslie Fazekas was born on September 28, 1925 In Debrecen, Hungary. Leslie had grown up in a middle-class family in a very heavily influenced Jewish community. In the summer of 1944 when Leslie was 18, his family was deported from their hometown and sent to Vienna, Austria and forced to do hard labour. Around 1943 to 1944, the war was starting to have a turning point. As the Germans invaded Hungary, Leslie's father was taken to a labour camp, separating the two for a long time before their reunification.
Despite all of these tragic experiences, Leslie thinks back to his high school days and has joyful memories when thinking about eating a warm bowl of Kugel. In his book “In Dreams Together” Leslie talks about attending a Jewish high school. It was mandatory to participate in the Friday evening and Saturday morning services that the school would host at a small temple. Within each service, the students would lead the prayers and would sing with the whole congregation.
Around noon the service would end and everyone was free to go. When returning home, young Leslie would find himself eating cholent with kugel at the bottom that was left for him. Leslie describes the kugel as “a gorgeous brown colour, the grease gleaming on its surface”. He claims that he doesn't have many memories of high school after that but when looking or hearing about kugel Leslie can’t help but remember the feeling and taste of eating cholent with kugel at the bottom.
Leslie at age 18, after getting into university.
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