Inspired by the life of Abraham Kleinberg, The Kleinberg Foundation is a family-funded initiative supporting Jewish education, community life, and humanitarian causes. Through this work, we honor his memory and help carry Jewish life and learning forward.

Our Inspiration

Abraham Kleinberg (1920–2020) was born in Łódź, Poland, to Mordechai and Esther (née Silberstein) Kleinberg. He was the youngest of twelve children. As a child, Abraham attended, a traditional Jewish school (חדר), where he learned the basics of Hebrew and Jewish religious life.

In September 1939, at the age of nineteen, Abraham was thrust into the chaos of World War II. Serving as a Polish soldier, he was tasked with driving a munitions wagon toward the front lines. Abraham discovered that German forces had already swept entirely past his position. He managed to return home, where his mother, recognizing the immediate danger he faced as an identified Polish service member, immediately disposed of his military uniform. The Polish army surrendered within a month. Following the total occupation of the city, the Nazis established the Łódź Ghetto in 1940 sealing in the Jewish population. Abraham escaped.

He spent the rest of the war on the run. His mother, father, and eight of his eleven siblings were murdered. Only Abraham and three of his siblings survived the atrocities

In the aftermath of the Holocaust, Abraham began rebuilding his life at the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp in Germany, where he worked as a policeman and played on the camp’s soccer team.

Föhrenwald camp police, circa 1946. Abraham Kleinberg is seated at the far right.

At Föhrenwald , in a food line, he met Pauline. They married and began their family before coming to America in 1950.

Pauline and Abraham (1946)

In Detroit, Michigan, Abraham and Pauline raised their family, moving with the Jewish community from the 12th Street neighborhood to Dexter and eventually to Oak Park. During those years, Abraham was an active member of Shaarit Haplaytah (שארית הפליטה), “the surviving remnant,” Detroit’s organization of Holocaust survivors. Together, they built a lasting home for their family and strong ties within a community of fellow survivors.

Following Abraham’s thirty-year career at Ford Motor Company, the couple retired to South Florida. There, he spent another three decades serving on the board of the Holocaust Survivors of South Florida, helping preserve the history and memory of his generation.

Pauline and Abraham (1985)

Abraham and Pauline Kleinberg were married for 60 years.

The Kleinberg Foundation carries Abraham Kleinberg’s memory forward through support for Jewish life, learning, and community.