A shopkeeper, Page survived the Holocaust. For years, he tried to get a writer interested in the story of the man who had saved his life. One day novelist Thomas Keneally came into his shop to buy a briefcase, and Page told him his story. Keneally was intrigued — and wrote Schindler’s List * (originally published as Schindler’s Ark), which was dedicated to Oskar Schindler and to Page’s “zeal and persistence” in getting Schindler’s story told.
Page then used his connections to get the 1982 book to Steven Spielberg, who turned it into a major motion picture. “Stop playing around with dinosaurs,” Page told Spielberg. “I promise you, you’ll get an Oscar for Oskar.” The book — and the movie, which won seven Oscars, including Best Picture — more than fulfilled Page’s lifelong dream. “I did not know how I would do this,” Page had said, “but I promised Oskar Schindler I would make him a household name.” Leopold “Paul” Page, number 173 on Oskar Schindler’s list, died in Los Angeles on March 9. He was 87.