Ivan Lefkovits, a renowned immunologist and Holocaust survivor, was born in 1937 in Presov, Slovakia, to a Jewish family.
His early life was marked by the upheaval of World War II.
When the independent Slovak State was formed in 1939, his parents, a pharmacist and a dentist, foresaw the dangers ahead, but they managed to shield their two sons from the immediate threat.
While Jews in Slovakia faced persecution, Lefkovits’ family was granted a rare exemption due to their professional status, allowing them to escape the first wave of deportations.
However, after the Slovak Uprising, the Nazis implemented the "Final Solution," and the family was eventually arrested.
One early morning, the Gestapo, accompanied by the Hlinka Guard, raided their hiding place and sent them to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
By sheer chance, Auschwitz had reached its "quota" for new arrivals that day, and the train was redirected to Ravensbrück.
Though conditions were dire, Ravensbrück was a relatively well-organized camp, with daily roll calls and regular bread rations.
Later, they were moved to Bergen-Belsen, where chaos reigned, and death surrounded them.
The camp was finally liberated by the British on April 15, 1945.
Lefkovits was among the few who survived, though his father and brother did not.
After the war, Lefkovits returned to Czechoslovakia in 1945, where his mother resumed her work in Prešov, and he reentered school.
In 1949, the family moved to Prague, where Lefkovits later attended the University of Chemistry and Technology.
He was later placed in the food-processing industry at a factory in Rajec nad Svitavou due to political reasons, as the authorities labeled him of "bourgeois origin."
After a year, he finally secured a position at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.
In 1964, Lefkovits was allowed to apply for an internship at the International Institute of Genetics and Biophysics in Naples.
In 1965, he and his wife Hana, along with their young son, moved to Italy, initially on a valid Czechoslovak passport.
However, it was only after two and a half years in Naples that they emigrated to the West, settling in Frankfurt, Germany.
There, Lefkovits was quickly offered a prestigious position at the Paul-Ehrlich Institute.
His migration story differed from many others, as he had already faced hardship in his youth, particularly the traumatic events of the Holocaust.
His wife, however, faced great difficulty being separated from her family, who could only visit after they had retired.
Lefkovits' move to Switzerland in 1969 marked a significant turning point in his career.
At the age of 32, he was asked by Professor Niels Jerne to help establish an immunology institute at Roche in Basel.
This institute would go on to become internationally renowned, with Lefkovits at the helm.
Over the years, he mentored hundreds of scientists, further solidifying his reputation in the field.
Despite his success, Lefkovits remained humble and grounded, a perspective shaped by his early experiences in life.
Switzerland, he reflects, always represented something very positive for him, and it has remained so.
Though he did not actively engage with the Czech or Slovak expatriate communities in Switzerland, his family’s connection to the country deepened through their son Michal, who became a Swiss patriot and eventually rose to the rank of major in the Swiss army.
Lefkovits himself does not consider himself a “patriot” in the traditional sense but emphasizes his loyalty to Switzerland, especially when it is under attack.
He contrasts his attitude with those who criticize the country without truly understanding it, noting how his own colleagues were once skeptical of his decision to settle in Switzerland but later sought to extend their work contracts there.
Lefkovits' personal connection to his homeland was complex.
While he never felt nostalgia for Czechoslovakia, especially after the brutal experiences of his youth and the communist regime's harshness, the 1989 Velvet Revolution changed his outlook.
He sent a telegram to Czechoslovak President Gustav Husák condemning state repression and supporting the revolution, and after its success, he worked to provide equipment and resources to research institutions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Additionally, he organized summer immunology schools in the two countries, which were highly appreciated by local scientists.
When asked about his life philosophy, Lefkovits emphasized the importance of trusting one's instincts and not being swayed by others' opinions.
His motto was simple: “Don’t let yourself be influenced by what others say. Instead, trust your intuition.”
His experiences, especially during the Holocaust, led him to value direct, personal interaction over theoretical accounts.
He has spoken at numerous schools about his past, believing that personal testimony is far more powerful in combating Holocaust denial than any written account.
In addition to his scientific career, Lefkovits became involved in preserving the memories of Holocaust survivors.
Over twenty years ago, he joined the Contact Point for Holocaust Survivors in Switzerland, where he proposed the idea of documenting the survivors' stories.
With the help of the Center for Jewish Studies and support from the Swiss government, Lefkovits facilitated the publication of several memoirs.
Although initially intended for libraries, these stories gained wider recognition, culminating in a publication by the prestigious German publisher Suhrkamp Verlag.
The books, which featured Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia, were later published in Czech, and Lefkovits continues to take pride in the project’s success.
Lefkovits' life is a testament to resilience, intellectual achievement, and an unwavering commitment to preserving the memory of the Holocaust for future generations.
His legacy continues to inspire through both his work in immunology and his efforts to ensure the voices of Holocaust survivors are heard.