Henry Heinz Gleisner was never boring when it came time to speak his mind and he was most certainly never apathetic when it came to keeping an eye on local governments.
Unfortunately, the 85-year-old Oxford resident’s days of attending township meetings and keeping public officials on their toes came to an abrupt end when he passed away unexpectedly Saturday, May 16.
‘Henry served as a conscience, I think, for a lot of us involved in government and in the community,? said Oakland County Commissioner Brad Jacobsen (R-Oxford), who served as a trustee on the Oxford Township Board from 1984-2000. ‘He always spoke up for what he thought was best in the long run for the community, the environment and the region rather than just going along with the flow.?
A longtime resident of Ray Road, Gleisner devoted much of his time and energy over the last 24 years to fighting urban sprawl, working to prevent the destruction of wetlands and woodlands, and helping protect the overall rural character of northern Oakland County.
‘The environment was just such a big factor for Henry,? said Shirley Clancy, who served as a trustee on the Oxford Township board from 1992 to 2004. ‘I think he really wanted to preserve some of the best of what still exists in Oxford for future generations. He worked hard for that. He had a lot of foresight and so much caring.?
Although his passion for local politics was well-known, Gleisner didn’t become an activist until 1985 when the destruction of countless trees on a large tract of land near Ray Road ignited what was to become his personal crusade against what he viewed as irresponsible development.
In 1987, Gleisner was among the founding members of the North Area Citizens Conference, a local group dedicated to tackling development and environmental issues, and promoting citizen awareness.
Working with the NACC over the years, Gleisner helped conduct candidate forums for local elections, wrote numerous letters to the editor, and meticulously and relentlessly questioned township board members and planning commissioners.
‘Henry and I went nose-to-nose more than a few times on issues,? Jacobsen said. ‘Whether you agreed or disagreed with Henry, if you were civil, you could always have a wonderful discussion with him on just about any subject.?
Many years prior to his life in Oxford, Gleisner lived another life in Europe, a double-life filled with secrecy, danger, intrigue and human suffering.
Born in Vienna, Austria to parents who practiced conservative Judaism, Gleisner and his family moved to Warsaw, Poland in 1936, so his father could take over a deceased uncle’s business.
As a result of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Polish city of Lvov (now called Lviv and located in the Ukraine), where the Gleisners were living after they fled Warsaw, was occupied by the Nazis, who sent the family to the Lemberg ghetto.
Using a bogus birth certificate obtained for him by his father, Gleisner changed his identity to that of Tadeus Chwistek, a native Christian Pole, and left the ghetto.
He went to work as a forced laborer for a Polish construction company, then found employment with a German construction company named Stickel, located in Rawa Ruska, Poland.
It was there that Gleisner was a partial witness to the extermination of the Rawa Ruska ghetto by the Nazis and their accomplices.
Gleisner continued working for the construction firm, traveling to the Crimea where he was required to wear the uniform of a Nazi labor battalion and carry a pistol.
Although he worked for the Germans, Gleisner did his best to undermine their war efforts.
While working in Italy, Gleisner made contact with Italian partisans and aided their sabotage efforts by giving them explosives and blasting caps.
When Gleisner was liberated by American forces, he revealed to them the location of an SS battalion and later assisted in the May 1945 liberation of the Ebensee concentration camp in Austria.
Gleisner chronicled his amazing war experiences in a 264-page autobiography entitled ‘Defying the Fates: The Remarkable Story of a Jew Who Survived in Nazi Europe,? which he self-published in June 2002.
He frequently shared his story as both a docent and survivor speaker at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills.
After considerable effort, Gleisner was able to regain his true identity following the war and join the Jewish community in Bad Ischl, Austria.
An affidavit from relatives in Detroit allowed him to immigrate to the United States in February 1947.
As the owner of an international skiing and saddlery business, Gleisner loved traveling the world, but his greatest joy was being among his beloved horses and dogs on his Oxford farm.
Gleisner was a true Renaissance man who had an appreciation for a variety of things including the arts, nature, equestrianism and languages, of which he spoke six ? English, German, Polish, Italian, Russian and Ukrainian.
‘He was a very intelligent, very well-informed man,? Jacobsen said. ‘Every time I met him, I learned something.?
Gleisner is survived by his wife Nancy, son Eric, daughter Karin Valentiner, grandchildren Kyle Gleisner and USMC Co2 Eric Thomas (Susan) Howe, and great-grandchildren Lauren and Dylan Howe.
Friends and family will celebrate his life at a summer picnic.