The German Jew, who fled her homeland when she was just four years old, is giving the free speech on Holocaust Memorial Day next Monday January 27, writes Suzanna Bain.
She is one of only six of her 250-strong family to have survived the Nazis.
Professor Paul Ward, who is head of History, English, Languages and Media at the university, says that by telling her life story Leisel is raising awareness about the reality of the Holocaust.
“It helps challenge the notion of the Holocaust being purely about the extermination camps,” he says.
“Leisel’s story is a reflection of recent historical research which shows the Holocaust was multi-faceted and unfathomable in its complexity.”
Leisel escaped persecution at the hands of the Nazis by leaving her German hometown of Hildesheim and making her way to the safety of Yorkshire, via Sweden and Norway.
She was just four years old when she embarked on her incredible journey, some of which she did without anybody else by her side.
Her mother had escaped to Hull earlier on but her job as a domestic servant meant they couldn’t live together, so Leisel stayed with various foster families and eventually settled in Leeds.
It was only years later when one of her grand-daughters started tracing the family tree, that Leisel managed to regain contact with some of those who had helped her on her perilous voyage across Europe.
“Her message is that her experience was horrific, but also that a lot of people were brilliant and kind,” says Leisel’s 22-year-old grand-daughter, Lauren Howley.
“She was put on a train in Germany but was met by people and helped all the way along her journey.”
Leisel’s talk is taking place on Monday January 27, at 3.30pm, in the Sir George Buckley Lecture Theatre at Huddersfield University.
Places are free but limited, so reserve your seat as soon as possible by emailing d.r.c.halstead@hud.ac.uk
