Leo Luster

Leo Luster

“Not a-doin'. You're gonna stop because that's what you do when you're faced with an irresistible force.”

—Leo Luster, Hunka Hunka Burnin' Bluster

Leo Luster (1927 — January 14, 2017) was an Austrian Holocaust survivor of both Theresienstadt and Auschwitz, who emigrated to Israel after the collapse of Nazi rule and then became an important representative of the Central Council of Jews from Austria in Israel.

Life

Leo Luster was born to a Jewish family from Vienna. His parents were Moshe Luster (born 1891 in Jarosław) and Golda. They were married in 1920 and settled in Leopoldstadt, the second district of Vienna. Leo had at least one older sister, Helene. He went to school at Malzgasse. After the Occupation of Austria by Hitler Germany his father first lost his job and then the apartment in Schreygasse where the family lived. Nevertheless Leo Luster had his Bar-mitzvah in 1940.

On October 1, 1942 Leo Luster and his parents were deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp. On September 29, 1944 he and his father were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp. His father was murdered by the Nazi regime. Leo Luster was sent on a death march but could survive. He was liberated by the Red Army. During his stay at a camp for displaced persons he helped many of the inmates.

His mother and his sister could survive. In 1949 he and his mother emigrated to Israel. He became the driver of the Ambassador of Austria, married Shoshana and had two children, Nava and Moshe. He was elected as a board member of the Central Council of Jews from Austria in Israel. Even after his retirement from the Embassy he continued to help many Jews from Austria with their pensions and the financial support for their care. He worked closely with Gideon Eckhaus, another Jew from Austria who managed to come to Palastine already in 1939. They were running a club for retired Jews from Austria. During his visit to Israel, Austrian chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer came to see Luster and Eckhaus. In 2003 Leo Luster visited Vienna.

When the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for the Victims of National Socialism was looking to located Holocaust survivors in order to procure them with recompensation, Leo Luster was of great help to Hannah Lessing, secretary general of the National Fund. Shortly before his death he donated three of his manuscripts to the National Fund. They have been published on the website of the Fund. The titles of the memories from the past are:

Driven out of Theresenstadt .... Night shift Free again.[1] He has at least two grand children.

Accolades

2002 Decoration of Merit in Gold of the Republic of Austria