Czech Republic
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Arnošt Lustig
Prague, Czech Republic
Archival Overview
Acclaimed Czech-Jewish author and Holocaust survivor who survived Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Buchenwald, dedicating his literary life to chronicling the human spirit under extreme Nazi brutality.
Biographical Record
Arnošt Lustig was imprisoned as a teenager in Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Buchenwald. In April 1945, he escaped from a train transporting him to Dachau when an Allied plane strafed the locomotive, making his way back to Prague to fight in the May 1945 uprising.
Lustig became an essential voice of Czech literature, authoring celebrated novels and film scripts including 'Diamonds of the Night', 'Dita Saxová', and 'A Prayer for Katerina Horovitzova'. Fleeing Czechoslovakia after the 1968 Soviet invasion, he taught literature at American University in Washington before returning to Prague after the Velvet Revolution.
Key Life Milestones
Diamonds of the Night Film Adaptation
Collaborated with director Jan Němec on the Czech New Wave classic based on his autobiographical escape from a death train.
Franz Kafka Prize
Awarded the international Franz Kafka Prize for his lifelong humanist literary contribution.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialPrague, Czech Republic