AHC interview with Leo Dortort.

Abstract

March 3 and 4, 2018Interview Part 10:00:27-0:09:43, 0:23:53-0:26:05 Childhood and school years in Graz and how it was impacted by the “Anschluss”0:09:48-0:16:50, 0:26:13-0:34:45 Growing anti-Semitism from 1937 on, anti-Semitic laws forcing the family to move0:16:50-00:23:50 Parental home and parents’ stores0:34:51-0:37:16 Fear of revealing information about uncles Simon Josefsberg and Markus Körner0:39:54-0:46:44 November pogrom and arrest of father Franz Dortort0:46:47-0:49:33 Rabbi David Herzog0:49:35-0:53:24 Father’s return from Dachau0:53:30-1:01:12 Sending boxes with property to uncle Louis Dortort in France1:01:15-1:11:29 Escaping to Maribor and to Leskovac on March 12, 1939 with his parents and two uncles (Arnold and Isidor)1:11:34-1:24:22 Staying in Leskovac, Zagreb and Fužine, conditions for refugees in Yugoslavia1:24:23-1:44:07 Joining the Kladovo Transport, talking about the book “Gescheiterte Flucht” by Gabriele Anderl and Walter Manoschek1:44:12-1:52:47 Leaving the Kladovo Transport to Šabac, integration into the local community1:52:53-2:07:03 Opportunity and decision to go to Palestine in spring 1941, coming to Haifa via Sarajevo, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Aleppo and Beirut2:07:10-2:10:37 German bombings in Haifa2:11:16-2:16:15, 2:20:50-2:29:41 Schooling at the “Kinderheim Ahawah” in Kiryat Bialik2:17:06-2:20:50, 2:29:43-2:33:07, 2:34:35-2:38:33, 3:09:11-3:18:21 Training camp and service for the paramilitary police in Afula in 1946, Israeli war of independence, Zionism2:40:16-2:46:30 Contact with sister Blanka Dortort and other family members2:50:44-3:00:56 Parents Anna (née Körner) and Franz Dortort killed by the Nazis3:03:30-3:05:43 Partisans, Serbia’s politics during WW II3:05:43-3:09:09 Studying political science and other courses at university3:18:23-3:19:21 Aftermath of the Shoah and its impact on him3:19:24-3:26:05 News coverage during WW II, joint guilt of many countries3:26:08-3:33:25 Connection to Austria today, keeping in touch with his cousin Leo Josefsberg3:33:28-3:43:34 Decisions to go back to Graz and to emigrate to Canada3:43:36-3:54:33, 3:58:25-4:06:05, 4:15:24-4:17:26 Graz in the post-WW II-era, Austrian way of dealing with the Nazi-past3:54:33-3:58:23 Difficulties with residence status in Graz and Paris, Israeli citizenship4:06:05-4:07:47 “Anschluss” and marching in of German troops into Graz4:07:47-4:10:28 Maid Hermine4:10:31-4:15:22 Decision to emigrate to CanadaInterview Part 20:00:20-0:12:00, 0:13:03-0:15:33 Religious life in Graz and how it changed under the Nazi regime0:15:56-0:18:33, 0:20:25-0:21:24 Paternal and maternal family, parents (Anna Körner and Franz Dortort) moving from Budapest to Graz0:18:33-0:20:25 Languages spoken in the family0:23:08-0:25:19 Death of grandmother Fanny (née Rand) Körner0:28:15-0:33:56 Family’s attitude towards Zionism, Jewish and Austrian identity0:37:38-0:40:29 Family members in Berlin, great-grandfather David Schlomo Dortort0:40:32-0:45:45 Decision to go to Palestine, situation for refugees in Yugoslavia0:46:07-0:48:31 Thoughts on remembering and forgetting0:48:38-0:57:06 Arrival and first job in Canada0:57:06-1:05:24, 1:08:11-1:13:51 Emigrant community and Jewish life in Montréal, first places of residence1:05:26-1:07:46 Coming to Montréal from Bremerhaven via St. Jones (Brunswick)1:13:51-1:21:28, 1:33:51-1:37:43 Further career in Canada and the United States1:21:32-1:33:50, 1:37:47-1:44:01 Jewish Community, high society and film industry in Hollywood1:44:06-1:57:30 Moving back to Montréal, marriage and divorce with Aida Co, working for a food company’s industrial division1:57:34-2:14:29 Children (Francis Eytan Dortort and Ariel David Dortort) and their interest in Austrian background2:14:29-2:17:53 Visits to Graz and thoughts of going back2:17:59-2:34:12 Visits to Israel, Yad Vashem, Israeli politics2:34:11-2:38:13 School years in Kiryat Bialik and Graz, German language2:38:58-2:54:39, 2:55:26-2:56:10 Holocaust-commemoration and his personal involvement2:59:26-3:05:01 Austrian politics, refugee crisisLeo Dortort was born on September 18, 1928 in Graz, Austria, where he and his sister Blanka grew up with their parents Anna (née Körner) and Franz Dortort. The parents, who both had moved from Hungary to Graz after WW I, ran a haberdashery and a confectionary store. Leo went to the Jewish elementary school, and the family was highly active in the Jewish community. After the “Anschluss” their store was liquidated, and the family was forced to move to a group apartment for Jews. During the November pogrom of 1938 Leo’s father was arrested and sent to Dachau. After approximately two months he was released, signing that he will leave the country within the next three months.Together with his parents and two uncles (Arnold and Isidor Körner) Leo escaped to Yugoslavia on March 12, 1939. In 1940 the family joined the Kladovo Transport to Palestine. In spring 1941, as the transport was stuck in the port of Šabac, Leo seized the opportunity to go to Palestine by land. Both of his parents were murdered by the Nazis, who caught the transport.In Palestine, he reunited with his sister Blanka, who had already gone there on November 2, 1938. He stayed in Kiryat Bialik where he was schooled at the children’s home “Ahawah”. In 1946 he joined the paramilitary police in Afula and later became a Non Commission Officer for the Haganah, fighting in the Israeli war of Independence.In 1950 Leo Dortort went back to Graz for restitution matters and then emigrated to Canada in 1954. In Montréal, he started working as a travelling salesman for multiple optic companies and continued this job in the United States. He returned to Montréal in the early 1980s, where he started a new job and married Aida Co. After their divorce he became a single parent of his two sons Francis Eytan and Ariel David Dortort. He eventually settled in Côte-Saint-Luc, Quebec.Austrian Heritage Collectio