Robert Herzhaft

Robert Herzhaft was born in 1897 as a train driver’s son. He attended the state grammar school in Linz and became a member of the first, still informal Zionist youth organization in Linz.

He learned to play the violin and performed in concerts and at celebrations in the Jewish community. He moved to Vienna in the 1920s and married the merchant's daughter Berta Pollatschek.

Robert Herzhaft pursued his profession as civil servant, devoting his free time to photography. After the annexation by Germany in 1938, he narrowly escaped being deported to Dachau. Herzhaft had to find an escape route fast and Shanghai seemed to be his only option.

His wife remained behind alone and became a victim of the Shoah. Herzhaft left China in 1949 to settle in Israel; there he lived and worked in a kibbutz. His survival was marked by loneliness and playing his violin was his only solace.