Ernst Hartmann

Ernst Hartmann was born in 1896 to the owners of a successful department store on the Landstrasse in Linz. He received his education at the Handelsakademie (Business Academy) and fought on several fronts in World War I. He and his wife Rosa, née Herzhaft had two sons. Hartmann was the managing director of the Phoenix Cinema during the 1930s. In 1938, he fled to the Czechoslovak Republic and was able to escape to Palestine by stowing away on one of the last ships travelling the Danube route. He returned to Linz in 1948 and rebuilt the Phoenix Cinema, which bombing had destroyed. He became involved in the re-establishment of the religious community in Linz. Ernst Hartmann proved himself a dominant leader and soon came into conflict with Simon Wiesenthal, another equally strong personality. Harmony was eventually restored to the tense political situation within the religious community when Wiesenthal moved to Vienna. In cooperation with the other board members, Hartmann was ultimately able to bring a construction project for a new synagogue to fruition.