Franz Künstler ( hu, Künstler Ferenc, 24 July 1900 – 27 May 2008) was, at age 107, the last known surviving

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

who fought for the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Following the death of 110-year-old Ottoman veteran

Yakup Satar Yakup Satar (11 March 1898 – 2 April 2008) is believed to have been the last Ottoman veteran of the First World War. He died at age 110. Born in Crimea, Satar joined the army of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. On 23 February, 1917, he was t ...

on 2 April 2008, he was also the last

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

veteran of any nationality. He was born in Sósd, in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, now

Măureni Măureni (also ''Morițfeld''; german: Moritzfeld; hu, Móricföld) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, western Romania with a population of 2,579 people. It is composed of two villages, Măureni and Șoșdea (''Sósd''). At the 2011 census, ...

, Romania.

Military career

Banat Swabian The Banat Swabians are an ethnic German population in the former Kingdom of Hungary in Central-Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians. They emigrated in the 18th century to what was then the Austrian Empire's Banat of Temeswar province, la ...

, Künstler enlisted in the Austro-Hungarian Army at Szeged in February 1918 in a

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

regiment (''HFKR 5. k.u. Feldkanonen-Regiment/ - 5. honvéd tábori ágyúsezred''). He saw combat on the Italian Front on the

Piave River The Piave ( la, Plavis, German: ''Ploden'') is a river in northern Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice. One of its tributaries is the Boite. In 1809 it was the scene of a battle du ...

. Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he fought against the communists in Hungary, and was a soldier until 1921. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served six months in 1942 as a mobile courier in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Künstler lived in Niederstetten,

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and worked as a guide in a museum. He had been expelled from Hungary by the communist government, as had many other ethnic Germans. Asked about his nationality, Künstler said he always felt connected to the German nation and saw himself as a German. He was a Hungarian citizen until 1946, when he obtained German citizenship. In an interview given at the age of 107 to an Austrian magazine, Künstler was asked about "the most important thing in life". He answered: "I was a handsome man and had many women. But more important is to have a good wife, with whom one can share one's life."

Death

With the February 2008 death of 107-year-old Georg Thalhofer, who had been physically unfit for World War I service, Künstler became the oldest living man in Germany.Der letzte Soldat des Kaisers
. He died of complications from

intestinal The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans ...

surgery in

Bad Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim (; Mergentheim until 1926; East Franconian: ''Märchedol'') is a town in the Main-Tauber-Kreis district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of around 23,000. An officially recognized spa town since 1926, B ...

after having fallen ill while visiting his native

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunstler, Franz 1900 births 2008 deaths Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I German centenarians Men centenarians Danube-Swabian people Banat Swabians German military personnel of World War II Hungarian military personnel of World War II Naturalized citizens of Germany Hungarian centenarians

Military career

Death

See also

References

External links