Otto Eisler (1 June 1893 – 27 July 1968) was a Czech architect, noted for his contributions to International style in architecture. He was Jewish and is a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp.

Biography

Eisler was educated at the

Deutsche Technische Hochschule Brünn German Technical University in Brno (German: ''Deutsche Technische Hochschule Brünn'') was a technical university in Brno. It existed from 1849 to 1945 and instruction was in German. At the time, Brno was a multicultural city with both Czech an ...

over the course of ten years, with a likely interruption for military service during World War I. During his studies, he worked at studios in Vienna. Upon graduation, he worked in the architectural practices of

Heinrich Tessenow Heinrich Tessenow (7 April 1876 – 1 November 1950) was a German architect, professor, and urban planner active in the Weimar era. Biography Tessenow is considered together with Hans Poelzig, Bruno Taut, Peter Behrens, Fritz Höger, Ernst ...

and

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-American architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, who, along with Alvar Aalto, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, is widely regarded as one ...

before founding his own firm. He also took part in managing his family's business, including his brothers' (Artur, Hugo, Leo, and Moriz) construction company. He was subject to Nazi persecution during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia because he was both Jewish and a suspected homosexual. In April 1939, he was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

and imprisoned in the prison at Špilberk, where he was apparently tortured. When furloughed, he fled to Norway, where he arrived on 21 February 1940. After Norway was invaded by Germany, he tried to flee to Sweden but was shot and wounded only a few yards from the border, and then

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

to Auschwitz on the SS ''Donau''. There he was reunited with his brother Mořic (Moriz), with whom he survived the

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...

. He was liberated from Buchenwald and returned to Brno to resume his architectural career; he also took over the woodcutting business his deceased brother left to his heirs. He married his cousin Gertruda Kenderová, née Hermannová, in 1946. The family company was nationalized in 1948, and Eisler found work first in his own business, and subsequently at the Botanical Gardens of

Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) ( cs, Masarykova univerzita; la, Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the se ...

. He acted as the chairman of Brno Zoo from 1950 to 1953. In addition to his professional interests in architecture, Eisler was also an avid painter, gardener, book collector, and horticulturist. Several works of art that were stolen by the Nazis were restored to his estate in the 2000s. He is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Brno.

Notable works

* House for two brothers, Neumannova 10, Brno, 1930–1931 (built for himself and Mořic Eisler). * Synagogue in 13 Skořepka street, Brno, 1934 (the only remaining synagogue in Brno). * Synagogue, Uherský Brod, 1946. * Brno Zoo, 1949–1966.

Gallery

Adidas Masarykova 19-21 Brno - fasáda 2.jpg, Dům Wittreich a Deutsch, Masarykova 19-21 Adidas Masarykova 19-21 Brno 1.jpg, Dům Wittreich a Deutsch, Masarykova 19-21 Brno, Údolní 72.JPG, Údolní 72 Brno, Botanická 6.jpg, Botanická 6 Nájemní dům Kamenomlýnská 14 Brno 1.jpg, Kamenomlýnská 14 SZPI building in Brno.jpg, Běhounská 10 Eislerova vila - brána.jpg, Neumannova 10, Villa of Otto Eisler

References

Literature

* KAMENÍK, Jan. Vzpomínka na architekta Eislera, jednoho ze zakladatelů ZOO Brno. ZOOreport. Září 2008, roč. X., čís. 3, s. 8. * KLENOVSKÝ, Jaroslav. Brno židovské, historie a památky osídlení města Brna. Brno: ERA, 2002. * PELČÁK, Petr; ŠKRABAL, Jindřich; WAHLA, Ivan. Otto Eisler. Brno: Obecní dům Brno, 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisler, Otto 1893 births 1968 deaths People from Bystřice nad Pernštejnem People from the Margraviate of Moravia Czech Jews Czech architects Jewish architects Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Norway Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Buchenwald concentration camp survivors