Franz Künstler
Franz Künstler | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 July 1900 Hungary |
| Years of service | February 1918–1921, 1942 |
| Unit | Mounted Artillery Regiment |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Other work | Museum guide |
Franz Künstler (
Kingdom of Hungary, now Măureni
, Romania.
Military career
A
Piave River.[1] 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, he served six months in 1942 as a mobile courier in Ukraine
.
Following
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."[4]
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.intestinal surgery in Bad Mergentheim after having fallen ill while visiting his native Hungary.
See also
- List of last surviving World War I veterans by country
References
- ^ 13 millions de soldats allemands furent engagés dans la guerre de 14-18. 1,6 millions y trouvèrent la mort, 4 millions furent blessés. (in French).
- ^ Stadt Niederstetten aktuell Archived 2007-07-01 at the Wayback Machine (in German).
- ^ Ein Ausflug in die Vielfalt der Tierwelt (in German).
- ^ Erinnerungen an ein langes Leben: Der letzte noch lebende k.u.k. Soldat im Porträt(in German).
- ^ Der letzte Soldat des Kaisers Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine (in German).