Lustig, Arnošt, 1926–2011, Czech writer, b. Prague. The more than 20 works of fiction that Lustig wrote often mirror his Holocaust experiences. From a Jewish family, he was sent to the first of several concentration camps in 1942. His father and other family members were killed during the Holocaust; his mother and sister survived. He himself escaped in 1945 when the train carrying him to Dachau was attacked from the air; he returned to Prague and fought in the resistance. His best-known short-story collections include Noc a naděje (1958, tr. Night and Hope, 1962) and Démanty noci (1958, tr. Diamonds of the Night, 1962). Among his most acclaimed novels are Dita Saxová (1962, tr. 1979, rev. and expanded tr. 1993), Modlitba pro Kateřinu Horovitzovou (1964, tr. A Prayer for Katerina Horovitzova, tr. 1973), and Krásné zelené Oči (2000; tr. Lovely Green Eyes, tr. 2002). After the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, he immigrated (1970) to the United States and taught (1973–2004) at American Univ., but returned to Prague after his retirement.
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