1934 Vienna street scenes; perfomer's dressing room

Walter Hausner (April 24, 1914-February 5, 2003) was a member of the Austrian amateur film society in Vienna. His father, Ferdinand (1883-1957) owned a firm for fabrics and fashion articles with factories in Vienna and Jihlava, Czechoslovakia with business partner Siegfried Furst. Walter’s mother, Wilhelmina Bloch, died from cancer in 1937. Walter and Ferdinand managed to leave Vienna together just before the plebiscite in March 1938 on a plane which was brought down in Berlin. The Nazis required Ferdinand to supply an inventory of his assets. His friend and fashion designer, Claire Rennai, had a visa to go to the United States and married Ferdinand to help him get out of Austria. Walter made it to England where he had planned to establish another factory for the family textile firm. He was interned as an enemy alien. Walter later served in the British Army, where he met a singer, Irene Jones (1921-2014) performing for the troops. They married and emigrated to the New York region in 1948.