21 I 1897, Teplice (Czechia) — X 1944, KL Auschwitz-Birkenau
Leo Straus was a playwright, a cabaret artist and had been the administrative director of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra.In the Terezín Ghetto (Theresienstadt), he wrote satirical texts and performed in the German cabaret.
Leo Straus (Leopold Strauss) was born on 21 January 1897, in Teplice, Czechia. His father was the composer Oscar Straus and his mother, Helene Neumann, was a violinist and concertmaster, who performed under the pseudonym Nelly Irmen. He studied law at the University of Vienna where he obtained a doctoral degree, in 1920. Initially, he worked in the banking sector, but later began work as a playwright and administrative director of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. He wrote lyrics for various revues, including a libretto for a revue composed by his brother, Erwin Straus, e.g., Der Tanzende Shylock: Revue um jeden Preis in zwei Teilen (‘Dancing Shylock: Revue at Any Price in Two Parts’). He was married to Myra Gruhenberg, a journalist, writer, and singer.
When Austria was annexed to the German Reich in 1938, they were both prohibited from working in their professions due to the Nazis’ Nuremberg Laws. Leo and Myra were deported to the ghetto in Terezín (Theresienstadt) on 1 October 1942. They both became involved in the cultural life in the ghetto. Leo Straus became the master of ceremonies at the cabaret Straus-Brettl (‘The Straus Theatre’). There, among other works, he wrote the satirical poem Die Stadt Als-Ob (‘The As-if Town’). His wife also performed in the German cabaret as did Kurt Gerron. On 12 October 1944, Leo and Myra were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau where they both were murdered.