Czech author Arnost Lustig died after a five-year fight with cancer.
Czech author Arnost Lustig, a survivor of three Nazi concentration camps who channeled the horrors of the Holocaust into his acclaimed work, died after a five-year fight with cancer.
The 84-year-oldPraguenative cheated death repeatedly as a teen during World War II, when he was imprisoned for three years at Theresienstadt,AuschwitzandBuchenwald. In 1945, he was headed aboard a Nazi death train toDachauwhen its engine was struck by aU.S.bomber. Lustig fled to Prague in time to join the May uprising against the Germans.
The Jewish writer's experiences under the Nazis were reflected in novels like "Darkness Casts No Shadow," about two teens living in a forest after escaping from a German transport. His books were translated into 17 languages.
He was a two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award, a winner of the prestigious internationalFranz Kafka Prize, and aPulitzer Prizefinalist for his novel "Lovely Green Eyes."
Despite his terrifying youth, friends hailed Lustig for his ceaseless good humor and optimism. Lustig, who died Saturday, is survived by son Josef and daughter Eva.
The writer fledCzechoslovakiaafter the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of his homeland, moving toIsraelbefore settling inWashington, D.C.He became a professor of literature atAmerican University.
The collapse of Communism in 1989 convinced Lustig to return to Prague, where he spent the rest of his life.
In a quirky twist, the internationally known writer served as editor-in-chief of Playboy's Czech edition from 1995-97.
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