Austrian Jews rebuild, rededicate destroyed synagogue

vienna (ap) | Austria’s Jewish community rededicated a synagogue left in ruins following World War II in what leaders described as a proud moment — and a symbol of hope.

State and federal authorities provided the $3 million in funds to rebuild the structure, which was destroyed as the Nazis rose to power in 1938.

“This is a symbol that Austria Jewry is not just building cemeteries and memorials, but synagogues,” said Ariel Muzicant, the head of Vienna’s Jewish community. “We are very proud.” Though it was not one of Austria’s largest Jewish communities, the community now numbers about 165 people in the city and its outskirts.

Former guard dies awaiting deportation

toronto (jta) | A former concentration camp guard who lied about his past to gain entry into Canada in the 1950s died in June, a Canadian newspaper revealed this week.

Michael Baumgartner, 83, a retired autoworker in Windsor, Ontario, had been a Waffen SS guard at Stutthof and Sachensenhausen camps. He had been awaiting deportation since a Canadian judge ruled in 2001 that he had received citizenship under false pretenses and should have been automatically rejected.

Frank Miller, the lawyer for the Hungarian-born Baumgartner, told the Windsor Star that his client had been despondent and for the last six months had declined to take his medication for a variety of ailments, including a heart condition and cancer.