KURT VON SCHUSCHNIGG

VON SCHUSCHNIGG--Kurt Jr., 92, of New York City died on Wednesday, October 25, 2018. Born May 22, 1926 in Innsbruck, Austria to Herma Masera and Kurt von Schuschnigg, Sr., who would be the last Chancellor of Austria before Hitler's Third Reich took control by force in 1938. At the age of 12, Kurt, whose father was put in a concentration camp and whose mother perished in a car crash in 1935 became a pariah. Spurned by those with whom he had grown up, Kurt went to live with the family of his faithful Fraulein, Alice who had cared for him for years. Kurt was conscripted into the German Navy in 1943 and was seriously wounded in 1944. He was transferred to a Munich hospital, and with the aid of a German doctor, he fled with no identification papers. Thus he began the odyssey of a lifetime finally reuniting with his father, stepmother and half sister who had been released in a prisoner exchange to the Allies in the Spring of '45. Kurt's father, stepmother, (Countess Vera Czernin- Chudenitz) and half-sister, (Maria Dolores von Schuschnigg) came to United States in 1947. Kurt followed 10 years later after working in Austria and Bermuda. Eventually he moved to Brussels where he worked for General Foods. After moving to New York City Kurt's love of art led to a lifetime of dealing in fine art. In 1981 Kurt married Janet McDonough Cook, who was raised in Atlanta, GA. Janet and Kurt would continue to live in New York City while maintaining a home in Kitzbuhel, Austria which they visited frequently. In March 2018 they were present for the 80th recognition of Anschluss, the German annexation of Austria by force. It was Kurt's father, the last Chancellor of Austria, whose final words in his last radio address to the country were "Red white red until death." These were the colors of the Austrian flag. Kurt was pre- deceased by his mother, father, stepmother, half-sister (Maria Dolores von schuschnigg), stepbrother, (Count Rudolf Fugger- Babenhausen), step-sisters, (Countess Eleonora Fugger- Babenhausen, Countess Rosemarie Fugger- Babenhausen and Countess Sylvia Fugger- Babenhausen). Kurt is survived by his wife, Janet and his Austrian cousins, nieces and nephews. A Requiem Mass will be held on Wednesday, October 31st at St. Vincent Ferrer Church 869 Lexington Avenue at 2pm. Kurt's interment will be in Mutters, Austria next to his father.