Dr Lujo Weissmann (1895-1963)

Abstract

Lujo se rodio 1895. u Požegi kao najstariji sin natkantora Josipa Weissmanna, vedrog i simpatičnog muzičkog stručnjaka i nastavnika kojeg su zavolele mnoge generacije opštinara i učenika jevrejske osnovne škole u Zagrebu. Umjetnička crta bila je jako izražena i u Luja: hteo se posvetiti muzici, ali se ipak odlučio za pravo. Poslije završetka prvog svjetskog rata upisao se na Zagrebački univerzitet, gdje se istakao kao Ijevičar, aktivista, izvrstan govornik. Lujo je postao neumorni zaštitnik i pravni branilac progonjenih. Da bi pomogao Ijudima koji su zbog svog političkog stava i rada bili hapšeni, mobilizirao je sve svoje veze i svoj veliki lični autoritet. Uspjevao je da uđe i u zatvore, u "sudske uze" i policiju u Zagrebu, u kaznione u Mitrovici i Lepoglavi, gdje je posjećivao političke uhapšenike i robijaše. Donosio im je hranu, novac, knjige, i zastupao ih besplatno pred sudom. Poslije dramatičnog spašavanja iz ratom zahvaćene Jugoslavije i mnogo lutanja Lujo i Zlata su stigli u New York, gdje su postali vrlo aktivni pobornici narodnooslobodilačke borbe Jugoslavije. Lujo je davao koncerte, držao mitinge, govorio na radiju, pisao u američkoj štampi o borbi protiv okupatora i o stvaranju nove Jugoslavije.

Born in Požega in 1895, Lujo was the eldest son of cantor Joseph Weissmann, a cheerful and sympathetic music expert and loved teacher by many generations of Jewish community and Jewish elementary school students in Zagreb. Lujo wanted to devote himself to music but still opted for Law. After the end of World War I, he enrolled at the University of Zagreb, where he distinguished himself as a leftist activist, an excellent speaker. Lujo became a tireless protector and legal advocate for the persecuted. In order to help the people who were arrested for their political attitudes and work, he mobilized all his connections and his great personal authority. He also managed to enter prisons, the "court lines" and the police in Zagreb, the penitentiaries in Mitrovica and Lepoglava, where he visited political prisoners and prisoners. He brought them food, money, books, and represented them free of charge in court. After a dramatic rescue from war-torn Yugoslavia and much wandering, Lujo and Zlata arrived in New York, where they became very active supporters of Yugoslavia's national liberation struggle. Lujo gave concerts, held rallies, spoke on the radio, and wrote in the American press about the fight against the occupiers and the creation of a new Yugoslavia.