Lester, Conrad H.

Conrad Henry Lester (1907-1996) was born Kurt Heinz Lichtenstern; he legally changed his name in the U.S. in 1941. Born in Austria of a Jewish family, Lichtenstern inherited a share in the family ceramics manufacturing business in Switzerland; after his father was deported from Switzerland in 1937, Lichtenstern returned to Austria. Following the Anschluss in 1938 he fled to France. By a circuitous route he finally emigrated to the U.S. and became a U.S. citizen; he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Later in the postwar period he returned to Europe, living in Switzerland and Austria. Conrad Lester had apparently been acquainted with Alma Mahler and Franz Werfel in Austria, then had contact with them during exile in France, and later continued a friendly relationship with them in California. Paul Mocsari was Lester's uncle and had been a co-founder of the family business; he had likewise emigrated to the U.S. around 1941. Caty Lester was Conrad Lester's wife.