Biography
Lavoslav (Leo) and Gustav (Gus) Goldberger are the sons of Eugene (Jeno) and Helen (Berkovic) Goldberger, who grew up in small towns in Czechoslovakia. They met in Vienna, where Jeno was studying music at the conservatory and attending cantorial school. Following their marriage, Jeno and Helen moved to Vukovar (Croatia), where he was offered a cantorial position. The two oldest children, Emanuel (Milan) and Lavoslav (Leo) were born there. In 1932 Jeno accepted a new positon as chief cantor in Troppau (Opava, Czechoslovakia), where Gustav (Gus) was born two years later. Fearing the rising tide of Nazism, Jeno moved his family once again, this time to Denmark, where he assumed the position of chief cantor of Copenhagen. The family quickly integrated into their new surroundings, and in 1938 a fourth son was born, Erik (Chaim). The German occupation of Denmark did not significantly change the lives of the Goldbergers during its first years. However, in the late summer of 1943 the situation altered suddenly. Seeking retaliation for the activities of the Danish resistance, the Germans seized Jeno and a number of other prominent Jewish citizens. Fortunately, a sympathetic Danish neighbor was able to prevent his formal arrest. Several weeks later, on October 1, 1943, plans for the imminent arrest and deportation of Danish Jewry were leaked to the Danes, who immediately rallied to the rescue of their Jewish compatriots, ferrying over 7,000 of them to Sweden. The Goldbergers were among those Jews who were carried to safety. For the remainder of the war the family lived in Goteborg, Sweden, where Jeno served as cantor. In June 1945 the Goldbergers returned to Copenhagen, where Jeno resumed his former post.
