Franz Kunstler

Franz Künstler (born July 24, 1900) is the last known surviving veteran of the First World War who fought with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was born in Soost, Austria-Hungary. A Hungary-German, he joined the Austro-Hungarian army in February 1918 for training in a mounted artillery regiment, and served at the Italian front in November 1918. After the war, he fought against the communists, and was a soldier until 1921. In the Second World War, Künstler served six months in 1942 as a mobile courier in the Ukraine.

Künstler currently lives in Niederstetten, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and still works as a guide in a museum. After the Second World War, he was expelled from Hungary like many other ethnic Germans.

Asked about his nationality, Franz Künstler said that he feels connected to the German nation and sees himself as a German. He was a Hungarian citizen until 1946, at which time he obtained German citizenship.