 branko lustig (born june 10, 1932) is a prominent croatian film producer. he is the only person born in croatia to have won two academy awards. ==early life== lustig was born in osijek, croatia, to a croatian jewish family. his father, mirko, was head-waiter at an osijek cafÃ© central, and his mother, vilma, was a housewife. lustig's grandparents, unlike his parents, were religious and he regularly attended town synagogue with them. during world war ii, as a child he was imprisoned for two years in auschwitz and bergen-belsen. most members of his family perished in the death camps throughout europe, including his grandmother who was killed in the gas chamber, while his father was killed in Äakovec by hungarians on march 15, 1945. lustig's mother survived the holocaust and was reunited with him after the war. on the day of the liberation lustig weighed only 66 pounds. lustig credited his survival in auschwitz to a german officer that, coincidentally, was from the same osijek suburb and knew lustig's father. he overheard lustig crying in croatian and asked him who his father was., nova tv interview, october, 2010 ==movie career== lustig began his film career in 1955 as an assistant director at jadran film, a state-owned zagreb-based film production company. in 1956 he worked as a unit production manager on branko bauer's world war ii drama ne okreÄi se sine, winner of three golden arena awards at the 1956 pula film festival. lustig was the location manager for
1932_births Auschwitz_concentration_camp_survivors Bergen-Belsen_concentration_camp_survivors Croatian_Jews Croatian_expatriates_in_the_United_States Croatian_film_producers Holocaust_survivors Jewish_atheists Living_people Order_of_Duke_Trpimir_recipients People_from_Osijek Producers_who_won_the_Best_Picture_Academy_Award