Introduction to a Famous Life
Georg Stefan Troller, who died on September 27 at the age of 103, lived a life that could simply be described as famous. As an Austrian Jew who escaped the Nazis, he emigrated to the United States, but returned to Germany to work as an interpreter during the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp for the Allied forces. Troller would spend the rest of his life in Europe and become known as a writer and reporter, especially for his unconventional interviews with international figures for German television.
Fleeing from the Nazis
Troller was born in a Jewish family in Vienna on December 10, 1921, and was mocked on the streets and by schoolmates because of his Jewish heritage. His father made sure that he got a good education and had him read all the classics. Troller trained to become a bookbinder but finally had to flee from the Nazis at a young age and travel to France via Czechoslovakia. In 1941, he secured an American visa in Marseilles and was drafted into the US military service in 1943. When the Allied troops advanced through occupied France and Nazi Germany, he served as an interpreter in the survey of German prisoners of war.
Troller often said in interviews that he had never heard the word "liberation" back then and that freedom and democracy were not even part of the German thinking. He recalled that the Germans admired the Allied equipment, such as jeeps and walkie-talkies, and it was no wonder that they won the war with such technology. Troller worked as an interpreter during the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp for the Allied forces, which had a lasting impact on him. He could only endure the sight of the emaciated prisoners and corpses with his camera lens.
A Visit to Hitler’s Munich Home
On May 1, 1945, Troller arrived in Munich, where he searched Hitler’s private residence and found some Nazi souvenirs, which he sent to his father in the US. His father was shocked by the souvenirs. After a short stay in Radio Munich, Troller worked as a reporter for the Munich New Newspaper. However, his heart was in Vienna, and he often went out at night to suppress his homesickness. He came to the conclusion that "you can no longer regain a home country than a childhood."
Legendary Interviews
Troller found his calling as a television reporter in Paris, where he worked as a correspondent for WDR for nine years on the show "Paris Journal." The show gave viewers delightful insights into lesser-known aspects of the city of lights. In 1971, he worked for the German ZDF television channel, which would set the course for his life. In the next 22 years, he wrote TV history with his legendary unconventional interview show, "Personal Description." His guests included Marlon Brando, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Woody Allen, Kirk Douglas, and Romy Schneider.
At first, producers frowned upon his subjective interview style because it lacked the necessary neutrality. However, his sensitive and critical approach to interviewing people hit a chord and converted him into a model among other journalists. For Troller, the camera was a protective shield, and being a journalist was a means of self-healing. His soul, as a Jewish emigrant who had escaped the Holocaust and lost 19 relatives, was wounded. He later turned to television films, documentaries, books, photo books, and essays for magazines.
Self-Healing through Journalism
Troller published a memoir in 2019 that was close to his heart, titled "Love, Pleasure, and Adventure – 97 Encounters of My Life." Before the outbreak of Covid-19, the indomitable personality was still on tour, promoting his memoirs. The then 98-year-old man delighted fans with readings about the history of his life, using his self-ironic, winding humor. Troller’s life was a testament to his strength and resilience, and his legacy will continue to inspire and educate people for generations to come.
