Unfathomable Journey: The Context of Dr Otto Walter's Departure from Australia
Fifty years ago, erstwhile eminent Jewish physician Dr Otto Walter abandoned life in Australia to return to Austria, leaving his crestfallen young grandson, Garry, to wonder why he had gone. In this paper, the author explores the possible reasons for his grandfather's departure, weaving in aspects of Otto's extraordinary life, including the flight from Vienna after Kristallnacht (the German Reich's coordinated night of attacks on Jewish property), and the struggles to stay one step ahead of the Nazis in Europe. Otto was to settle in the British Mandate for Palestine (later Israel), before coming to Australia in 1949 on the Cyrenia—serving as ship's doctor for Jewish refugees. In Australia, the consummate medical skills that had proven life-saving for Otto's family, were not formally recognised, marking the end of a distinguished career.