Rod Riffler (born Rudolf Ungar; 5 January 1907 – 1941) was a Croatian modern dance teacher, choreographer and owner of a dance school in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, who was killed during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Riffler was born in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

parents, Makso Ungar and Ilka Lang. His father was merchant born in Osijek. Riffler was raised with two sisters, Marie Louise and Marija, and younger brother, Rafael. When he moved from Osijek to Zagreb, Riffler opened a dance school and was one of the best teachers of modern dance at the time. Riffler was mentor-teacher of

Lea Deutsch Lea Deutsch (; 18 March 1927 – May 1943) was a Croatian Jews, Jewish child actress who was murdered in the Holocaust. Early life Lea Dragica Deutsch was born in Zagreb to Croatian Jewish parents, Stjepan and Ivka (Married and maiden names, né ...

, known Croatian Jewish child actress, and was a close friend of Deutsch's mother, Ivka. In 1941, when Ustashas found out that he was Jewish and

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, Riffler was arrested and deported to the

Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camps, extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in I ...

. Riffler died from starvation at the camp. He was 34 years old. Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Relja Bašić, Nataša Barac; Nova kazališna scena u Židovskoj općini Zagreb; stranica 8; broj 107, studeni/prosinac 2008. In 2010, Croatian director

Branko Ivanda Branko Ivanda (born 25 December 1941) is Croatian film director and screenwriter. Ivanda was born in Split, then under Italian occupation. His father Leo was a high-school professor of Croatian and French language and his mother Dunja a clerk. The ...

made a film ''

Lea and Darija ''Lea and Darija'' ( hr, Lea i Darija) is a 2012 Croatian biographical film directed by Branko Ivanda. The film is based on the life of Lea Deutsch, a Jewish girl who was a dancing and acting star in Zagreb on the eve of World War II. Cast * Kla ...

'', about the tragic destiny of Lea Deutsch, and Riffler was portrayed in the movie by Croatian actor Radovan Ruždjak.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riffler, Rod 1907 births 1941 deaths People from Osijek Croatian Jews who died in the Holocaust Jews from Austria-Hungary Croatian Austro-Hungarians Gay Jews Modern dancers Croatian LGBT entertainers Croatian LGBT artists Croatian gay men Gay dancers LGBT choreographers Croatian choreographers Croatian civilians killed in World War II People who died in Jasenovac concentration camp Jewish entertainers Deaths by starvation 20th-century Croatian LGBT people