Community celebrates Steiner’s 90th birthday
A distinguished artist, specialising in stained glass and wood carvings, Steiner was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2017 for his service to art and community history.
A stalwart of South Australia’s Jewish community, Andrew Steiner, enjoyed twin 90th birthday communal receptions on the June long weekend.
The first was at Beit Shalom Synagogue, where Steiner was treated to a special performance by the choir.
The second was at the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Andrew Steiner Education Centre (AHMSEC), which he was the driving force behind establishing.
Its opening in 2020 was the culmination of his life’s work towards a fairer and more compassionate world.
Steiner was six, in Budapest, when World War II began.
He was in constant fear as people around him were killed for being Jewish, and once-friendly neighbours turned hostile.
He survived the war by living in hiding and in 1948, his family moved to Adelaide.
A distinguished artist, specialising in stained glass and wood carvings, Steiner was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2017 for his service to art and community history.
For more than four decades, he has shared his story of survival by giving testimony and speaking to students as part of AHMSEC’s education program.
Steiner received many 90th birthday wishes, including from March of the Living Australia president Cedric Geffen, who described him as a “true inspiration”.
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