Walter Benedikt, the only child of dental technician Max Benedikt (1867–1931) and his wife Pauline, née Hoffmann (1870–1903), joined his uncle Julius Benedikt's company, founded in 1903, as a general partner after completing a commercial apprenticeship at the Vienna Commercial Academy. The company traded in skins and hides and was based in Vienna’s 2nd district, at Franzensbrückenstraße 22, where Benedikt also lived. Walter Benedikt was a passionate musician and composer: He made his debut as a conductor in 1914, and his Gavotte for String Orchestra premiered at a concert of the Charity Academy of the Vienna Commercial Academy in February 1915. He received his musical training from Wilhelm Sonnenberg, a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the State Opera ensemble, and from pianist Roderich Bass. As a pianist and flutist, Benedikt was a member of the Hakoah Orchestra and performed as a substitute at the State Opera. His compositions were frequently heard in concert halls and on radio concerts. On 14 June 1925, he married Alice Rosa Ehrenfest, born in 1902, daughter of Moritz (1851–1913) and Jenny (née Bittner, 1862–1903) Ehrenfest, in the Vienna City Temple. Their daughter Eva was born on 22 March 1926, and their daughter Lilly was born on 31 July 1928. After Julius Benedikt's death in 1928, Walter Benedikt took over the company as sole owner and also ran a commercial agency; his wife Alice was responsible for the bookkeeping and secretarial work.
After the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany, the Benedikt family was subjected to anti-Semitic persecution and repression. In May 1938, all family members registered with the emigration department of the Jewish Community of Vienna and stated that they wanted to emigrate to the USA. On 15 July 1938, Walter and Alice Benedikt each filled out their “List of Assets of Jews as of 27 April 1938.” Under item “IV g) Precious metals, jewellery, luxury items, works of art and collections,” Walter Benedikt summarized a value of 2,875 Reichsmarks, and Alice Benedikt estimated the value of her jewellery at 6,066 Reichsmarks. The couple commissioned lawyer Alfred Maril to handle their property affairs. Walter Benedikt had to surrender his business licences in accordance with the decision of the Leopoldstadt district administration on 25 June 1938, after which the sole proprietorships were deleted from the commercial register. The Benedikt family left Vienna on 3 August 1938, and less than two weeks later, on August 16, they boarded the S.S. Duchess of Richmond in the northern French port city of Cherbourg, bound for Quebec, Canada. Once there, they crossed the border into the USA on 25 August 1938. In December 1942, they were baptized in Philadelphia and changed their surname to “Benedict” before moving to New York. Eva and Lilly continued their schooling, while Walter Benedict became a member of the New York Flute Club and composed several works for the flute.
In the course of their forced emigration, Walter Benedict arranged for the shipping of their household goods to the United States by the Bäuml shipping company. The application for an export permit, dated 27 October 1938, lists "4 oil paintings, 1 graphic, various reproductions, 1 cello, 1 lute, 1 guitar, 2 violins, 1 saxophone, 7 carpets and various rugs, various glassware, silverware, porcelain, knick-knacks, etc". In February 1941, the Vienna Gestapo headquarters applied for the revocation of the citizenship of all four family members; on 15 April 1941, a provisional seizure order was issued for all of their assets. At the same time, the lawyer Stefan Lehner was appointed as asset manager and liquidator, and in June 1941, the final seizure of assets took place. The removal goods, which had never left Vienna, were sold by the Vugesta, which transferred the net proceeds of 7,610.81 Reichsmarks to the Oberfinanzpräsident (Chief Finance Officer) of Berlin-Brandenburg on 28 August 1942. The removal goods were sold at the Dorotheum auction house as well as through various other sales; musical manuscripts of Benedict's works and some printed sheet music ended up in the holdings of the National Library.
After 1945, Walter Benedict attempted to recover his property. His house in Neuhaus im Triestingtal in Lower Austria, which had presumably served as the family's summer residence, was returned to the Benedict family by the Restitution Commission Vienna/Außensenat at the district court of Wiener Neustadt in 1948. It is not known whether the family ever learned of the seizure of their belongings by Vugesta or that the music manuscripts and printed music had ended up in the National Library. Walter Benedict died in New York on 23 October 1948. His widow Alice, who remarried and took the surname Lakos in 1952, received compensation for professional losses from the so-called relief fund in the 1960s; she died in New Jersey in October 1990. Lilly Benedict, who became a restorer, married the film producer Peter Hollaender, who came from a family of musicians from Berlin. After his death, she founded the Hollaender Chamber Orchestra in Cornwall, Connecticut. Eva Benedict married Robert Freiberger, a doctor who had also emigrated from Vienna. On 8 July 2025, the Art Restitution Advisory Board decided to return the 20 music manuscripts and four printed music scores held by the Austrian National Library.
These will be handed over by Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler to the grandchildren of Alice and Walter Benedict at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York in September 2025.
Sabine Loitfellner, 18 August 2025