Viennese composer Julius Buerger (also named Burger (1897-1995)) intersected with many important figures of 20th century western classical music. Despite success in some of the world's leading opera and broadcasting houses, Burger's true path as a composer was forever altered by the National Socialism.

Burger studied with Franz Schreker in Vienna and Berlin. On Bruno Walter's recommendation, Burger later joined Artur Bodanzky as assistant at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 1929 he became Otto Klemperer's assistant at Berlin's Kroll Opera, returning to Vienna after Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in 1933. En route to Vienna from London in 1938, Burger and his wife foresaw what lay in store for Austria and detrained in Paris, abandoning their luggage. In 1939 Burger relocated to America and in 1949 he rejoined the staff at the Metropolitan Opera, starting a close working friendship with Dimitri Mitropoulos. His mother and four of his brothers were murdered in the Holocaust. A fifth brother's fate is still unknown.