Austrian composer. Because of his Jewish origins and his communist beliefs, Eisler lived in exile during the 1930s and 1940s. After brief stays in various European countries, Mexico and the United States were his primary places of residence in exile. In the early stages of the Cold War, the first two post-World War II hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee were held against him and his brother Gerhart Eisler in 1947. This led to Hanns Eisler’s expulsion from the United States and his return to Europe—via Prague, first to Vienna and then on to Berlin, where he lived in the eastern part of the city until his death.