Max Levi born on September 28, 1889 in Markt Berolzheim, Germany, to Leopold and Mathilde (Herz) Levi. Max was the fourth of six children. When Max was not quite twelve years old his mother died. At sixteen years old, his lost his father. Max spent the rest of his teenage years in the Jewish Orphanage in Fürth, Germany, though he remained close to his brother and sisters. Max owned two businesses: Beroli and Automaten Dienst. In 1923 he married the former Lina Bühler (Buehler) from Nördlingen, and the couple had two children: Margot, born in 1925 and Leo, born in 1927. The family was close with Max and Lina's siblings. In the 1930s, the Nazis tried to cripple Max's businesses, and in 1936, Lina's brothers Max and Gus, who lived in the United States, started begging the family (including all of Lina's sisters and brothers) to come to the United States. However, Max and Lina were financially well off in Germany and were worried about leaving everything behind. In April 1938, Max's business"Automaten Diens" was threatened and he had to use a non-Jewish friend as the nominal head of the business. During Kristallnacht, Nazis destroyed Max's business,"Berol" and the family's apartment. In December of 1938 Max and his family escaped Germany and left aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam for America. Life was very difficult for Max and Lina when they first came to America. Max went from door to door trying to sell things. He became very ill from the long hours, the stress and hard work. He had to give that up and go to work for Lina's uncle Gus Buehler. Gus manufactured women's handbags. Max was a devout Orthodox Jew but had no choice, even working Saturdays for Gus. This was was totally against his beliefs- but he had no choice. After a while things became easier. He and his family had time to enjoy being together. Max died suddenly and peacefully on November 28, 1960.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
folder 1
Consists of two photocopies of photographs and one copy of Max Levi's handwritten memoir, in German, with an English translation. The memoir details his experiences in Germany from April 30, 1933 until December 8, 1938, including the loss of his business and wealth; the family's experiences on Kristallnacht, when Max's business and apartment were destroyed and he was injured; and their arrival in New York on December 15, 1938.
Max Levi memoir