Max Liebster (1915 - 2008)

Born 15 Feb 1915 in Reichenbach, Großherzogtum Hessen, Deutsches Reich

Ancestors

Died 28 May 2008 at age 93 in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes, France

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Biografie

Max Liebster is Notable.

Max Liebster has Jewish Roots.

Max Liebster wurde in Reichenbach, Deutschland geboren.

Max Liebster survived persecution during the Holocaust.

Max was a Jehovah's Witness and served at Brooklyn Bethel

This profile is part of the 122-124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York One Place Study.

Max Liebster wurde als Sohn von Ben Ha "Bernard" Beirich Liebster und Bertha Oppenheimer 1915 geboren.^[1]

1939 wurde er als Jude im Konzentrationslager Buchenwald eingesperrt.^[2][3] In den folgenden sechs Jahren war er in unterschiedlichen Konzentrationslagern. 1940 war er für kurze Zeit mit seinem Vater zusammen in Sachsenhausen, wo sein Vater in seinen Armen starb.^[4][2][5]

Max durfte seinen Vater zum Krematorium bringen.^[2][5]

Im Jahr 1940 begann er, mit den Zeugen Jehovas die Bibel zu studieren.^[2][5] Ungefähr 1945 wurde er in Buchenwald in einer Badewanne getauft.^[2][5]

1947 wanderte Max nach Amerika aus, wo er in West Virginia bei seiner Schwester lebte.^[6]

Er arbeitete ehrenamtlich bei der Wachtturm-Gesellschaft in Brooklyn.^[7]

1956 absolvierte er die "Bible School of Gilead". Im gleichen Jahr heiratete er Simone Arnold.^[8] Das Ehepaar arbeitete danach als Missionare in Kenia und in Frankreich, wo sie in den 1960er Jahren die Gemeinschaft in Aix-le-Bains aufbauten.

Max (42) kam am 19. Juli 1958 in New York, New York, zum Internationalen Kongress der Zeugen Jehovas 1958 im Yankee Stadium an.^[9]

Max und Simone gründeten eine Stiftung, um Pädagogen, Museen und die Öffentlichkeit auf der ganzen Welt über den Holocaust aufzuklären.^[10]

Max starb (93 Jahre) am 28. Mai 2008 in Aix-Les-Bains, Savoie.^[11][2][12]

Biography

Max Liebster was born to Ben Ha "Bernard" Beirech Liebster and Bertha Oppenheimer in 1915.^[1]

In 1939, he was imprisoned by the SS Guards for being Jewish.^[2][3] For the next six years he was a prisoner of the Nazi Army, at five different concentration camps.^[2][5]

In 1940, at Sachsenhausen, Max was briefly reunited with his father before his death there.^[2][5] Max was allowed to take his father's body to be cremated there.^[2][5]

Also in 1940, Max started studying with some of his fellow inmates that were Jehovah's Witnesses.^[2][5] Max was baptized in a bathtub at Buchenwald about 1945.^[2][5]

In 1947, Max emigrated to America to stay with his sister in West Virginia.^[6]

Max volunteered at the world headquarters of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society at Brooklyn, New York.^[7]

In early 1956, Max attended the 27th Class of the Bible School of Gilead, graduating in July 1956.

In 1956, Max married Simone Arnold.^[2] Max and Simone spent their time in the missionary work in France after working in Kenya. For a while working in Paris, France. In the 60's, Max helped start the first congregation in Aix-les-Bains, France.

Max (age 42) arrived on 19 July 1958 in New York, New York, for the 1958 International Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses at Yankee Stadium.^[9]

Max and Simone set up a foundation to educate others about the holocaust to educators, museums, and the public throughout the world.^[10]

Max died (age 93) on 28 May 2008 in Aix-Les-Bains, Savoie.^[11][2][12]

Research Notes

The birth is too late to already have the birth record in public domain. (110 years in Germany).

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Free Access: USC Shoah Foundation, Holocaust – Jewish Survivor Interviews"
   USC Shoah Foundation; Los Angeles, California; Visual History Archive: The Holocaust
   Ancestry Record 62195 #373047 (accessed 23 April 2022)
   Name: Max Liebster [Meier Ben Bernard Liebster]; Gender: Male; Birth Date: 15 Feb 1915; Birth Place: Reichenbach, Germany; Interview Date: 18 Mar 1997; Interview Place: New York, New York, USA; Relationship: Self (Head); Role: Interviewee; Household: Bernard Liebster Father
   Bertha Libster Mother
   Ida Nussbaum Sister
   Hanna Strass Sister
   Simone Libster Wife
   Nathan Libster Uncle (Paternal) (Uncle)
   Settchen Oppenheimer Aunt (Maternal) (Aunt)
   Alfred Libster Uncle (Paternal) (Uncle)
   Julius Oppenheimer Uncle (Maternal) (Uncle)
   Max Liebster Self (Head).
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13} "Monument to Witness Holocaust Survivor Unveiled in Germany" JW.org Watchtower Bible and Tract Society accessed: 25 August 2019
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Germany, Concentration Camp Records, 1937-1945"
   The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Microfilm: A3355; ARC: 596972; Title: Lists and Registers of German Concentration Camp Inmates, 1946 - 1958; Record Group: 242; Record Group Title: National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized, 1675 - 1958
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61764 #73392 (accessed 19 August 2022)
   Name: Max Liebster; Gender: Männlich (Male); Nationality: German; Birth Date: 15. Feb 1915 (15 Feb 1915); Arrest Date: 11. Sep 1939 (11 Sep 1939); Camp: Buchenwald; Camp Location: Weimar-Buchenwald.
4. ↑ Seite „Max Liebster“. In: Wikipedia – Die freie Enzyklopädie. Bearbeitungsstand: 5. März 2022, 14:27 UTC. Wikidata: Item Q66733075, de:Wikipedia (Abgerufen: 20. August 2022, 15:07 UTC)
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8} ALST: "SHORT BIOGRAPHY MAX LIEBSTER"
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24PQ-3WP : 15 March 2018), Max Liebster, 1947; citing Immigration, New York City, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
   United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: New York, Kings, New York; Roll: 2756; Sheet Number: 3; Enumeration District: 24-1355
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #294832957 (accessed 19 August 2022)
   Max Liebster (35) lodger in household of Richmond Loyd Bible (32) in New York, Kings, New York, USA. Born in Germany.
8. ↑ ^{[citation needed]} Marriage
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Passenger List: "New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1967"
   The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; NAI Number: 2848504; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: A3998; NARA Roll Number: 69
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1277 #8257017 (accessed 29 March 2024)
   Name: Max Liebster; Nationality: American; Arrival Age: 42; Birth Date: 15 Dec 1915 [1915 Feb 15]; Birth Place: Reichen Bach/German Hessen; Arrival Date: 19 Jul 1958; Arrival Place: New York, New York, USA; Destination: New York; Airline: Ona DC-4; Flight Number: 415.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} ALST: "The Founders"
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Death: "Web: France, Death Records, 1970-2021"
    Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (Insee); Paris, France; Fichier des personnes décédées; Roll #: deces-2008.txt; Certificate Number: 213; URL: https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/fichier-des-personnes-decedees/
    Ancestry Record 62201 #15197410 (accessed 29 March 2024)
    Max Liebster death 28 May 2008 (born 15 Feb 1915) in Aix-Les-Bains, Savoie, France.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} "France, Indice de décès de la sécurité sociale de l'Insee, 1970-2019", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CGW3-DY6Z : 10 April 2020), Max Liebster, 2008.

• "ALST Foundation", database w/images (https://alst.org/ accessed 24 Apr 2019) Arnold Liebster Foundation
• Siegert, Harry "Max Liebster died at the age of 93 years" Viernheimer Tageblatt 29 Jul 2008
• Poland, Auschwitz-Buchenwald Transport, January 22 & 26, 1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, 2013. Name: Max Liebstor Date of Birth: 15 Feb 1915 Place of birth: Reichenbach Profession: Dekorateur Date of Transport: 26 Jan 1945 Buchenwald Prisoner Number: 120420 Auschwitz Prisoner Number: 69733 Prisoner Nationality/Category: German/Austrian Jew (German)
• Liebster, Max "Crucible of Terror: A Story of Survival Through the Nazi Storm" Grammaton Press New Orleans, Louisiana 2003 ISBN: 9780967936628
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Holocaust Encyclopedia

• Oral History Interview with Max Liebster Interview Date: 5 Feb 1991 Oral History Accession Number: 1992.A.0124.34 RG Number: RG-50.028.0034 Interviewer: Robert Buckley Language: English irn508771
• Oral History Interview with Max Liebster Interview Date: 17 May 1994 Oral History Accession Number: 1992.A.0124.97 RG Number: RG-50.028.0097 Interviewer: Robert Buckley Language: English irn508835

• "Max Liebster becomes an honorary citizen in his hometown". Bergstrasser Anzeiger. 20 Nov 2004.
• New York, Eastern District Naturalization Petitions, Index, 1865-1957, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XGX3-Q61 : 6 December 2014), Max Liebster, 1953; from "Index to Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing Court U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, Index to Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957, NARA microfilm publication 1164 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1991), roll 86.
• Wikipedia contributors, "Max Liebster," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikidata: Item Q66733075, en:Wikipedia (accessed August 20, 2022).