Maximilian Landau collection

Maximilian Landau was born on October 4, 1904 in Minsk, Russia. He was the son of Edward Landau and Gustawa Kraushar Landau. Maximilian, who was an engineer, married Felicia Gurewicz and their daughter Irene was born in Warsaw in 1930. In 1940 the family was forced into the Warsaw ghetto, where they worked for the Többens workshops sewing German military uniforms. In April 1943, during the Warsaw ghetto uprising, Maximilian, Felicia, and Irene escaped the ghetto and spent the next fifteen months on the Aryan side of Warsaw using false papers for the name Lewandowski. Maximilian’s mother, Gustawa, committed suicide in the ghetto. After the suppression of the Warsaw uprising in August 1944, the Landaus, along with all of Warsaw population, were evacuated from the city. Maximilian and his family were sent to Germany. Maximilian worked as an interpreter in a small labor camp for Polish prisoners in Moers. The United States 6th Army liberated them and Maximilian became a liaison officer for Displaced Persons, searching for Jewish survivors. The family settled in Foehrenwald DP camp where Maximilian became involved in governing of the camp, especially in organizing Maccabi sport activities. In 1949 they immigrated to the United States. Felicia Landau died in 1991 and Maximilian Landau died in 1995. Consists of 323 photographs and 17 documents relating to Maximilian Landau and his work in the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp, Germany. Relates in part to the development of sports activities in the camp and includes photographs by George Kadish.