Max JOSEPH
Housing: 14 boxes Period: 1921-1971
Max Joseph was born on 22nd April 1894, in Schoenlanke, Germany. Born to Jewish parents, Isodor and Emma Joseph (maiden name Goldstein), Max identified as a “Jew by faith and origin”. In 1921 Max graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy from Berlin University and was appointed Chartered Accountant in 1932, after completing his Economics studies. In 1926, Max married Illse Theresia Steinhardt (also of Jewish faith and origin) and in 1928, had a daughter named Karin Marianne Joseph.
On the 10th of November 1938, Max was arrested by the Gestapo and detained at Saxenhausen Concentration Camp. He was released shortly after (end of November 1938), as his application to immigrate to Australia had been granted. Max left Germany in December 1938 and arrived in Sydney, Australia, on the 17th of March 1939. Unfortunately, in October 1940, Max was arrested and detained at Tatura Internment Camp, in Victoria, Australia. Documents reveal that Mr. Flynn, a disgruntled ex-business associate of Max, falsly accused Max of Nazi affiliation. In July 1941, nine months after his detainment at Tatura, Max was released as no evidence could be found against the allegations.
Max was a savvy businessman, owning various establishments (laundromat, manufacturing of goods company, a film studio, etc), and a doughty fighter for the rights of refugees and Jewish Holocaust survivors in Australia. Personal correspondence reveals that Max often communicated with Australian Officials regarding the immigration screening process, which had enabled Nazi sympathisers to infiltrate the refugee camps. He also petitioned for the Naturalisation of Refugees coming from German war-torn countries to be considered Refugee Aliens not Enemy Aliens and was the General Secretary for the Association of Refugees, which looked after Jewish affairs in Australia (assistance with admission into Australia, compensation, sales of property in Germany, etc).
Max Joseph died in 1974 in Sydney, Australia. He leaves behind a legacy of courage, dedication and advocacy for Jewish refugees during WWII, and is remembered as a prominent member of the Jewish community
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