Max Czuper
- born on 1.9.1910 in Dobromil/Poland
- 1916 to 1921 Jewish secondary school in Berlin (Grosse Hamburger Strasse)
- 1924 to 1926/7 Apprentice in the furrier's shop Brandstatter & Kuples (Spittelmarkt)/Max Tiger (Friedrichstrasse)
- 1927 to 1931 Wundheiler company (Alte Schönhauserstrasse)
- 1931 to 1933 journeyman at Efraim Soneumann (Kronstrasse)
- 1933 self-employed
- 1934 - 1937: Together with Israel Ferziger, business “Fa. Ferziger & Czuper”, Beutstrasse, Berlin
- Own business (fur trade) in Leipziger Strasse, Berlin
- 1938 Deported to Poland. Probably on October 28/29 as part of the "Polenaktion"
- from 1940 to early 1941 Krakow - forced labor f. Wehrmacht
- January or February 1941 to 17 July1942 forced labor camp Radomischl (probably Radomyśl Wielki near Mielec)
- 18 July 1942 to 7 july 1944 Forced labor camp Mielec (Heinkel aircraft factory), 1 month Plaszow/Wieliczka (salt mines)
- 10 August 1944 to 26 August 1944 Mauthausen concentration camp, prisoner number 86431
- 28 august 1944 to April 1945 Mauthausen concentration camp/Melk satellite camp (camouflage designation "Quarz")
- April 1945 to 6 May 1945 Mauthausen concentration camp/satellite camp Ebensee
- After liberation he lived together with his wife Sala Czuper, nee Sala Radzynska, born 3/15/1919 in Bedzin in Frankfurt/Main, Taunusstrasse 28
- They emigrated to the US in mid-1949
MaxCzuper lost his wife and daughter to persecution by the Nazis.
Before the persecution
Before the outbreak of the war, I was a strong, healthy young man and had no physical complaints. I lived in secure, good circumstances and had my own business in Berlin until I was deported to Poland. In 1937 I married my first wife, Ester, née Minze. Together we were driven to Poland and that was the beginning of the persecution.
Source: Unless otherwise stated: Konrad Kittl files, Max Czuper affidavit
Krakow
When the war broke out, I was in Krakow and soon had to do extremely hard forced labor for the Wehrmacht. Again I was driven to Radomischl, where I also had to work hard. In addition to the physical exertion and the lack of food, there was now the fear of being killed. I was particularly worried about my family. I had had a little daughter in 1940. I never saw her or my wife again and only found out later that they had been killed in Auschwitz.
Mielec
I was then sent to the Mielec concentration camp, where I had to endure a real hell. Our treatment was exceptionally brutal. I had to work in the aircraft factories. Even then I began to fall ill. I suffered from constant dysentery and often dragged myself to work with a fever.
Not a day went by without me being beaten in some way. One day, when a guard was not satisfied with my work, he brutally beat me up. My teeth were knocked out during this abuse.
| Forced labor camps for Jews in the "Generalgouvernement" | |
|---|---|
| Place | Mielec |
| Name | |
| Area | General Government, Krakow District (1939-1944) |
| Opening | 07./09.03.1942 |
| Closing | 12.06.1944, the camp was continued as a subcamp of the Krakow-Plaszow concentration camp |
| Gender | Men |
| Employment of the prisoners at | Heinkel aircraft works |
| Type of work | |
| Source: deutschland-ein-denkmal.de | |
Plaszow, Mauthausen, Melk and Ebensee
Until my liberation, I was dragged through the concentration camps Placzow, Mauthausen, Melk and Ebensee. When I was liberated, I was a completely broken and sick person. I weighed 70 pounds at the time. I was so weak that I couldn't stand on my feet at all.
| Subcamps of the Mauthausen concentration camp | |
|---|---|
| Location | Melk |
| Name | "Quartz" |
| Area | Reichsgau Niederdonau (1938-1945) |
| Opening | 20./21.04.1944 |
| Closing | 15.04.1945 ; the prisoners were "evacuated" to Mauthausen and the satellite camps Ebensee / and Gusen from 11-19.04.1945 |
| Prisons | On 30.01.1945: 10,352 prisoners |
| Gender | Men |
| Employment of prisoners at | SS-WVHA/Amtsgruppe C (Construction), SS-Führungsstab B 9; STUAG; Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG; Quarz GmbH, Vienna; Lang & Manhoffer; Wayss & Freytag; Mayreder & Kraus; Klaus & Fuchs; Braun & Boveri and others |
| Type of work | Ball bearing production; work in an ammunition factory in Merkendorf; settlement construction in Roggendorf for secret production |
| Source: deutschland-ein-denkmal.de | |
| Subcamps of the Mauthausen concentration camp | |
|---|---|
| Location | Ebensee |
| Name | "Cement" |
| Area | Reichsgau Oberdonau (1938-1945) |
| Opening | 18.11.1943 |
| Closing | Liberation on 06/05/1945 |
| Deportations | |
| Prisons | Highest number of prisoners: 18,437 |
| Gender | Male |
| Employment of the prisoners at | SS-Führungsstab B 9; Solvay limestone mines; Großdeutscher Schachtbau; Deutscher Bergbau Hermann Göring; Nieblungen-Werk GmbH; Siemens-Bau-Union; Siemens-Schuckertwerke AG; / Steyr-Daimler Puch |
| Type of work | Tunnel construction for a rocket development plant; operation of distillation plants and ball bearing production |
| Source: deutschland-ein-denkmal.de | |
Notes
Additional sources
- Stay in Frankfurt: https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/de/document/70330402
- Emigration to USA: https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/de/document/81711031
Compensation Office
Darmstadt, 1964-?, AZ.; D/1O 515310
Notes
Last changed 01/05/2025
Photo Credits
- Individuelle Unterlagen Männer Mauthausen - Max Czuper, 1.1.26 / 1.1.26.3/1404972/ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives
- Individuelle Unterlagen Männer Mauthausen - Max Czuper, 1.1.26 / 1.1.26.3/1404972/ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives