Max Windmüller

Eintrag im »Gedenkbuch« des Bundesarchivs:

Windmüller, Max

geboren am 17. Februar 1920 in Emden / - / Hannover wohnhaft in Emden

Inhaftierung: 14. August 1943, Westerbork, Sammellager 18. Juli 1944, Paris, Gestapogefängnis

Emigration: 01. August 1933, Niederlande

Deportation: 1943, Dachau, Konzentrationslager 25. August 1944, Buchenwald, Konzentrationslager (Außenlager) 16. September 1944, Flossenbürg, Konzentrationslager

Todesdatum: 21. April 1945 Todesort: Cham Schicksal: für tot erklärt

cf.: http://www.mwg-emden.de/?Gedenken

&: https://www.emden.de/fileadmin/media/stadtemden/PDF/Stolpersteine/n...

&: http://max-emden.de/wordpress/biographie/

Dutch version http://joodsebegraafplaatsassen.nl/essays/jonge-idealisten-op-het-a...

Max-Windmüller-Gymnasium dedication on October 6, 2015 in Emden, Germany: http://max-emden.de/wordpress/max-windmueller-gymnasium-wurde-offiz...

FEATURE: Family Hero Depicted Onstage at Holocaust Museum

Inge W. Horowitz (123-517-41)

On March 1-4, 2007, drama students from the Mills E. Godwin High School in Henrico County, Virginia gave five moving performances of Every Day Seemed Like a Year: The Story of Max Windmueller. The theatrical production, a part of the Virginia Holocaust Museum’s 10th Anniversary programming, was attended by hundreds of school students as well as the general public.

Every Day Seemed Like a Year is the heroic story of our relative, Max Windmueller (123-321-63), alias Cornelius Andringa, during his years of great courage and tragedy fighting in the Dutch Resistance, told in the words of those who knew him. Details of the story were brought to light through the research of Professor Klaus Meyer-Dettum of Emden, the city in Germany where Max Windmueller was born.

There is an old Jewish proverb: “He who destroys a life destroys a world; He who saves a life, preserves a world.”

A world was destroyed when Max Windmueller was killed. But with his short life, he preserved worlds for us. His story and the moving play, which these students wrote and performed, sends a powerful message about the importance of ethical behavior and the moral courage to act on your convictions.

Many years ago, when her story and poetry became known, Chana Senesh became my Holocaust heroine. I carried in my wallet and memorized her famous poem, “Blessed is the Match.” Later, when I learned the story of my own family hero, Max Windmueller, he joined her exclusive company in my heart.

Today I want each family member to take home a souvenir of Holocaust bravery – this poem by Chana Senesh – to remind you of “Every Day Seemed Like a Year”:

Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.

Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.

Blessed is the heart with strength to stop its beating for honor's sake.

Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.