My friend, Max
Max Glauben, Holocaust Survivor
When I taught Reading in our local junior high school, one of my favorite subjects to introduce my students to was the Holocaust, and not because it was a ‘pleasant’ subject to teach, rather a desperately needed one for my students to learn about.
We had several novels we covered and after seeing the interest my students developed for the subject matter, I got this wild idea to take two busloads of them one year over 100 miles to the Holocaust Museum in downtown Dallas. The draw for me on making this happen was when I learned that living survivors would come in and speak to school groups.
So in December of 2008, I made my first of several trips in where after a walk-through viewing the various artifacts and exhibits there in the small (at that time) museum, we filed in to a small lecture room where we were introduced to Max Glauben. I really did not know what it would be like for me personally to sit in the presence of someone who had survived such horrors growing up in one of the darkest times of modern history.
But two things stood out to me that day. His positive and upbeat energy that radiated from him with so much life and zeal and encouragement wanting these kids and everyone else who was in the room to know that hate was never the answer to any situation one might go through.
And I remember weeping tears of amazement throughout his talk.
We were fortunate to get to meet him in person when the presentation was over and little did I realize then, that a treasured friendship would develop over the years between us.
In 2010, I was given the opportunity to work with the museum and go in to the homes of 13 living survivors in the area and photograph them and their families. The photos were used to open up a new wing during an exhibit there at the museum. Somehow through all this, mine and Max’s paths continued to cross over the years. He was always enthralled to see my weather photos shown on a local Dallas TV station and would email me letting me know he saw another one.
One year Kathy (my wife) and I drove in to Dallas to his home and picked him up and brought him back here to Paris where he spoke to hundreds of high school students before I drove him back home that evening.
The friendship grew to the point where I knew I always had an open invite to stop by and visit with him and his lovely wife, Frieda, where I was always treated to fresh coffee and sweets along with their joyful hospitality.
In 2021, an auto-biography was being written about his life and Max asked me if I would be willing to take some pictures that might be used for the cover. I knew there would be more sweets and coffee involved so I gladly agreed to do so. :- )
Max turned 94 last month (Jan 2022) and was tickled to have me stop by for another visit. The visit was just so special for me personally. Max has been honored with multiple awards and recognitions and honors in his later life for the work he has done on behalf of the museum and all it stands for. He was named Texan of the Year by the Dallas D magazine, given an Honorary Doctorate from SMU, and recently received the Hope for Humanity award.
But the title that blesses me most is this one - he is simply, my friend, Max.
