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Beit Theresienstadt, in collaboration with the MEMO Association, embarked on a journey to Prague, Theresienstadt Ghetto, Auschwitz, and Dachau, following the story of the survivor Mordechai (Max) Livni. The journey included young Israelis and Germans. The tour in Prague focused on the streets of Max’s childhood in the Jewish Quarter, and we also visited the Bubny train station, from where the Jews of Czechoslovakia were deported to Ghetto Theresienstadt. The station is set to be renovated and turned into a Holocaust museum.
From Prague, we continued to Terezín for two days of tours and workshops. From Terezín, we traveled to Munich, visited the memorial site at the Dachau camp, the remains of the Kaufering labor camp, and walked along the death march routes.
Throughout the journey, we had fascinating encounters with locals involved in commemoration and memory preservation.
The Story of Mordechai (Max) Livni
Max Livni was born in 1926 in Prague. After the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, he had to discontinue his schooling. His older brother managed to immigrate to Israel before the war. In 1943, Max was deported with his parents and brother to Ghetto Theresienstadt and, after about a year, sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Later, he was transferred to Kaufering Camp, a subcamp of Dachau.
Max was liberated in Allach by the American army on May 1, 1945, after surviving a death march. His parents, brother, and many of his family members perished in the Holocaust.
After the war, he became an active leader in the “Maccabi Tzair” youth movement. In 1946, he married Chava (née Fürst), who was also active in the youth movement, and in 1949, they immigrated to Israel together. In the early years, they lived in Kibbutz Kfar Maccabi, and from 1951, they resided in Kiryat Tivon.
In Israel, Max worked in various fields—electricity, carpentry, mechanics—and eventually spent over 30 years as a mechanical designer in the high-tech industry.
For many years, Max served as the board chairman of Beit Theresienstadt. He and his wife Chava contributed significantly to Beit Theresienstadt, translating and editing various publications.
Link to the project on Memos website
https://memos.ngo/projects-2006-tel-aviv/projects-prague-2024
