Max Wolff: From Refugee to Liberator

Before the war, Max Wolff's family had a fairly carefree existence, but after the German invasion of Holland, that changed. Starting in 1941, Max slept at hiding addresses for fear of being arrested. Later, the family's house was requisitioned by the Dutch SS. They were given one hour to pack their belongings and then had to leave.

The Netherlands was no longer safe and the Wolff family decided to flee to Switzerland. During the flight, Max's sisters and brother-in-law were rounded up and deported to Auschwitz where they were murdered.

Max and his parents were able to stay in hiding near Brussels, but when the Allied armies landed in Normandy in June 1944, Max decided he had to do something. The resistance smuggled him to France where he joined the Allied forces in Normandy. In the fall of 1944, Max returned to the Netherlands as a liberator.