Max Grossmann (1877 - 1938)

Max Grossmann was born in Bielitz on April 14, 1877, the son of a Jewish doctor. He studied electrical engineering at the Technical University in Darmstadt. From 1909 he worked for the Otto Schott company, where he rose to become head of the electrical department. In his profession, he made groundbreaking contributions, especially to the development and production of electrolytic meters. In 1921 he moved into a villa at Forstweg 31 with his wife Frieda (born in 1879 in Wilna) and their sons Ernst and Hans. His wife died in 1936, and his sons emigrated to Ecuador. Grossmann visited them there in 1937 and returned to Germany despite misgivings about increasing anti-Semitic reprisals.

On the night of November 9-10, 1938, Reichspogromnacht, Max Grossmann was arrested along with 17 other Jewish men from Jena and transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp. In a letter to the Gestapo, the management of Schott-Werke strongly advocated his release, pointing out not only his importance to the factory - Grossmann was also responsible for supervising all electrical installations - but also that he had been a front-line fighter in World War I. The letter remained unanswered. The letter remained unanswered. On November 21, the 62-year-old Grossmann died as a result of the catastrophic prison conditions in Buchenwald.

The stumbling stone for Max Grossmann was placed on 18 June 2011 at Forstweg 31 (initiative of the Jenaer Arbeitskreis Judentum).

Hier wohnte Max Grossmann, Jg. 1877, verhaftet, Buchenwald, ermordet 21.11.1938.