Max and Dorothy Folk papers

Max Folk (1910-1990) was likely born on 10 May 1910 in Warsaw, Poland to Freidla (née Ohrenstein,1882?-1938) and Mendel Folk (b. 1877?). He had one brother and one sister. Max’s mother died before the war, and father and siblings all perished during the Holocaust. Max married Jocheved Jablonka on 2 February 1936, and they had one son, Jurek (b. 1937?). Jocheved was the daughter of Szyja Jablonka and Bronislawa Siekierka. Her father owned a factory which produced cigarette filters and window insulation. She had two brothers and two sisters. One of her sisters, Dorothy, would become Max’s second wife after the war. Max and his family lived in Warsaw where he owned a fruit import business. They lived in an area that would eventually become part of the Warsaw Ghetto in November 1940. Max had a permit to sell food in the ghetto, and he also bribed the Jewish police to smuggle food in. Max and his family avoided deportation from the ghetto by hiding in a bunker under his father in law’s factory. During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Max’s brothers-in-law Chanek Goldstein and Josel Jablonka were killed. The family was discovered on 8 May 1943 and deported to the Trawniki subcamp of Majdanek. Along with several other young men, Max jumped from the train, but was captured and beaten. He was then sent back to Warsaw and interrogated about others in hiding. He did not reveal any information and was deported to Majdanek. On 1 July 1943 he was transferred to Auschwitz (prisoner #127193). He was sent on a death march to Buchenwald on 21 January 1945 (prisoner #19970). In March 1945 he was transferred to Remsdorf and then Theresienstadt in April. He was liberated from Theresienstadt on 8 May 1945. Max’s wife and son both perished during the Holocaust. He and his wife’s sister Dorothy reconnected in Warsaw after the war. They married on 21 March 1946 and lived in a rented room outside of the DP camp. Max started a business, Max Folk and Co., that sold food to the Landsberg DP camp. He also opened a shop in Landsberg.Their daughter Bianka (later Barbara Kalmar) was born in Munich on 14 April 1947. Max’s business was successful, but the family wanted to immigrate to the United States. They were sponsored by a pre-war friend who survived the Holocaust in Shanghai. The family immigrated to the United States in December 1950 aboard the General Blatchford, and settled in the Bronx. Max went on to own several different businesses in New York.

Dorothy Folk (born Dorothea, also referred to as Dora, 1914-1995) was born on 4 December 1914 in Warsaw to Szyja Jablonka and Bronislawa Siekierka. She had two sisters and two brothers, all of whom were married before the Holocaust. Her family was not religious, but they kept kosher and observed Jewish holidays. Her father owned a factory in Warsaw that manufactured cigarette filters and window insulation. Before the war, Dorothy was married to Isaac Prajgrod. After the Nazi invasion of Warsaw, Dorothy’s father was forced to use his factory to manufacture sweaters and shirts for the Germans. Her husband was shot and killed by the Gestapo in April 1943. Dorothy remained in the Warsaw ghetto until May 1943 when she was deported to the Majdanek concentration camp. In August 1943 she was transferred to Auschwitz (prisoner #48006) where she worked in a Krupp factory manufacturing ammunition. In January 1945 she was sent on a death march to Ravensbrück, and in February sent to the Malchow subcamp. Dorothy was then sent to the Taucha subcamp of Buchenwald. She was liberated on a death march from Taucha in April 1945 by the Soviet Red Army. Dorothy’s parents and siblings all perished during the Holocaust. Dorothy reconnected with her sister’s husband Max Folk in Warsaw after the war. They married on 21 March 1946 and lived in a rented room outside of the DP camp. Max started a business, Max Folk and Co., that sold food to the Landsberg DP camp. He also opened a shop in Landsberg.Their daughter Bianka (later Barbara Kalmar) was born in Munich on 14 April 1947. Max’s business was successful, but the family wanted to immigrate to the United States. They were sponsored by a pre-war friend who survived the Holocaust in Shanghai. The family immigrated to the United States in December 1950 aboard the General Blatchford, and settled in the Bronx.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Barbara Folk Kalmar

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019 by Barbara Folk Kalmar, daughter of Max and Dorothy Folk.