Businessman, Politician, Refugee, Survivor: Mayor Max Heller

At the time of the Anschluss, the German annexation of Austria, Max was eighteen years old, working and attending business school part-time. Max and his family, like other Jews, lost their home and jobs and became subject to violence and public humilation. In an interview with SCETV, Max recalled being forced to participate in the so-called Reibpartien or “scrubbing parties” characteristic of Nazi Vienna, “I was forced by a schoolmate of mine, who I thought was my best friend, to get down on my knees and scrub the streets, and not only scrub the streets but clean out the gutters — and I don’t have to tell you what you find in those gutters.”

Max understood that that his family had to leave Austria, but the way to safety was difficult. American immigration was limited, and refugees were required to find sponsors before they could enter the U.S. Desperate, Max wrote a letter to a young American woman he had met in Vienna, Mary Mills from Greenville, asking for her help. Mary went to Shepherd Saltzman, president of the Piedmont Shirt Company, who promised to give Max a job. That promise in hand, Max and his sister Paula were allowed to enter the United States.

On arriving in Greenville, Max immediately went to work as a stock clerk. Soon, he found a job for his sister, and their parents and later Max’s fiancée, Trude Schonthal, were able to join them. Max and Trude married on Main Street in Greenville in 1942.

Over the next few decades, Max and Trude created successful lives for themselves and their family. After becoming vice president and general manager of Piedmont Shirt Company, Max started his own business, Williamston Shirt Company, which he sold in 1948; later, he established Maxton Shirt Company, which he sold in 1962 but continued to work for until 1967.

After his retirement, Max was determined to repay the city that had provided him and his family sanctuary, serving as city council member and then mayor. He is perhaps most well-known for his work to restore Greenville’s downtown area; when urged to run for a second term as mayor in 1975, Max agreed under the condition that the business community match federal funding for redevelopment. The successful public-private partnership resulted in the revitalization of downtown Greenville. Later, when he served as chairman of the State Development Board, he helped recruit companies such as Michelin North America to South Carolina; the state added 67,000 jobs during his five-year term.

Max worked to make his adopted home a better place for all residents. In his interview with SCETV, he recalled being confused by the discrimination he witnessed when he arrived in Greenville, “I worked in a plant. When I first started, I was making $10 a week. Had I been black, I probably would have made $7 a week. When I first saw a water cooler that had a sign that said ‘Colored,’ I thought the water was going to be pink.” As mayor, Max worked for the desegregation of City Hall and the building of community centers; he also led the creation of the Greenville Transit Authority, providing affordable public transportation. Max passed away in 2011 at the age of 92. At the time of his death, he and Trude had three children, ten grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren. His obituary in the Greenville News noted, “The citizens of Greenville opened their hearts and homes to him and he never forgot them.” ■