Dr. Max Picard

There are no files in the archives of Konstanz concerning Salomon's eldest son Max born in 1885 which is rather a surprise. Did the nazis later remove the file of one of the Jewish heroes of World War 1? Only in 1910, Max had received his doctorate at the faculty of Law of Heidelberg university. In the German army, he started as was customary with a higher education as a second lieutenant in a dragoon regiment of the Duchy of Baden, which was part of the German Empire. His decision was probably influenced by his father's love for horses. But horses were not compatible with modern warfare. Max died during one of the very first attacks near Mulhouse in Alsace.

On Monday, September 28 1914, people in Konstanz could read in the local newspaper about the funeral which had taken place on Sunday. Many people had accompanied the coffin to the cemetery. In his speech, the rabbi described Max as a pleasant person with many promising talents. He emphasized the hope, that the loss of this valuable person should not be in vain but would lead to an early beginning of a peaceful era. "Three salutes filled the air over the cemetery and the clods resounded on the coffin. May he rest in peace!" This is how the editor ended his article.

In October almost a whole page of the local newspaper was filled by a large obituary written by his friends and comrades who described Max as somebody who had been lovingly attached to his parents and whose soul was not shaped by martial ambitions but by the love of music: In leisure hours he had shared the sound of Beethoven's music with his fellow officers. The article was full of catchphrases concerning "sacrifice"and "victory" which at the beginning of the war sounded well-meant and honest. In the years to follow newspapers were full of death notices.

Besides the portrait of Max, which was molded in bronze for the tomb stone in Konstanz, there is only one photograph of him in a publication edited in his hometown. The publication deals with early local photographs and one picture shows him with his classmates. They all are disguised as old-maidish women for the carneval season 1903. Carneval has always been vigorously celebrated in Konstanz. But the boys do not look very happy or enthusiastic. Max is standing in the background on the left.