Max Kowalski

Max Kowalski's story exemplifies the systematic destruction of Jewish cultural life in Nazi Germany and the resilience of artists forced into exile. Born in Russian Poland in 1882, Kowalski built a successful dual career as both a copyright lawyer and prolific composer of art songs in Germany, only to see his professional life dismantled by anti-Semitic legislation. His experiences encompass the broader tragedy of German-Jewish musicians: from the initial exclusion from public cultural life through the creation of segregated Jewish cultural organizations, to imprisonment in concentration camps and eventual exile. His trajectory from established professional to refugee piano tuner illustrates both the devastating personal cost of Nazi persecution and the determination of artists to continue their work under impossible circumstances.

Law and Lieder

Max Kowalski was born on August 10, 1882, in Kowal, Russian Poland, the son of Jewish cantor and teacher Abraham Kowalski and his wife Bertha Rosenthal. The family moved to Germany when Max was one year old, settling first in Ballenstedt and then, from 1894, in Frankfurt am Main. After graduating from the Lessing-Gymnasium, Kowalski pursued legal studies at the universities of Heidelberg, Berlin, and Marburg, receiving his doctorate from Marburg in 1906 with a thesis on "Die Naturobligation" (The Natural Obligation).

From 1909 to 1938, Kowalski worked as a lawyer and became a recognized authority in copyright law. He achieved notary status in 1924 and represented prominent clients, including Arnold Schoenberg in a 1930 legal dispute with the Frankfurt Opera concerning the performance of Schoenberg's opera "From Today to Tomorrow."

Parallel to his legal career, Kowalski pursued serious musical training. From 1909, he studied singing with Alexander Heinemann in Berlin and composition with Bernhard Sekles in Frankfurt am Main. He later enrolled at Frankfurt's Dr. Hoch'sches Konservatorium from 1911 to 1913, studying composition under Sekles alongside the young Paul Hindemith, as well as score reading, counterpoint, musical form, and conducting.

Kowalski's compositional output was substantial, comprising more than 250 songs, approximately one-third of which were published by reputable companies until 1933-34. His works included seventeen published and at least seventeen unpublished song cycles, setting texts by a remarkably diverse range of poets including Li Tai Po, Hafiz, Omar Khayyam, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Friedrich Hölderlin, Heinrich Heine, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul Verlaine, Rainer Maria Rilke, Hermann Hesse, and Klabund. His settings also drew from Jewish poems, collections from Japan and India, and poems from the Arab world.

One of his most significant works was the song cycle "Zwölf Lieder aus Pierrot Lunaire," Op. 4 (1913), setting Albert Giraud's texts to music—the same poems that Arnold Schoenberg famously set in his "Pierrot Lunaire" during the same period. This provided an alternative musical interpretation of these important symbolist poems.

Kowalski's songs were performed by leading singers of his era, including Paul Bender, Heinrich Rehkemper, Heinrich Schlusnus, Leo Schützendorf, and Joseph Schwarz. His musical style reflected late 19th-century tonal and formal aesthetics, and his abilities as a singer, pianist, and vocal coach were evident in his compositions. The Austrian baritone Wolfgang Holzmair, who later researched and performed Kowalski's works, noted that the composer "finds a unique musical and emotional language for each one of his poets."

In 1910, Kowalski married Anna Rosalie Meyer in Frankfurt am Main. Their daughter Vera was born in 1922.

Jüdischer Kulturbund

The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 marked the beginning of Kowalski's professional and personal persecution. As a Jew, he was immediately stripped of his notary status. Initially allowed to practice law as a "former lawyer," he was completely banned from legal practice in 1938. All of his musical works fell out of print in Germany after 1933, and in Austria following the Anschluss on March 12, 1938.

After 1933, the Jüdischer Kulturbund (Jewish Cultural Alliance) became Kowalski's primary musical outlet. This organization, established as a segregated cultural institution for Jewish artists and audiences, played a crucial role in maintaining Jewish cultural life under increasingly restrictive conditions. As Joachim Martini noted,

"As of 1933, Max Kowalski devotes all his energy to the cause of the Kulturbund, participates in the organization of concerts, and occasionally accompanies his songs."

During these years, Kowalski continued working with accomplished singers, was able to premiere new works, and remained active as a reviewer for publications such as the Israelitisches Familienblatt. The Kulturbund provided a space where his music could still be performed and heard, even as the broader German cultural landscape became increasingly hostile to Jewish artists.

One particularly poignant moment came during what proved to be the final concert of the Frankfurt Kulturbund Orchestra on April 7, 1938—five years to the day after the Civil Service Law that had been instrumental in creating the Kulturbund. The program included four songs for baritone and orchestra by Kowalski, all settings of poems by Heinrich Heine. The cycle concluded with a Heine verse called "It Goes Out," in which Kowalski's orchestration mirrored the poem's imagery of extinguished lights. As the baritone sang the final line, "That last poor light was my own soul," the orchestra instruments stopped playing one by one until only a single flute remained, its note fading to silence.

After the performance, Kowalski addressed the audience:

"I think if Herr Heine were with us now, he would write a different poem. I sense many a soul shining brightly in this place tonight, none brighter or warmer than the soul of this magnificent organization, this Kulturbund, which has sustained us all these last four years. But now, no applause, and certainly no tears. Let us go in peace."

Imprisonment and Exile

The situation deteriorated dramatically following Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938. On November 11, 1938, Kowalski was arrested and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp, assigned prisoner number 21,609. This arrest was part of a systematic operation designed to pressure imprisoned Jews into emigrating so their assets could be confiscated. The psychological and physical brutality of the camp experience was intended to break the will of Jewish professionals and force them to abandon their lives in Germany.

Kowalski was released on November 27, 1938, as prisoner number 195, along with 445 other Jewish prisoners. However, the trauma extended beyond his own imprisonment. His wife Anna had been imprisoned multiple times—first in Preungesheim prison in 1937, then subsequently in the Moringen, Lichtenburg, and Ravensbrück concentration camps. Despite having immigration papers for Great Britain, Anna Kowalski took her own life on October 25, 1938, unable to endure the continued persecution and uncertainty.

In March 1939, Kowalski and his daughter Vera went into exile in London. He left Germany with only ten Reichsmark to his name, having been forced to relinquish his estate as a condition of his release from Buchenwald. His daughter had been staying with relatives in London since February 1938, providing a crucial connection for their escape.

While London had initially been intended as a stopover on a longer journey to the United States, Kowalski resolved to remain there after missing a transfer ship. This decision would define the remainder of his life.

Life in London

Kowalski's adjustment to life in exile was marked by significant hardships. Disbarred in Germany in 1938 and later stripped of his German doctorate in 1940, he entered England classified as a musician—the third of four ranked categories of professional significance. His transition was complicated by his educational background; having attended a humanistic grammar school in Germany that focused on Latin and Greek rather than English, he faced language barriers in his new home.

At nearly sixty years old when he reached London, Kowalski faced greater challenges establishing himself than younger refugees. Britain's declaration of war on September 3, 1939, invalidated all refugee visas and brought rising xenophobia and antisemitism. Austro-German musicians during this period faced a complex double standard—respected as performers and educators but kept at professional distance. Being primarily a composer of German Lieder created additional obstacles for Kowalski's career prospects.

The BBC's 1940 Ban on Alien Composers further restricted opportunities for refugee musicians. Under these difficult circumstances, Kowalski earned his living as a piano tuner, synagogue singer, and singing teacher—a dramatic fall from his former status as a successful lawyer and recognized composer.

In Great Britain, Kowalski married Gertrud Remak, a native of Poznań and Berlin, who brought two children into the marriage. This provided him with a new family structure as he rebuilt his life in exile.

Despite the enormous challenges of displacement and economic hardship, Kowalski continued to compose during his London years. His output from this period included works in English, though these remained unpublished during his lifetime. He also continued his work as a singing teacher and gradually re-established connections within the musical community.

The composer's persistence in maintaining his musical career under such adverse conditions demonstrates the central role that artistic expression played in his identity. Even when reduced to working as a piano tuner to survive, he never abandoned his compositional work or his commitment to vocal music and teaching.

Conclusion

Max Kowalski died on June 4, 1956, in London, having spent the final seventeen years of his life in exile. His experience represents both the catastrophic destruction of Jewish cultural life in Nazi Germany and the remarkable resilience of artists who refused to let persecution silence their creative voices. From his early success as a dual professional in law and music, through the systematic dismantling of his career by Nazi persecution, to his final years rebuilding a musical life in London, Kowalski's story illuminates the human cost of totalitarian policies and the enduring power of artistic dedication.

His substantial body of work—more than 250 songs drawing from an extraordinary range of international literary sources—survived the upheavals of war and exile. After decades of obscurity, Kowalski's compositions have begun to receive renewed attention from performers and scholars, ensuring that his musical voice, nearly silenced by persecution, continues to be heard.

Sources

Music and Exile: From 1933 to the Present Day. Netherlands, Brill, 2023.

Goldsmith, Martin. The Inextinguishable Symphony: A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany. United Kingdom, Turner Publishing Company, 2007.