Amichai and Helena (his wife) presenting the Chickenhouse book beside his portrait hanging at the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in Dania Beach, FL
Last living member of the family that saved Amichai and his family. His name: Martien Janssen. Lives in Helmond, the Netherlands
Who is Max Amichai Heppner?
I am a healthy octogenarian who celebrated his 86th birthday in 2019. I am seen as an inspiring father or grandfather figure, full of common sense and appreciation of life. I care a lot. I like people, peace, and practical solutions.
In general, I work on how people my age can contribute to the community and how experience and practical knowledge can be passed on to the next generation. I have been presenting my ideas in books, plays, movies, videos lectures, and articles, ever since I retired in 1994.
My presentations cover a considerable range:
• Autobiography (with a focus on how my family escaped from the Holocaust)
• Promoting peace with emphasis on Interfaith communication and understanding • Meeting and overcoming the challenges I’ve faced in life
• Expanding life using Jewish meditation the Kaballah and religious holidays
• Exploring dreams as a way to track personal growth, and
• Unlocking the meaning of life (any life) by mining life stories
My working life started as an editor of Farm Quarterly Magazine, a now extinct venture of the F&W Publishing Company of Cincinnati; and it ended in a 30-year career as a public information officer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
My education includes a bachelor’s degree in economics from Ohio State University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin. I am married to Helena, nee Levine, and have one surviving child, a daughter Liora, who lives with her husband and children in Switzerland.
- Max Amichai Heppner