He left primary education on Easter 1897 at the age of 14 and went to live and work with his elder brother James Samuel (1871–1933) in Güstrow (Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) where the latter had opened a shoe business (Schuhwaarenhaus J.

In religious matters he wanted to support the troubled Jewish congregation, which – having lost all its savings in the inflation between 1914 and 1924 as so many private people and charities – was brought back into solvency with his financial acumen.

[42] As part of the reforms, inspired by those of the Israelite Religious Community of Württemberg [de], the members were directly, instead of indirectly, represented in the umbrella body by its new 14-person general assembly (German: Israelitische Landesversammlung[43]), established in 1926.

ILM's four-person executive Israelite Upper Council (German: Israelitischer Oberrat, additionally the chief rabbi was an ex officio member), also established in 1764,[44] became responsible to the new general assembly.

Inspired by Erichson, Max Samuel helped finance the 1930 reprint of the Esther Scroll which was originally printed in the 1700s and acquired for the Rostock university library through then chief librarian Oluf Gerhard Tychsen (1734–1815).

[46] Another circle of friends consisted of city councillor Fritz Dahse (1876–1931), Richard Siegmann, director of Rostock's trams (1898 to 1919, and again 1920 to 1935) and coalyard accountant Otto Wiechmann, who met at the Samuels' house to listen to sports programmes with Max on his radio.

[56] When in Rome both incapable of Italian, Geßner with his education in classical languages was unable to make himself understood whereas the practical Max Samuel succeeded communicating with shop assistants by gestures and mimics.

[57] He even helped other firms in calamities, such as Paul Bründel's Herren-Wäsche und feine Herren-Artikel on then Hopfenmarkt 3 (now named Kröpeliner Straße 20) in Rostock, which was a men's underwear shop patronised by Max Samuel.

[72] The government-imposed segregation of Jews, even where not provided by new anti-Semitic laws, was often performed with preëmptive obedience,[73] and this excluded Max Samuel from the university booster club and the fraternity of businesspeople.

[75] At the same time his son-in-law Hermann Kaiser (1904–1992) was deprived of his attorney's certificate at the Berlin Kammergericht due to new anti-Semitic laws and joined the EMSA-Werke as Max Samuel's proxy agent and member of the company's supervisory board.

In early 1934, Herbert, who was a graduate with a doctorate in law but – as a Jew – denied a career as a lawyer, had left Germany and was granted immigration to the United Kingdom on the grounds of investing and creating jobs in a poor area.

[82] Max Samuel advised hundreds of people seeking consultation (sometimes ten per day) and helped them acquire foreign currencies or immigration papers to refuge countries.

Max Samuel reacted by running the EMSA-Werke on deteriorating machinery which he saw no point in replacing in view of the difficulties imposed by the Nazi government, and the factory building was also decaying.

[87] On 30 and 31 August 1935, Max Samuel and ILM's syndic Richard Josephy visited many of Mecklenburg's Jewish congregations,[88] especially all those recently dissolved or on the verge of dissolution, in order to collect all religious objects from defunct synagogues.

[100] On 6 April 1936 the ILM and the Prussian Landesverband agreed that the latter would contribute 20% to the ℛℳ 5,000 retirement grant of the chief rabbi's widow Helene Silberstein, née Weißbrem (1879–1952).

[104] On behalf of the Upper Council Max Samuel, accompanied by Richard Josephy and – at times – the latter's son Albrecht,[107] travelled overland, officially dissolving depopulated rural Jewish congregations such as those in Tessin bei Rostock on 2 May 1937 or later that year in Waren upon Müritz[108] and collecting religious objects (such as Torah scrolls, menorot, etc.)

[86] On 30 April 1937 Max Samuel sold his villa on Schillerplatz to his EMSA-Werke for ℛℳ 80,000 (double the then usual price for premises of this size in this location),[115] thus effectively tapping money from his company for his free disposal without losing his home.

[130] In mid September a Berlin notary informed the Rostock police that Käte's imminent emigration was likely, and simultaneously asked them not to issue a passport for her unless she would pay his bill for a service provided in June.

[6] But Kate worried about the family, Jewish friends, and employees to be left behind, and so Max Samuel sent EMSA's Danish and Norwegian representatives to his daughter to help her understand the gravity of the situation.

[138] The Geßners returned to Nuremberg, where they found refuge in the Jewish home for the elderly led by his future second wife Selma Stern (1893–1975) from Heinrichs [de], a locality of today's Suhl.

[139] Max Samuel first lived in a hotel in Blackburn until in 1939 he found a house on 2, Azalea Road to move in with Julie and Hermann Geßner, having arrived in Britain after a two day journey on 30 June 1939, first staying with the Kaisers.

[79] Although they suffered many difficulties, including Security Service (MI5) surveillance (1932 to 1951) due to Ilse's acquaintance to Germans who, once in British refuge, sided with the Soviet Union, Hitler's war ally in subjecting eastern Europe,[156] they were glad to have escaped the Nazis.

[6] Between 1959 and 1963 Ilse studied at Manchester's university Germanistics, philosophy and Russian, receiving a BA in 1962, adding comparative literature without MA in the end, then working as a teacher at Darwen Grammar School (1963 to 1973).

[85] On 3 January 1939 the Mecklenburg State Administration took the EMSA-Werke under custody, appointing auditor Karl Deutler as custodian commissioned to sell them in order to recover the tax demand.

[6] Voß and Helmers appointed Otto Schröder and manager Wilhelm Eder, a foreman of Max Samuel who was to meet Herbert in London in 1939, but never appeared,[6] as executives with procuration.

[166] After the tax office had confirmed its demand was fulfilled,[167] its mortgage on the villa was cancelled on 22 April 1940 and the land registrar registered the Reich's Ministry for Nutrition and Agriculture, the legal representative of the institute for animal breeding, as proprietor of Schillerplatz 10.

In 1955 Ilse-Dore Eckardt, a child nurse then in charge of furnishing and installations of daycares, converted the villa for its usage into Kinderkrippe Schillerplatz, as more and more mothers were employed in the communist production system.

So Herbert Samuel came into contact with a group of activists in Rostock trying to reconstruct the events of the Nazi period[177] beyond the doctrines of the communists, who unilaterally valorised their comrades as antifascist fighters.

[86] Herbert Samuel decided to donate the villa in an effort towards reconciliation between Jews and others,[6] as he explained to the attending Schröder and Prof. Dieter Neßelmann, Senator of finances of Rostock city between 1990 and 1997.

[188] The daycare moved out and on 2 October 1991 the villa, named Max-Samuel-Haus [de] since, was dedicated to its new purpose as the Rostock Jewish Heritage Centre, a meeting place, cultural venue and research institute, run by the foundation.