When you have the will, to a large extent you are able to help yourself on your own
Mordechaj Livni was born as Max Lieben on February 15, 1926 in Prague in a Jewish Orthodox family as the youngest one of three sons. Their father Evžen Lieben, a graduate in classical philology, worked as a teacher and their mother was a housewife. The family spoke mostly German at home and Max attended Czech as well as German schools. His eldest brother Artur (Avraham) went to Palestine in 1939. Max was attending meetings of the Jewish Zionist youth organization Maccabi Hatzair together with his older brother Rudolf. The parents and both their sons were deported to the Terezín ghetto on July 8, 1943. Even while there, Max became involved in the activities of the Zionist movement. On September 28, 1944 Max and his brother Rudolf were transported to Auschwitz. After about ten days they both joined a group which was selected for work and they were deported to the camp Kaufering IV. Max‘s brother Rudolf died there in December 1944. After the evacuation of the camp when the war front was approaching in April 1945 Max got to the camp Allach with a death march and he eventually witnessed the liberation there. Only about six people from the numerous family of Liebens have survived the war. After his return to Prague Max tried to join the Zionist movement again and emigrate to Palestine. From January 1946 he worked in Bratislava in an orphanage which was administered by the movement Maccabi Hatzair. He met his future wife Eva Fürstová (Chava Livni) there. In May 1949 they went to Israel together and they lived in kibbutz Kfar HaMaccabi for two years and then they moved to the town Kiryat Tivon. They had three children, but their youngest son died when he was a little child. Mordechaj Livni worked as a technician and his wife taught classes of ceramics. Mordechaj and Chava Livni are among the founding members of the Beit Terezín archive and memorial and they live in Kiryat Tivon.