The “Tailor of Auschwitz”, who dressed American stars and politicians, has died

At the age of 95, renowned master tailor and Holocaust survivor Martin Greenfield died in the United States. American media reported on this at the end of March. A native of Pavlov in Czechoslovakia’s Subcarpathian Rus, he made suits for American presidents as well as for famous Hollywood actors and athletes.

Greenfield died March 20, his sons said. In the US, he was called “America’s greatest living tailor” by journalists. In 1977, he founded his own company, Martin Greenfield Clothiers, in Brooklyn, and for decades his custom-made suits were worn by famous men, such as singers Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, director Martin Scorsese, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, basketball player LeBron James and six American presidents, including Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. He also created costumes for Hollywood productions, such as The Great Gatsby or Joker.

The Jewish family of the famous tailor, who was born Maximilian Grünfeld, was sent to the Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in 1944. There, the boy was separated from his parents, both sisters and brother and was the only survivor.

After the war, he briefly served in the Czechoslovak army and, after staying in Budapest, emigrated to the United States as an 18-year-old, where he changed his name to Martin Greenfield and learned the tailoring trade. Greenfield’s autobiographical book Tailors from Auschwitz can also be found in Czech bookstores.