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==Background==

==Background==

The [[Judaism|Jewish]] Heller was a native of [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]. In 1938, as [[Nazi]] [[Germany]] annexed Austria, Heller, at nineteen, sought to emigrate to the [[United States]]. With the help of Mary Mills, a young [[Christianity|Christian]] woman from Greenville whom he met while she was on a European tour, Heller obtained a sponsor so that he could leave Austria and as it developed avoid the [[Holocaust]]. At Miss Mills' request, Shepherd Saltzman, a Jewish man in Greenville who owned the Piedmont Shirt Company, agreed to offer employment to young Heller.<ref name=tribute>{{cite web|url=http://www.greenvillebusinessmag.com/View-Article/ArticleID/430/A-Tribute-to-Max-Heller.aspx#sthash.JuLRi2Tr.dpuf|author=Katrina Daniel|title=A Tribute to Max Heller|date=August 1, 2011|publisher=''Greenville Business Magazine''|accessdate=May 20, 2014}}</ref> He soon brought his parents, Israel Heller (1888-1975) and the former Leah Hirschl (1895-1965), and other family members to Greenville.<ref name=bio/>

The [[Judaism|Jewish]] Heller was a native of [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]. In 1938, as [[Nazi]] [[Germany]] annexed Austria, Heller, at nineteen, sought to emigrate to the [[United States]]. With the help of Mary Mills, a young [[Christianity|Christian]] woman from Greenville whom he met while she was on a European tour, Heller obtained a sponsor so that he could leave Austria and as it developed avoid the [[Holocaust]]. At Miss Mills' request, Shepherd Saltzman, a Jewish man in Greenville who owned the Piedmont Shirt Company, agreed to offer employment to young Heller.<ref name=tribute>Katrina Daniel, "A Tribute to Max Heller," ''Greenville Business Magazine,'' August 1, 2011.</ref> He soon brought his parents, Israel Heller (1888-1975) and the former Leah Hirschl (1895-1965), and other family members to Greenville.<ref name=bio/>

In 1942, Heller married the former Trude Schonthal, whom he had known as a child in Vienna. She had emigrated in 1941 to [[New York City]], and the two were reunited after having been apart for several years. The couple was married on Main Street in Greenville and was together for sixty-nine years until his death in 2011. In time, Heller became the manager of the Piedmont Shirt Company, but in 1948, he launched his own firm, Maxon Shirt Company. He began with 16 employees but had 700 when he sold the company in 1962 and officially retired six years later<ref name=bio/> at the age of forty-nine with plans to devote the next phase of his life to public service.

In 1942, Heller married the former Trude Schonthal, whom he had known as a child in Vienna. She had emigrated in 1941 to [[New York City]], and the two were reunited after having been apart for several years. The couple was married on Main Street in Greenville and was together for sixty-nine years until his death in 2011. In time, Heller became the manager of the Piedmont Shirt Company, but in 1948, he launched his own firm, Maxon Shirt Company. He began with 16 employees but had 700 when he sold the company in 1962 and officially retired six years later<ref name=bio/> at the age of forty-nine with plans to devote the next phase of his life to public service.