The Buchdahl family moved in 1929 from Lichtenau, in the rural district of Büren and the birthplace of father Max, to Dortmund-Dorstfeld, the birthplace of mother Ida. The family then lived in Dorstfeld, at Dortmunder Hellweg 66, until their deportation or, in one case, emigration. The family comprised the parents and two sons, Kurt (born 1.8.1921) und Fritz.

Max, Ida and Fritz Buchdahl were deported to Riga on the transport of 27 January 1942. The surviving son, Kurt Buchdahl, reports that his brother was allegedly shot in Riga. There is evidence to show that Ida Buchdahl was still in Riga as late as August 1943.
Max Buchdahl was included in a transport of prisoners from Riga to Auschwitz on 5 November 1943, and was given the prisoner number 160714. A last sign of life can be found in the outpatient records of quarantine camp BIIa, hut 12, in Birkenau, where he is named on 22 November 1943 as a patient.
After that, all other data or information relating to these three members of the Buchdahl family is lacking. On 30 October 1953, Max, Ida and Fritz Buchdahl were officially declared dead by Dortmund Local Court with effect as of 31 December 1945.

The only surviving member of the family was the other son, Kurt, who succeeded in fleeing from Germany in good time. According to his own information, he reached Palestine in August 1940 on board an illegal ship’s transport. In the 1950s and ‘60s, he lived in Ginosar Kibbutz, and later on in Kiriat Tivon in Israel. He returned to Dortmund once more in 1979 within the scope of the city’s visit programme.