Helmut-Franz Marks, founder of “Marks Feinkost”, celebrates his 100th birthday on May 30th.
In an interview with the Tölzer Kurier, he looks back on a life marked by hard work and perseverance.
Bad Tölz - Helmut-Franz Marks was born in 1921 in Merunen, then East Prussia.
“It was a big village for the time, with over 1000 inhabitants,” he explains.
After completing his training as a textile merchant, Marks was drafted into military service as an air force radio operator.
“I was in a special department testing the engine,” says Marks, who flew there in aircraft such as the Junkers Ju 52, the “Old Aunt Ju”.
"Every time I had to expect to fall from the sky."
After a flight, Marks was clinically dead from a defective mask
In August 1942, Marks passed out on a flight from a defective oxygen mask at an altitude of 10,000 meters.
Two engineers on the flight gave him alternating oxygen showers while wearing their masks.
Back on the ground, Marks was clinically dead, but the comrades didn't give up - and he made it back to life.
“I was dead. I owe my life to the engineers,” says Marks.
After the end of the war the family was expelled from Poland.
“We were homeless and had to take the train away.” By chance, the family ended up in Coburg.
Marks gained a foothold in Oeslau near Coburg.
He became the manager of a small grocery store.
“It wasn't easy,” he recalls.
"As a refugee, I was constantly thrown clubs between my feet."
Marks had a sense of what was trending
Over the years, Marks "slowly pampered himself" and in 1951 founded three grocery stores in the Coburg area.
“Nevertheless, at the time I thought: I won't get very far with the three shops,” said the jubilee.
“He wanted to go upstairs,” adds daughter Marion.
Marks looked at suitable stores all over Germany, but then finally opened “Marks Feinkost” in 1961 on Kufsteiner Platz in Munich-Bogenhausen.
“I was amazed at the elegant ladies with their fox and mink coats,” he remembers.
On the one hand, the Bogenhausen clientele contributed to the fact that the former grocery store developed into a delicatessen store, on the other hand Marks had a feeling for what was currently in fashion - and so his shop became the first address in Bogenhausen.
“I put a lot of heart and soul into it and made it quite a name,” he says.
The company has lived in the "Haus am Park" in Bad Tölz since 1994
In 1994, Marks retired.
He leased the business, which still exists today under the name "Marks Feinkost".
Three years ago, Marks moved from a retirement home in Neu-Ulm to Bad Tölz and has lived in the "Haus am Park" ever since.
By Elena Royer
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