Max van Dam was the son of Aron van Dam, the head of the SDAP branch in Winterswijk, and Johanna Leviticus. He was a painter. He studied at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp and elsewhere. In the Netherlands, he met established Jewish artists such as Fré Cohen. His work tended to have socialist and Zionist themes.
During the war, Max van Dam went into hiding. He tried to flee to Switzerland, but was captured in France and deported to Sobibor by way of the internment camp Drancy. During his time in the two camps, Max van Dam continued to produce engravings and paint portraits. Vereniging het Museum in Winterswijk [an association of friends of the museum in Winterswijk] has produced a book about Max van Dam: E. Heruthy et al., Max van Dam. Joods kunstenaar 1910-1943 (n.d., Winterswijk).
Addition of a visitor of the website.
See also his biography on the website of the Jewish Historical Museum.