&34;I didn't even know I had that many relatives,&34; the singer said of visiting the graveyard where they were buried. Billy Joel recalls learning his relative

"I didn't even know I had that many relatives," the singer said of visiting the graveyard where they were buried.

Billy Joel recalls learning his relatives died in Auschwitz: 'They wiped out my family'

"I didn't even know I had that many relatives," the singer said of visiting the graveyard where they were buried.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at*  *with over five years of experience covering the latest in entertainment. A proud Kingston University alum, Emlyn has written about music, fandom, film, television, and awards for multiple outlets including MTV News, *Teen Vogue*, Bustle, BuzzFeed, *Paper Magazine*, Dazed, and NME. She joined EW in August 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

Published on July 27, 2025 07:00PM EDT

Leave a Comment

Billy Joel performs at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne in December 2022. Credit:

Naomi Rahim/WireImage

Billy Joel is mourning the relatives on his father's side whom he never had the chance to meet.**

The "Piano Man" singer, who is Jewish, learned about the harrowing effect that World War II had on his family tree after meeting his half-brother during a visit to Vienna in his late 20s. Before their meeting, Joel didn't know much about his father, Howard, or his history. **

"He fought in the U.S. Army under General Patton," Joel said in HBO Max's new two-part documentary *Billy Joel: And So It Goes*. "They liberated Dachau. I tried to get him to talk about it, but he didn't really want to talk about his past. I heard most of it from my brother. And then I found out about my father's family. They were hunted."

Howard Joel and Billy Joel in Germany in 1995.

Stefan Kiefer/picture alliance via Getty

It was through their connection that Joel discovered that many members of their family had been sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and that most of them were killed. **

"I visited the graveyard where the Joel family's buried, and I didn't even know I had that many relatives," the musician said. "There is an underlying rage that comes out sometimes — 'What are you getting all mad about? Nobody did anything to you.' But they wiped out my family. I would've liked to have known some of these people."

***Sign up for **'s free daily newsletter* *to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.*****

Earlier in the documentary, Joel said his paternal grandfather, Karl Amson Joel, ran a successful fashion business called Joel Macht Fabrik in Nuremberg in the lead-up to the war.

Billy Joel shares health update after brain disorder diagnosis

Billy Joel says dad 'knocked me out' as a kid for playing 'Moonlight Sonata' incorrectly

"They were forced to sell the business for nothing — pennies on the dollar — to a guy named Neckermann, but Neckermann never paid," Joel recalled. "My grandfather was asking what he should do to get the money and he got a message, 'We'll settle the account.' He was warned at the last minute, 'Watch out. They're gonna kill you.'"**

His grandparents were able to safely flee Germany. "My grandfather realized, 'This is it. I better leave while I can,'" he said. "And he was lucky — they got to go across the Swiss border, which was difficult for a lot of people."**

Joel continued, "If my grandparents had been found on the train with the documents that said Jew, they would've been sent immediately to a concentration camp. They got out. A miracle."

Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in November 2024.

Ethan Miller/Getty

Joel added, "The ironic thing is, when Neckermann took over the business, they actually started to manufacture the striped pajamas that the prisoners in the concentration camps had to wear. That was made by Joel Macht Fabrik."**

*Billy Joel: And So It Goes *is streaming now in full on HBO Max.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Music"

Read More

---

Source: Astro Blog

Full Article on Source: Astro Blog

#LALifestyle #USCelebrities