The Presidents’ Tailor – From Auschwitz to the White House is a documentary about the late prolific menswear tailor Martin Greenfield. There are two versions of this film–one is 39 minutes and the other is 53 minutes long. It is the longer version that is playing the Miami Jewish Film Festival. Unfortunately, Greenfield died a few months before the film’s 2024 world premiere.

I vaguely remember hearing something about Greenfield’s death last year. It was a few days after returning from a trip to Israel. With someone of his prominence, it would be hard for Jewish media to ignore, let alone mainstream media. In any event, seeing a film titled The Presidents’ Tailor playing Miami, it immediately piqued my interest. Interestingly enough, this film would not happen without late co-writer Peter-Hugo Scholz researching Buchenwald. A simple question about children surviving Buchenwald eventually paved the way for an opportunity to meet the tailor and the rest is history.

The film follows Greenfield and his family during a shooting period of 2017-2021. Interestingly, they do not tell the story in a chronological order. There are discussions about how they responded to Covid that appear prior to footage from Greenfield’s 90th birthday party at the Friars Club. Like with other films during the pandemic, filmmaker Rick Minnich found a way to adapt and get the necessary footage. Of course, this means having a small crew in New York while he stays behind in isolation.

In getting to learn about Martin Greenfield’s background, Jay Greenfield and his children travel across sites across Ukraine, Poland, and Germany. Born Maxmilian Grünfeld in Pavlovo, Czechoslovakia (now Ukraine), the future presidents’ tailor would be deported to the camps and end up at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. It was at the latter where then-General Dwight D. Eisenhower liberated Greenfield and other Jews from the Nazis. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg shares a funny anecdote about this at Greenfield’s birthday party. The late Secretary of State Colin Powell also draws some laughs at the same birthday party. But before he became a tailor to presidents and stars, he was sewing shirts for the Gestapo in Auschwitz. It’s a tragic beginning to what became a lengthy career, ultimately being known as the greatest tailor in the America.

Sons Jay and Todd later join the family business at Martin Greenfield Clothiers. While many other tailoring operations have left America for other countries due to cost, Greenfield’s business has stayed put. It’s a key factor in why they were able to respond to the pandemic in the way that they did. Rather than sew suits, they turned to making masks. The best part about this is that for every six masks purchased, they would donate another six masks.

You named them, Greenfield and his company dressed them. The list includes every president from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Barack Obama. Other prominent customers make appearances. His company, in recent years, was dressing 20% of showbiz, including Robin Lord Taylor’s Penguin on Gotham. Greenfield’s illustrious career finally came to an end at age 91 with Covid forcing him into retirement. Retirement didn’t stop him from stopping by the office whenever he could.

The Presidents’ Tailor – From Auschwitz to the White House ensures that Martin Greenfield’s story will forever be remembered.

DIRECTOR: Rick Minnich
SCREENWRITERS: Rick Minnich, Peter-Hugo Scholz
FEATURING: Martin Greenfield, Arlene Greenfield, Jay Greenfield, Tod Greenfield, David Greenfield, Bonnie Greenfield, Michael Bloomberg, Colin Powell

The Presidents’ Tailor – From Auschwitz to the White House holds its Florida premiere during the 2025 Miami Jewish Film Festival. Grade: 4/5

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