Marek Pipes (pseudonym Marian Olszewski) was a Polish Jewish entrepreneur and World War I veteran born on March 3, 1893, in Lviv (then part of Austria-Hungary, now Ukraine), to Klemens Pipes and Berta (née Sigal). He served as a soldier in the Polish Legions during World War I, contributing to Poland's independence efforts. After the war, Pipes established himself as a businessman, co-owning a chocolate factory in Cieszyn, a town in southern Poland near the Czech border, where he built a successful enterprise amid the interwar period's economic challenges. As Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Pipes, recognizing the imminent threat to Jewish families, fled with his wife and young son Richard Pipes, escaping occupied Poland between 1939 and 1940. The family navigated perilous routes through Europe, eventually reaching the United States, where they settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This harrowing escape profoundly influenced his son Richard, who later became a renowned historian, crediting his father's resilience and foresight for instilling a sense of determination and survival. Marek Pipes lived out his later years in the U.S., passing away on April 18, 1973, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age of 80. His life exemplified the turbulent history of Polish Jews in the 20th century, marked by military service, entrepreneurial success, and survival against persecution.