Herbert Franz Katz

"I, Herbert Katz, was born on 24 III 1912 in Berlin and am of German nationality. I attended the Reform Realgymnasium in Berlin-Niedersch?nhausen until the spring of 1932, where I passed my Abitur examination; at the same time I also attended the 15th Jewish religious school in Berlin-Pankow. In the summer semester of 1932, I was enrolled as a medical student at the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin, where I studied until 25 May 1938 with two interruptions (due to university proceedings in 1933/34, which were dropped in my favour, and the death of my father in April 1936). "¹

Thus begins the curriculum vitae that Herbert Franz Katz sent to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem on 11 July 1938, requesting admission. At this point, he no longer saw a future for himself and his family in Berlin.

In 1935 and 1936, he was still able to do exercises and internships at the anatomical institute and the physiological-chemical institute of Berlin University. His leaving certificate from the university was dated 25 May 1938^.2 It was impossible for him to complete his studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University.

Herbert Katz's brothers were already in exile in Palestine in 1938. His mother had returned to Berlin from a trip to Palestine as she could not tolerate the climate there and hoped she would be better off in her home town of Berlin, where she lived in a large house after the death of her husband. Herbert Katz did not want to emigrate to Israel alone. He wrote to the University of Jerusalem:

"On 8 III 1937 I married Regina Hirsch, a seamstress born on 12 X 1909 in Huedin (Romania). If I moved to Erez Israel, my wife would be able to earn a living thanks to her professional skills. "³

Herbert Katz was admitted to the University of Jerusalem on 1 September 1938. His wife was also granted permission as a guest student^.4 However, problems subsequently arose with the issue of entry certificates for Palestine.

We mainly know about Herbert Katz's subsequent period from conversations with his son Benjamin Katz. The latter did a great deal of research on his father and visited the places where he had spent his life in recent decades. Benjamin Katz, in turn, owes much of his information to conversations with Heinz Schlesinger, a fellow student and good friend of Herbert Katz, who survived the war in exile in America.

On 15 January 1939, Herbert Katz and his already pregnant wife fled across the border to Belgium from the Aachen area by bribing a border official. They spent the next few months in Antwerp, where Herbert Katz earned his living by giving French lessons. Benjamin, the couple's only child, was born in Antwerp on 14 June 1939. Herbert Katz was still trying to emigrate to Jerusalem at this time:

"Antwerp, 13 VIII, 1939
I, the undersigned, hereby request a courteous extension of the admission granted to him [...] to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as the efforts to date to obtain the financial guarantee have not yet been successful and the government of the Kingdom of Belgium, where I am temporarily residing with my wife, attaches the greatest importance to proof of the possibility of emigration. [...] In the firm hope that you will kindly grant my request, I thank you in advance and sign with the highest esteem - Shalom - Herbert Katz.^"5

On 29 September 1939, the final rejection was issued by the University of Jerusalem^.6

After the occupation of Belgium by German troops in 1940, Herbert Katz was arrested in a joint operation by Belgian and German authorities and deported to the Gurs internment camp in southern France. An extensive correspondence between Herbert Katz and his wife in Antwerp and his friend Heinz Schlesinger has been preserved from there. Whilst still in Gurs, Herbert Katz hoped to emigrate overseas. However, he missed his wife and son the most, so much so that he even tried to persuade them to join him in Gurs.

"Camp de Gurs, d. 30.XI. 40
Dear Regi, dear Benjamin
[...] By now you will have already tried to come here. You must realise that you will most likely be living in the camp and for the time being, unless there is a change in the meantime. A lot is being done by America these days. [...]
I am in good spirits and have hope for the future. Now I see what it means to have people you like and want to live for, then you can get through difficult situations. After rain comes sunshine. - I know that it won't be easy for you to decide whether you should come here or not.[...] I kiss you on your 4 dear eyes and Grandma too and say goodbye and see you soon. Your Herbert^"7

His wife did indeed set off for the south of France with their son, but when she learnt more about the Gurs camp in Paris, she immediately turned back and went to Brussels. There, Regina and her young son spent the next few years hiding in a rear building in a hairdresser's shop. During our conversation in spring 2010, Benjamin Katz recalls that the whole street knew of their existence and yet nobody betrayed them. Wehrmacht soldiers were often at the hairdresser's and played marbles with Benjamin Katz, whom they thought was a Belgian boy and did not recognise as a Jew.

Herbert Katz suffered greatly from the separation from his family and often wrote. Until the end, he never gave up hope of finding a way to emigrate for himself and his family. But he never saw his son and wife again, as Herbert Katz fell ill in the Gurs camp and died there on 24 June 1941.

Regina Katz and her son Benjamin survived the war in hiding in Belgium and moved to West Berlin in 1956, where Benjamin Katz studied at the 金贝棋牌 der Künste and founded the gallery "Werner & Katz" in 1963^.8

Today, Benjamin Katz is one of Germany's most important photo artists and lives in Cologne with his wife and daughter. The very personal interview with him in spring 2010 enabled us to find out more about his father, the former medical student. We are very grateful to Benjamin Katz for this^.9