Carl Katz

In Theresienstadt, Katz was the head of the Building Administration department within the Jewish self-administration of the ghetto

From Beate Meyer, A Fatal Balancing Act: The Dilemma of the Reich Association of Jews in Germany, 1939-1945 "Until 1942, Carl Katz had headed the Bremen administrative office, under the Northwest Germany district branch in Hamburg of the Reichsvereinigung. Katz was deported with his family via Hanover to Theresienstadt, arriving there on 24 July 1942. They survived and Katz returned to Bremen, establishing the new Jewish Community in Bremen on 6 August 1945. He would head this Community until his death in 1972. In the years 1945 to 1950, the CIC had already been investigating him, but apparently without any concrete result, so that the Senator for Political Liberation in Bremen had declined to institute proceedings against him. Now the Central Council commission members questioned his previous associates, and obtained contradictory character references about Katz. Max Plaut in particular put forward serious accusations: he stated that Katz had “constantly” been at the Gestapo (later he corrected that to “often”), and that some persons in Bremen had been deported contrary to the RSHA guidelines. He alleged that Katz had set up an illicit account and gained financial advantage for himself through this account, and stressed that Katz’s predecessor Joseph Platzer suspected that Katz had been centrally instrumental in his deportation. Plaut apparently did not realize that these very same charges could also have been made against him: all district branch directors had been required to appear frequently at the Gestapo. According to a confi dential RSHA decree, everywhere in the Reich a certain percentage of offi cially deferred Jews were nonetheless to be deported. As witnesses confirmed, Katz had made use of this “black” money for purchasing food, tools, heaters, etc., for the large-scale transport to Minsk and food for the transports to Theresienstadt. Furthermore, it is doubtful that Katz had been so keen on obtaining the dangerous post of district branch director that he had denounced his predecessor Platzer to the authorities. Katz defended himself before the commission regarding the charge of having been too “friendly” with the Gestapo: yes, he had had a beer with the Gestapo officials, but that was only once, in an attempt to keep them from searching baggage on the eve of a deportation to Theresienstadt. The “Jewish expert” in the Judenreferat, now called as a witness, denied he had played cards with Katz, but admitted he had used the familiar pronoun Du with Katz as a friendly form of address. That actually reflected a noteworthy degree of personal closeness, which might have become dangerous for both men if the “Jewish expert” had addressed Katz in this reciprocal way in the presence of his Gestapo colleagues. In any case, it is probably doubtful that such a close personal relation between the two men would have resulted in any concrete positive effects for the RV members. Nonetheless, Katz was able to rebut all other accusations, especially since the Bremen savings bank was able to provide data on all transactions of the illegal account “Carl Katz honorary endowment.” This showed that in 1941/1942, the account had maintained a balance ranging between two thousand and just under ten thousand RM. On his deportation, Katz had transferred the balance to his successor Karl Bruck, for whom the account likewise was to prove useful in his capacity as intermediary, and after the war Bruck had passed on the account to the reestablished Jewish Community. At the end of their investigations, despite their initial resolution and its wording, the commission members did not challenge Katz’s position as chairman of the Bremen Jewish Community. However, Katz and Plaut now continued their altercation over behavior, guilt, and responsibility outside the organization. These formerly close friends and companions were now deeply divided associates: Katz had been subordinate to Plaut in the RV administration, had welcomed him to Bremen in 1950, and had granted him power of attorney in his firm. Plaut joined the Bremen Jewish Community and was appointed to its board, which Katz headed, in 1952. Plaut even organized a commemorative Festschrift volume to mark Katz’s sixtieth birthday. The dispute ended up in court and Katz and Plaut brought third parties into the case proceedings: the Jewish Community, the Society for Brotherhood, Jewish witnesses, and others. This created a regional Jewish public sphere marked by heated argument. Clarification on matters of substance was not reached. Katz’s successor Bruck, now once again a Protestant and distant from Jewish organizations, was astonished that two men who had worked together so closely in difficult times could now be at such loggerheads and quarrel in this bitter way. The conflict ended in 1963 with Plaut’s exclusion from the Bremen Jewish Community due to “behavior unworthy of a Community member.” Plaut moved back to Hamburg. In December 1967, the chief public prosecutor discontinued and closed the case."

See also: https://www.weser-kurier.de/bremen/bremen-stadt_artikel,-mein-gross...