Bruno Franz Kaulbach (1880–1963) was an Austrian lawyer and a member of the Kohn family from Bennisch whose descendants include the former U.S. Secretary of State

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

Early life and education

Dr. Bruno Franz Kaulbach was born Bruno Franz Kohn on 29 December 1880, the first son of Bernard Kohn (1854-1915) and Hermine Kolban (1861-1939). The Kohn family was part of a small

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community in the town of Bennisch (now Horni Benesov,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) which was then part of Austria-Hungary. Bruno and his three brothers; Alfred, Richard and Oskar changed their surnames to 'Kaulbach' in the early 1900s. At about the same time they renounced the

Jewish faith Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...

and converted to Roman Catholicism. Bruno completed his law studies at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

in 1912. In the same year he married Maria Theresia Hinterholzer Meyer (1886-1972) who came from a prominent business and political family in Innsbruck and whose uncle was the painter and political activist Edgar Meyer (painter).

Career

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Bruno served as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. For a time Bruno and Maria lived in Graz where Bruno worked as a lawyer and where their children Martin and Eva were born. Bruno was also a regular contributor to magazines and newspapers. By 1935 Bruno and his family were living in Hall in Tirol. With the rise of

National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

and because of his

heritage, Bruno realized his children would be in danger. He was instrumental in re-settling them in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where they eventually became British citizens. On 12 August 1943 Bruno Kaulbach was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

in Innsbruck. He was transferred to Dachau Concentration Camp and held there as a political prisoner until the camp was liberated on 29 April 1945. His three brothers, together with members of their families, were murdered by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. Only Richard Kaulbach's daughter, Ilse, escaped - to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

In December 1948 Bruno spoke at the American War Crimes Court, Dachau. He cited the hardship and suffering inflicted on the people of

Tirol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

by the Nazi

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...

Franz Hofer Franz Hofer (November 27, 1902 – February 18, 1975) was, in the time of the Third Reich, the Nazi Gauleiter of the Tyrol and Vorarlberg. As the Nazi party chief for the Tirol/Vorarlberg province he was the most powerful figure in the regi ...

, and suggested that American complicity was to blame for Hofer's escape from

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

Bruno Kaulbach died in 1963 at Hall in Tirol. In 1979 he was posthumously awarded the medal ''Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Befreiung Österreichs'', "for active service in the Resistance to

", by the Austrian government.

Connection with the Kerry Family

When

John Forbes Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

ran for the

United States Presidency The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

in 2004, little was known about his paternal ancestry. Researchers, hired by the Boston Globe newspaper, discovered that Kerry's great grandfather was a Jewish brewer named Benedikt Kohn (1824-1876) from the Austrian town of Bennisch (now Horni Benesov,

). One of Benedikt's sons, Fritz, adopted the family name of 'Kerry'. In 1904 Fritz Kerry (

's grandfather) and his family left Austria for a new life in the United States. Another son of Benedikt Kohn was Bernard Kohn, Bruno Kaulbach's father;

and Bruno Kaulbach were first cousins once removed. The trajectory of the Kaulbach strand of the family, previously unknown because of the name change, was revealed by the Boston Globe newspaper in the fall of 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaulbach, Bruno Franz 1880 births 1963 deaths 20th-century Austrian lawyers Austrian people of Czech-Jewish descent John Kerry Dachau concentration camp survivors People from Graz People from Hall in Tirol