Fritz Katzmann, also known as Friedrich Katzmann, (6 May 1906 – 19 September 1957) was a German SS and Police Leader during the Nazi era. He perpetrated

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

in the cities of Kattowitz (today, Katowice),

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975� ...

, Lemberg (today,

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

), Danzig (today, Gdańsk), and across the Nazi occupied

District of Galicia The District of Galicia (german: Distrikt Galizien, pl, Dystrykt Galicja, ua, Дистрикт Галичина) was a World War II administrative unit of the General Government created by Nazi Germany on 1 August 1941 after the start of O ...

in the General Government during the Holocaust in Poland, making him a major figure during the Holocaust there. Katzmann was responsible for many of the atrocities that were perpetrated by the SS during

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

. He personally directed the slaughter of between 55,000 and 65,000 Jews of Lemberg between 1941 and 1942, followed by mass deportations to

death camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

s including Janowska (pictured). In 1943, Katzmann wrote a top-secret report summarizing Operation Reinhard in Galicia. The Katzmann Report is now considered one of the most important pieces of evidence of the extermination process. He managed to escape prosecution after the war, living under a false identity.

Early life and career

Born in Langendreer, the sixth son of a coal miner, Katzmann worked as a carpenter before he lost his job and joined the SA, the Nazi paramilitary organization, in December 1927. He joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

in September 1928 (membership number 98,528) and transferred from the SA to the SS on 1 July 1930 (membership number 3,065). His early entry into the Party would later result in him being awarded the

Golden Party Badge __NOTOC__ The Golden Party Badge (german: Goldenes Parteiabzeichen) was an award authorised by Adolf Hitler in a decree in October 1933. It was a special award given to all Nazi Party members who had, as of 9 November 1933, registered numbers fr ...

. Katzmann's career rapidly advanced: on 20 August 1931 he was commissioned as an SS-''

Untersturmführer (, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of ''Sturmführer'' which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921. ...

'' and, on 1 December 1932, promoted to SS-''

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

''. Assigned first to the SS formation in

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...

until August 1931, he led units of the 25th SS-'' Standarte'' "Ruhr," based in Essen until January 1934. He became an SS-''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...

'' on 20 April 1933, and was promoted to SS-''

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA ('' Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstu ...

'' on 30 January 1934. Between February and April 1934, he held a staff position in SS-'' Oberabschnitt'' (Upper District) "West" in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

. He married and became the commander of the 75th SS-''Standarte'' “Widukind,” headquartered in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, on 4 April 1934. Katzmann participated in the murders of the

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...

and was promoted to SS-'' Standartenführer'' on 17 August 1934. On 21 March 1938, he was named commander of SS-''Abschnitt'' (District) VI in Breslau (today,

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

) overseeing three SS-''Standarten''. He would be promoted to SS-''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...

'' on 9 November 1938 and hold this command until 1 January 1942.

Second World War and Holocaust

Following the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, Katzmann led ''

Selbstschutz ''Selbstschutz'' (German for "self-protection") is the name given to different iterations of ethnic-German self-protection units formed both after the First World War and in the lead-up to the Second World War. The first incarnation of the ''Selb ...

'' executioners during murder operations in Breslau, and in Kattowitz. On 30 November 1939 he became the first SS and Police Leader (SSPF) of occupied Radom. In the spring of 1940 he set up the

Radom Ghetto Radom Ghetto was a Nazi ghetto set up in March 1941 in the city of Radom during the Nazi occupation of Poland, for the purpose of persecution and exploitation of Polish Jews. It was closed off from the outside officially in April 1941. A year an ...

for 32,000 Jews followed by wanton violence and plunder for personal gain. He was promoted to SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

'' on 21 June 1941, and remained in command in Radom until 8 August 1941 when he was succeeded by SS-''Brigadeführer'' Carl Oberg. After the conquest of western

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, Katzmann was transferred to the post of SS and Police Leader for the

on 8 August 1941 with headquarters in Lemberg, and on 26 September was promoted to '' Generalmajor'' of Police. In October 1941, he ordered Jews to work on building ''Durchgangsstrasse'' IV, a major military road from Lemberg to Stalino (today,

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...

). Katzmann ordered the slaughter of 55,000–65,000 Jewish men, women and children in the same year. On his orders the Lviv Ghetto was formed in November 1941 resulting in relocation of some 80,000 Jews. He set up a kindergarten for ghetto children with cocoa and milk and secretly murdered them all in one outing. He organized transports to

Belzec extermination camp Belzec (English: or , Polish: ) was a Nazi German extermination camp built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to murder all Polish Jews, a major part of the "Final Solution" which in total ...

as soon as the gassing operations started. By the end of 1942, the ghetto population was reduced from 120,000–140,000 inmates to 40,000. On 5–7 January 1943, 15,000 more Jews were murdered along with members of the ''

Judenrat A ''Judenrat'' (, "Jewish council") was a World War II administrative agency imposed by Nazi Germany on Jewish communities across occupied Europe, principally within the Nazi ghettos. The Germans required Jews to form a ''Judenrat'' in every c ...

''. Katzmann was promoted to SS-'' Gruppenführer'' and ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

'' of Police on 30 January 1943 and by midyear had produced a death toll of 143,000 more people in his district. On 30 June 1943, Katzmann delivered his leatherbound Katzmann Report to SS-''

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

'' Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger, the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) Ost in occupied Kraków. The report documented the murder of 434,329 Jews, and Katzmann declared in it: “Galicia is

Judenfrei ''Judenfrei'' (, "free of Jews") and ''judenrein'' (, "clean of Jews") are terms of Nazi origin to designate an area that has been "cleansed" of Jews during The Holocaust. While ''judenfrei'' refers merely to "freeing" an area of all of its ...

!” Katzmann remained in Lemberg until 20 April 1943, when he was transferred to Danzig to become the HSSPF "Weichsel" comprising Danzig-West Prussia, holding this command until the end of the war. There he oversaw the installation of gas chambers and crematoria at the

Stutthof concentration camp Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig (Gdańsk) in the territory of the German- ...

. Katzmann brought Central and Eastern European collaborators auxiliaries with him. On 1 July 1944, Katzmann was made a ''Generalleutnant'' of the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

and tasked with the final liquidation of the Stutthof camp with all of its sub-camps, ahead of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

advance. Gassing with

Zyklon B Zyklon B (; translated Cyclone B) was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide invented in Germany in the early 1920s. It consisted of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid), as well as a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such ...

had begun already in June. Until that point, Stutthof prisoners were considered important for German armaments production with Focke-Wulf workshop churning out airplane parts right at the main camp. Stutthof had 105 sub-camps located as far as Thorn (today,

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

) and Elbing (today, Elbląg). When Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945, Katzmann vanished. He lived in Darmstadt under the alias "Bruno Albrecht." His wife and five children never heard from him. He revealed his identity to a hospital priest chaplain shortly before his death on 19 September 1957.Thomas Sandkühler: ''Endlösung in Galizien. Der Judenmord in Ostpolen und die Rettungsinitiativen von Berthold Beitz 1941-1944'', Bonn 1996, S. 426ff. Katzmann's Decorations: *

, number 98,582 * War Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd Class with Swords * Honor Chevron of the Old Guard *

Sudetenland Medal The 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal (german: Die Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938), commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the second in a series of Occupa ...

Notes

References

* Ruth Bettina Birn: ''Die Höheren SS- und Polizeiführer. Himmlers Vertreter im Reich und in den besetzten Gebieten.'' Düsseldorf 1986. * * * Joseph Wulf: ''Das Dritte Reich und seine Vollstrecker. Wiesbaden 1989.'' * * Institut für Nationales Gedenken: ''Lösung der Judenfrage im Distrikt Galizien / Solving the Jewish Question in the District of Galicia.'' (dt., engl., poln. - der Katzmann-Report)
The Katzmann Report. Excerpt in English
YadVashem.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Katzmann, Fritz 1906 births 1957 deaths Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Holocaust perpetrators in Ukraine Nazi Party members People from Bochum Recipients of the War Merit Cross SS and Police Leaders SS-Gruppenführer Sturmabteilung personnel Waffen-SS personnel

Early life and career

Second World War and Holocaust

See also

Notes

References