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 served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

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 (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community in the town of Bennisch (now Horni Benesov,

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

) 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 and converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Bruno completed his law studies at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

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 Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

and whose uncle was the painter and political activist Edgar Meyer (painter).

Career

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 se ...

in the Austro-Hungarian Army. For a time Bruno and Maria lived in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

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 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, 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 F ...

. 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 (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Only Richard Kaulbach's daughter, Ilse, escaped - to the U.S. In December 1948 Bruno spoke at the American War Crimes Court, Dachau. He cited the hardship and suffering inflicted on the people of Tirol by the Nazi

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

, Franz Hofer, 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 Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

Bruno Kaulbach died in 1963 at Hall in Tirol. In 1979 he was posthumously awarded the Decoration for Services to the Liberation of Austria (''Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Befreiung Österreichs'') "for active service in the Resistance to National Socialism", by the Austrian government.

Connection with the Kerry Family

When John Forbes Kerry ran for the United States Presidency in 2004, little was known about his paternal ancestry. Researchers, hired by the

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

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

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