Hillel Katz (born 24 September 1905 in

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; ; ) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

) was a

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 ...

Communist, who was an important member of a Soviet espionage network in occupied France, that the German

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

intelligence service later called the " Red Orchestra" ("Rote Kapelle"). In the role of an underground executive and recruiter, he acted as both secretary and assistant to

Leopold Trepper Leopold Zakharovich Trepper (23 February 1904 – 19 January 1982) was a Polish- Israeli Communist, career Soviet military intelligence officer of the Red Army Intelligence and resistance fighter. With the code name Otto, Trepper had worked wi ...

and liaised between

Léon Grossvogel Leon Grossvogel (born 27 November 1904 in Łódź; likely died 1944-1945) was a Polish-French Jewish businessman, Comintern official, resistance fighter, communist agitator and one of the organizers of a Soviet intelligence network in Belgium a ...

and Henry Robinson in matters relating to the running of the French covert

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

trading company

Simex Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX Group) is a Singapore-based exchange conglomerate, operating equity, fixed income, currency and commodity markets. It provides a range of listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services. S ...

. Katz had a number of aliases that he used to disguise his identity, including Andre Dubois, Rene and Le Petite Andre.

Life

Katz was a communist activist who met Trepper in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, where his parents had settled. His father was a teacher. Katz moved to Toulouse in France, where he met and became the lover of Cécile Fichten, an activist member of the

Mouvement Jeunes Communistes de France The Mouvement Jeunes communistes de France (MJCF), commonly called the "JC" (for Jeunesse Communiste, historically its first name), is the first political youth organisation of France, close to the French Communist Party (PCF). The MJCF is organ ...

. Together the couple had two children. He had a brother, Joseph Katz who held British citizenship. Joseph Katz was instrumental in establishing the Lyon safehouse that was established in 1937.

Red Orchestra

When he moved to Paris, Katz concealed his Jewish origins and legalised himself as a Frenchman under the name ''Andre Dubois''. In Paris, Katz was one of the two main assistants to Trepper, along with Leon Grossvogel. Katz was totally dedicated, both to Trepper and the Communist cause. Trepper described him in a quote as: ''A mason, he knows how to handle the trowel and build a house''. Katz was particularly interested in educational reform, specifically in the modern and anti-authoritarian approach advocated by

Célestin Freinet Célestin Freinet (, 15 October 1896 in Gars, Alpes-Maritimes – 8 October 1966 in Vence) was a noted French pedagogue and educational reformer. Early life Freinet was born in Provence as the fifth of eight children. His own schoold ...

as well as the works of

Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( ; ; 31 August 1870 – 6 May 1952) was an Italians, Italian physician and educator best known for her philosophy of education (the Montessori method) and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early a ...

. Katz devoted his spare time to the groups of young people that lived in

Vitry-sur-Seine Vitry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Name Vitry-sur-Seine was originally called simply Vitry. The name Vitry comes from Medieval Latin ''Vitriacum'', and before that ''Victori ...

, where he organised hiking via the Camping and Culture Association ("Association Camping et Culture"). During the late 1930s, Katz lived at 13 Quai Saint-Michel in Paris, where he was a member of the communist section of the

5th arrondissement of Paris The 5th arrondissement of Paris (''Ve arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''le cinquième''. The arrondisseme ...

. During that period, Katz worked in a ''Racine'' bookshop where he managed the ''Youth'' fund. The book shop was popular with militants and political refugees. In September 1939, Katz enlisted in the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. He was captured and taken prisoner in June 1940 during the German advance, but managed to escape with Aldred Corbin by swimming across the

River Somme The Somme ( , ; ) is a river in Picardy, northern France. The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geologica ...

. After his escape, Katz started to use the alias ''André Dubois''. Corbin would become a chicken breeder and inventor of poultry feed. Katz would later recruit him for the Trepper group, to store a radio transmitter in

Giverny Giverny () is a Communes of France, commune in the northern French Departments of France, department of Eure.

Operations

Katz was always cheerful and his direct and frank approach combined with his optimistic demeanour garnered him many friends. These were useful in his work as a recruiter, while he worked at Simex, that enabled him to build relationships using his extensive contacts, to look for people who were Communists or favourably deposed to the group's work. Katz, who knew many of Trepper's contacts and acquaintances, carried out many of Trepper operations personally.

Arrest

On 25 November 1942, Trepper was arrested by Gestapo officer

Karl Giering Karl Giering (17 August 1900 – 9 November 1945) was a German police officer. He was SS-Hauptsturmführer and Criminal Councillor in the Geheimes Staatspolizeiamt Berlin (Gestapo) and later Head of Department IV A 2 (Defence against Sabotage) i ...

and immediately offered to collaborate with the

. On 2 December 1942, Hillel Katz was arrested. According to the report that was written by Gestapo officer

Heinz Pannwitz Heinz Michael Pannwitz (née Heinz Paulsen; 28 July 1911, Berlin – 8 August 1975, Ludwigsburg) was a German war criminal, Nazi Gestapo officer and later Schutzstaffel (SS) officer. Pannwitz was most notable for directing the investigation into ...

(sources vary), it was Trepper himself who betrayed Katz by phoning Katz up and arranging a meeting at the Madeleine metro station in Paris, in what was a trap by the Gestapo. Trepper allegedly gave up the names and addresses of most of the members of his own network, the first people he betrayed were Katz and Grossvogel. However, according to Gestapo officer Hans Reiser, it was

Abraham Rajchmann Abraham Rajchmann (born 24 September 1902 in Dziurków, Poland) was a Jewish Polish career criminal and revolutionary militant, expert forger and engraver who worked for Soviet intelligence from 1934. Through his contact with Communist Internat ...

, a member of the group, and an Abwehr informer, who told Reiser where Katz would likely be staying. Katz was moved to a house belonging to

Karl Bömelburg Karl Bömelburg (28 October 1885 – 26 December 1947) was an SS-'' Sturmbannführer'' (major) and head of the Gestapo in France during the Second World War. He notably had authority over section IV J, charged with the deportation of the Jews, fo ...

at 40 boulevard Victor Hugo,

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

at Trepper's insistence. Trepper informed Katz of his plan to escape from Neuilly, but Katz refused to follow as his wife and children were being held as hostages. On 13 September 1943, Trepper escaped Gestapo custody under watch while visiting a pharmacy. After Trepper escaped, Katz was taken to the Rue des Sausasaies in Paris and tortured to determine if he knew anything of the escape plan, but he never betrayed Trepper. After Trepper's escape, Katz disappeared. It is not known what happened to him but he was likely tried at a Luftwaffe court martial, presided over by Judge Advocate Manfred Roeder and then either likely shot or deported to a concentration camp, as happened to many other people associated with the Red Orchestra in France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Hillel 1905 births Year of death unknown Place of death unknown Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust Red Orchestra (espionage) Jews in the French resistance People from Cieszyn Polish expatriates in Mandatory Palestine Polish expatriates in France

Life

Red Orchestra

Operations

Arrest

See also

References