Franz Kaufmann
Encyclopedia
Franz Kaufmann was a German
jurist
and victim of the Holocaust
. His role helping underground Jews survive in hiding in Berlin and his execution are documented in The Forger, the memoirs of Cioma Schonhaus
.
Born to Jewish parents in 1886 and baptized a Protestant, Kaufmann served in the first World War in the 10th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment receiving, among other medals, the Iron Cross. After being wounded he was discharged from the army in 1918 as a reserve lieutenant. He obtained a doctorate in law and political science and in 1922 was appointed to a specialist post in government finances in the Prussian ministry of the interior. He later became chief secretary of the Reich Public Accounts Office, in the finance ministry.
In 1936, because of his Jewish origins, he was dismissed from his post as chief secretary. When war broke out in 1939, he volunteered for the Red Cross but was refused, again due to his Jewish origins. However, he continued to enjoy privileged status due his then so-called racially mixed marriage to an Aryan-classified woman and because he had brought up his daughter as a Christian.
Kaufmann joined a bible study group with The Confessing Church at Berlin-Dahlem in 1940, and—with other members of the church—began to supply post-office identity cards to on-the-run Jews. Ultimately he headed an underground group that created and supplied all manner of fake documents to underground Jews, including certificates of Aryan descent, driving licenses, and food ration cards. These documents were essential to the survival of many Berlin Jews.
He was arrested in October 1943. No charges were laid against him, since as a Jew under the Third Reich he was subject not to German law but to police power. On 17 February 1944 he was taken to Sachsenhausen concentration camp
and shot.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and victim of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. His role helping underground Jews survive in hiding in Berlin and his execution are documented in The Forger, the memoirs of Cioma Schonhaus
Cioma Schonhaus
Samson "Cioma" Schönhaus , a graphic artist and writer, lived illegally as a Jew in hiding in Berlin during World War II. He was responsible for forging hundreds of identity documents to help other Jews survive during this time. He worked closely with members of the Confessing Church, including...
.
Born to Jewish parents in 1886 and baptized a Protestant, Kaufmann served in the first World War in the 10th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment receiving, among other medals, the Iron Cross. After being wounded he was discharged from the army in 1918 as a reserve lieutenant. He obtained a doctorate in law and political science and in 1922 was appointed to a specialist post in government finances in the Prussian ministry of the interior. He later became chief secretary of the Reich Public Accounts Office, in the finance ministry.
In 1936, because of his Jewish origins, he was dismissed from his post as chief secretary. When war broke out in 1939, he volunteered for the Red Cross but was refused, again due to his Jewish origins. However, he continued to enjoy privileged status due his then so-called racially mixed marriage to an Aryan-classified woman and because he had brought up his daughter as a Christian.
Kaufmann joined a bible study group with The Confessing Church at Berlin-Dahlem in 1940, and—with other members of the church—began to supply post-office identity cards to on-the-run Jews. Ultimately he headed an underground group that created and supplied all manner of fake documents to underground Jews, including certificates of Aryan descent, driving licenses, and food ration cards. These documents were essential to the survival of many Berlin Jews.
He was arrested in October 1943. No charges were laid against him, since as a Jew under the Third Reich he was subject not to German law but to police power. On 17 February 1944 he was taken to Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
and shot.