Daniel Abraham

Michel Katz (later Michael Katz), was born on July 16, 1908, in Rudki, the second son of Aron Selig Katz and Golda Fern. His name at birth was Meilech; In Germany he was called Michel; in Eretz Israel he went by Michal; and finally changed his name to Michael in the USA.

Meilech (Michel) Katz's birth record, 1908
Source: AGAD (Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw)
(Via Yossi Mund)

The family fled Galicia some time during WW1 (presumably around 1915 or 1916) and came to Gera in Thuringia where Aron's brother had settled before the war.

Michel was an apprentice and later head of department in the Biermann department store in Gera. He was abruptly dismissed like all Jewish employees in the fall of 1935 (or December 31st?) as a result of the "Arianization" of the store. (His cousin, Toni Katz, who also worked there was dismissed the same day for the same reason.)

Biermann store, Gera.

Following his dismissal, he began to prepare himself to for immigration to Palestine and joined a Hachshara. (There are no details about which hachshara he attended. One possible location is Leipzig, where at least three training centers were located and where he appears to have resided at some point during the 1930s. )

Michel Katz, Germany, 1930's.

Marriage certificate between Michel Katz and Margarete (Grete, Malgorzata) Saul. Berlin, March 1936.
Source: Ancestry.com
(Via Yossi Mund)

In March 1936, Michel married Margarete ("Grete", Malgorzata in Polish, Gittel) Saul in Berlin. Born in Berlin in 1913, she was a German citizen, but her Polish name (Malgorzata) suggests that her family may have been Polish Jews. Michel and Margarete were both registered at Choriner Straße 49 in Berlin, the address of Margarete's father, a book reviewer by profession.

Michel's occupation on the marriage certificate was agricultural trainee ("landwirtschaftlicher Praktikant"), while Margarete's was household/home economics trainee ("hauswirtschaftliche Praktikantin"), confirmation that they both attended a Hachscharah at the time.

A month later, the couple fled Germany, arriving in Mandatory Palestine on April 27, 1936.

Michal Katz, Citizenship Application, 1941.

At first, Michel and Great lived in Gedera. In May 1941 he enrolled (or was drafted) in the British army.

Six months later, in October 1941, the couple applied for Palestinian citizenship. By then, Michel - now going by Michal (מיכאל כץ) - was serving in the R.A.F. The citizenship application listed his civilian occupation as a cook, and by now their address was Rabbi Kook street in Tel Aviv (Rehov HaRav Kook). (Two doctors from Gedera supported his application, reinforcing that the couple had settled down in Gedera long enough to establish connections there.)

Michal and Greta Katz, Application for Palestinian Citizenship, 1941.

According to Ena Pedersen,

"Michel was taken prisoner by the Germans but soon thereafter released by great good luck because the German commandant interrogating him happened to know him from his youth in Gera."

Later, Michel Katz became a soldier in the Hagannah during Israel's Independance War.

Michel and Grete Katz, Palestine.

Michel and Greta later emigrated to the USA some time between 1950 and 1955. (The exact date of their arrival is not known. According to the Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, a Michael Katz, aged 43, sailed in New York in December 1951 from Haifa. He was on a tourist visa, and was not accompanied by his spouse. Assuming this was the indeed Michel Katz, it is not clear whether this was a preliminary visit ahead of the couple's immigration, or instead had taken place their immigration, and he was returning to the US after a visit to Israel. The address listed for this passenger was 254 west 98th street, NY.)

The couple first settled in New York, in Washington Heights, no far from his brother Willy - now Henry William Katz or "Bill". There Michel changed his name to Michael. He worked for Fruit of the Loom, and Greta worked at Altman's Department Store.

Michael and Greta later moved to San Diego, California, in the late 1980s, presumably when they retired.

Michael (Michel) Katz died in February 2000, aged 92, and Greta in 2003. The couple didn't have children.

Michel and Greta Katz.