Family Simon - Katz |

Family Simon – Katz

From Aschenhausen via Frankfurt am Main to Buenos Aires

Angelika Rieber

Johanna Simon was an emancipated woman. She was one of the first dentists in Germany. The daughter of the head teacher Willy Katz studied dentistry and practiced in Frankfurt-Schwanheim since 1924. Her husband Georg Simon was also a dentist. Both were hit hard by discrimination from 1933 onwards, and so in 1936 they decided to flee to Argentina with their two children Ernst and Ellen.
Ernst Simon visited his former home several times, in 2002 at the invitation of the city. His daughter Vivian took part in a visit program for future generations in 2022.

Senior teacher Willy Katz

Willy Katz taught there until his retirement in 1926. He was the last Jewish teacher of the undenominational Bürgerschule, because the proportion of Jewish residents in Stadtlengsfeld and consequently also of Jewish students was getting smaller and smaller. “After 30 years of work at the local undenominational city school, teacher Willi Katz has retired. The vacant position will hardly be filled again by a Jewish teacher, since the number of Jewish children has declined considerably.” (Swe Israelit)

Willy Katz was active not only as a teacher, but also in the Jewish community and was named in 1924 as one of the community leaders (alemannia judaica).

After the beginning of the Nazi era, the situation for the Jewish residents in Stadtlengsfeld became more and more unpleasant, which is why Willy and Sophie Katz decided to move to Frankfurt to join their daughters. Willy Katz died there two years later, on 22nd February 1937. He was buried at the Jewish cemetery on the Eckenheimer Landstrasse in Frankfurt. His wife Sophie managed to escape to Argentina in 1938, where their daughters were already living.

From Aschenhausen to the Main metropolis

After her exams, the young physician went back to her parents in Stadtlengsfeld for a year. From 1924 on Johanna Katz practiced as a dentist with health insurance approval in Schwanheim. (UAF, HHStAW)

On 25th May 1926 she married the dentist Georg Simon, who was born in Jastrow in Poznań, at her parents’ place of residence. He had studied in Berlin and completed his studies in dentistry there in 1922. Like many young men, Simon had served as a soldier in World War I. His grandson now has his grandfather’s prayer book from the war, a precious memory for him.

Initially, Georg Simon worked in his own surgery, and later on in locations in Frankfurt Niederrad and in the Ostendstrasse. His son Ernst remembered that his father rode to his places of work by bicycle. Simon also worked as an independent dental examiner and also practiced at his own practice in Sossenheim. (HHStAW)

1933: Deprivation of livelihood

Deprived of their livelihood, the family had to move to Schwindtstrasse 12 in Frankfurt’s Westend. There, the couple hoped for better job opportunities. Johanna Simon fell into a deep depression and suffered a nervous breakdown. Her husband tried to support the family with various activities.
In addition, the Simons received financial support from their parents.
Their son Ernst now attended the Varentrappschule, because Jewish entrance classes had been set up there as well as in the Holzhausenschule. Later on he changed to the Philanthropin, the liberal Jewish school in Hebelstrasse.
Even if Ernst Simon did not remember having been personally attacked, the discriminatory signs were still in his mind: “Do not buy from Jews”, “Jews undesirable”, “Admission forbidden for Jews” or “German house”. On the Sabbath, on Friday evening, the family walked from Schwindtstrasse to the liberal main synagogue in the Börnestrasse. Even though Jewish traditions were of great importance to them, they did not adhere very strictly to religious commandments and so also rode on the tram on Saturdays.

Irma Katz – Workshop for modern women’s clothing

Back in Frankfurt, Irma became self employed and founded the company Irma Katz-Werkstatt für moderne Fraunenkleidung (wordshop for modern women’s clothing). She employed 8-14 seamstresses and one tailor who worked from home. Her studio was located in Klüberstrasse, and subsequently at Leerbachstrasse 42.
There she had, in her 5 room apartment, a fitting room, a waiting room and a study. The apartment and studio were furnished with Bauhaus furniture, which had been made partly in Kalten-Nordheim, her home in Thuringia, partly in a furniture studio in the Grosse Friedbergerstrasse in Frankfurt.

The rise to power of the National Socialists had an imminent negative effect on Irma’s business. The non-Jewish customers avoided her, and the economic situation worsened due to dismissals and boycott measures, made itself felt by Jewish customers. “The Jewish clientele was no longer able to have their clothing fitted, some emigrated, and the other customers no longer bought from me.” (HHStAW)

Therefore, Irma Katz tried to explore employment opportunities abroad. On 6th April 1934 she left Germany on the steamer “Monte Pasoal” from Hamburg to Buenos Aires, where one of her sisters already lived. Although it was only supposed to be a temporary stay, Irma actually never returned to Germany.

In Argentina she became self-employed again after a short period of employment, but could not really build on what she had achieved in Frankfurt.

Criminalized

Three months later, Sophie Katz was confronted with accusations of a foreign exchange offence. The background to this accusation was that she and her husband had paid the freight and transport costs for the emigration of her daughter’s family and had taken over the last outstanding rent payment. In doing so, she had made payments for a non-resident, according to the accusation of the tax authority. As compensation for the payments made, however, Willy and Sophie Katz had agreed with their son in law that they would receive his outstanding claims. “I cannot see any unjust act in all these processes and first ask for inspection and consultation with the competent authority. I furthermore plead that I am 68 years old, have lost my husband 3 months ago and only have a small pension to live on.” Further inconvenience arose when a patient refused to pay the cost of dental treatment.

In addition to the high cost of emigration, she was charged high “”Golddiskontabgaben” (gold discount levies”) and the “”Judenvermögensabgabe” (“Jewish wealth tax”). In order to avoid paying the “Dego-Abgabe” (“Dego levy”), the so-called gold discount levy for jewellery and other items considered to be valuable, she wanted to donate a wrist watch, an ornamented brooch and other objects to her brother Leo Schmidt in Bruchsal. However, these specific items as well as important papers, which were already part of the removal goods stored at the forwarding company, were stolen. Sophie Katz managed to emigrate to Argentina on 9th November 1938 on the vessel “Monte Rosa”, penniless and deprived of her widow’s pension, which went into a “Sperrkonte” (“blocked account”).

After the November pogrom, she was already on her way to Argentina at that time, she was asked to pay further taxes. She was accused of not having properly declared her assets for this purpose. This resulted in a detention order which, however, could no longer take effect because Sophie Katz was destitute and had already left the country. (HHStAW)

Argentina

Although the members of the family had managed to save their lives, the start of their new life was hard and beset with difficulties. They did not speak Spanish, had problems adapting to the climate, could not practice their professions and had difficulty gaining a foothold. However they did feel comfortable amongst their relatives who had also come to Argentina: the three sisters of Johanna Simon and her mother. Initially, the Simons were accommodated by relatives and were supported by a great uncle. Georg Simon earned his money as an employee and his wife tried to get permission to work as a dentist, but without success. So Johanna Simon decided to work illegally as a dentist until she had to stop working due to a police order. Her patients were mainly immigrants from Germany. “Here in Buenos Aires, because I was not licensed here, I was not allowed to practice. Since we could not get by with my husband’s low salary, I tried to work illegally with some success until I was denounced.” (HHStAW, conversation with Ernst Simon)

The neighbourly assistance of the emigrant community was a great support for the Simons. Together they built a synagogue with the support of sponsors. They set up a Jewish club alongside the river, where they met for picnics and bathing.

Despite all the difficulties they had in their new homeland the grandparents, according to granddaughter Vivian Simon, were grateful that Argentina had taken them in. In 1970 Johanna came to Frankfurt again to visit her father’s grave. She died five years later in Argentina.

Her son Ernst was finally able to study and become a dentist, and was able to take on many patients from his mother. He met his future wife in a hockey club. She came from a Sephardic family, from Damascus in Syria. But Ernst Simon was only able to marry her 10 years later, because he did not have a degree at first. His future father-in-law tried to marry his daughter off with a better match, but without success. Then he sent the daughter to America, where he hoped she would forget her fiancé. Obviously, he did not succeed. When Ernst Simon graduated, his father-in-law finally agreed to let him marry his daughter.

Ernst Simon worked hard to provide his three children, two daughters and a son, with a good education.

Visits to the old homeland

Vivian, his eldest daughter, became a landscape architect. She accompanied him in 2002 when he took part in the visiting program of the City of Frankfurt. Ernst Simon was particularly impressed by his encounter with Lilo Günzler in Schwanheim. Lilo Günzler, persecuted during National Socialism as a “Mischling (half-caste) 1st degree”, worked as a teacher at the Minna-Specht-Schule in Schwanheim and was involved in the Heimat- und Geschichtsverein. In 2021, a street was named after her.

20 years earlier, Ernst Simon had already made a trip to Thuringia, to Aschenhausen, where his maternal family came from. Unlike in Frankfurt, he found everything as he knew it from childhood, the avenues, the houses and the streets – just a little run down.