Fritz Katzmann
Fritz Katzmann, also known as Friedrich Katzmann, (6 May 1906 – 19 September 1957) was a German SS and Police Leader during the Nazi era. He perpetrated genocide in the cities of Kattowitz (today, Katowice), Radom, Lemberg (today, Lviv), Danzig (today, Gdańsk), and across the Nazi occupied District of Galicia in the General Government during the Holocaust in Poland, making him a major figure during the Holocaust there.
Fritz Katzmann | |
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Janowska concentration camp official visit. Right: Heinrich Himmler. Next to him: Fritz Katzmann. Left: camp commandant Friedrich Warzok | |
| Born | 6 May 1906 Langendreer, Bochum, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire |
| Died | 19 September 1957 (aged 51) Darmstadt, West Germany |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | Schutzstaffel |
| Years of service | 1930–1945 |
| Rank | SS-Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of Police and Waffen-SS |
| Commands held | SS and Police Leader, Radom District; District of Galicia; Higher SS and Police Leader, "Weichsel" |
| Awards | War Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd class with Swords |
Katzmann was responsible for many of the atrocities that were perpetrated by the SS during Operation Barbarossa. He personally directed the slaughter of between 55,000 and 65,000 Jews of Lemberg between 1941 and 1942, followed by mass deportations to death camps including Janowska (pictured). In 1943, Katzmann wrote a top-secret report summarizing Operation Reinhard in Galicia. The Katzmann Report is now considered one of the most important pieces of evidence of the extermination process. He managed to escape prosecution after the war, living under a false identity.