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Kaufmann Rudolf

Source: Národní archiv Praha, Policejní ředitelství v Praze – všeobecná spisovna, 1941-1950, sign. K 1242/2

* 4. 8. 1890
Au 979 – 12. 5. 1942, Terezín (Theresienstadt)
Bc 892 – 25. 8. 1942, Maly Trostinets

The merchant Rudolf Kaufmann was born in the North Bohemian town of Louny (Laun) to Leopold and Marie (née Bleierová). He lived in Prague from 1922. In November 1930 he married Hedvika Steinová (* 1895), who was originally from the village of Louka in the Most district. Shortly after the wedding, a daughter Helena (* 1931) was born, followed three years later by a son Leon (* 1934).

From 1922 until his deportation, Rudolf Kaufmann lived at 14 different addresses in Prague. In 1936 he was declared a citizen of Prague following a decision by the City Council.

In August 1940 Kaufmann addressed a Request for exemption from the scope of the government regulation on the position of Jews in public life to the Presidium of the Council of Ministers via the Office of the State President. In November of the same year, the Presidium notified the Ministry of the Interior that Kaufmann was not in fact requesting a presidential exemption, but rather a certificate stating whether he is or is not a Jew, and therefore his request has been forwarded to the Provincial Authority in Prague, which will process it. Kaufmann had stated in the request that he was an illegitimate child of a Jewish woman; because it is not possible to identify my father, the [Jewish] religious community refuses to recognize my father as a Jew, but it is also not possible to confirm that he was an Aryan. However, not even this attempt to cast doubt on his Jewish origins saved Kaufmann from deportation to a concentration camp. In May 1942 the entire family was transported to Terezín, and in August of the same year they were deported onwards to the camp at Maly Trostinets. None of them survived.

The only surviving item belonging to the family is a match-holder in the shape of a porcelain figurine, which is currently at the chateau in Zákupy.

Source: Národní archiv Praha, Policejní ředitelství v Praze – všeobecná spisovna, 1941-1950, sign. K 1242/2