Georges André Kohn
Encyclopedia
Georges André Kohn was a distant relative of the Rothschild banking family of England
. His father Armand Edouard Kohn (1894–1962) was the manager of the Rothschild Hospital in Paris
, and his mother Suzanne Jenny (née Netre; 1895–1945) was a first cousin of Bertrand Léopold Goldschmidt, son-in-law of Lionel Nathan de Rothschild
. Georges' father was André was Jewish while but he, his mother and his elder brother and sisters were practicing Roman Catholics
Georges and his family were arrested in the last week of July, 1944 they were among a group of prominent Jews who had previously been awarded protective status in occupied France. Georges was among a group of 51 deportees deported in the last transport from the Drancy
transit camp in France on August 17, 1944 a week prior to the liberation of Paris, along with his parents, grandmother Jeanne Marie (75), sisters Antoinette (22) and Rose Marie (18) and brother Philippe (21).
The railroad car they were deported in was attached to the end of the last train out of Drancy which also carried Drancy commandant SS Hauptsturmführer
Alois Brunner
and other German military personnel. They intended upon using the 51 Jewish deportees as potential hostages.
On the train ride east to the camps some of the prisoners escaped including Rose Marie and Phillipe Kohn. Georges wanted to go along with them but was stopped by his father who feared reprisals for the escapes on those who remained. Armand went to Buchenwald and would survive the war, Suzanne and Antoinette were transported from Buchenwald to Bergen Belsen where both died a short while later, Jeanne Marie and Georges were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Jeanne Marie was gassed shortly after arrival. Georges was placed in Barracks No. 11, with other Jewish children. He quickly befriended Jacqueline Morgenstern who was close in age, was from France and also spoke French. Armand, Phillippe and Rose Marie survived the war.
Georges was among a group of twenty Jewish children chosen at the behest of Kurt Heissmeyer
, by Josef Mengele
to be sent from Auschwitz to Neuengamme concentration camp for medical experiments.
At Neuengamme Georges and the other children, 9 other boys and ten girls, from ages five to twelve, were infected with live tuberculosis
bacilli by Heissmeyer.
They all later had their axillary lymph nodes surgically removed for study. In April 1945 the British Army was advancing through Lower Saxony
the location of Neuengamme and the city of Hamburg
. As the medical experiments conducted on the children would be grounds for being charged with war crimes, an order was issued from Berlin
to dispose of the evidence, which included killing Georges and the other children.
On the night of April 20, 1945, Georges and the other children were brought to the Bullenhuser Damm
School in Hamburg and hanged in the basement. His body was brought back to Neuengamme the next day and cremated.
Rothschild banking family of England
The Rothschild banking family of England was founded in 1798 by Nathan Mayer von Rothschild who first settled in Manchester but then moved to London. Nathan was sent there from his home in Frankfurt by his father, Mayer Amschel Rothschild...
. His father Armand Edouard Kohn (1894–1962) was the manager of the Rothschild Hospital in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and his mother Suzanne Jenny (née Netre; 1895–1945) was a first cousin of Bertrand Léopold Goldschmidt, son-in-law of Lionel Nathan de Rothschild
Lionel Nathan de Rothschild
Lionel Nathan de Rothschild was an English banker and Conservative politician best remembered as the creator of Exbury Gardens...
. Georges' father was André was Jewish while but he, his mother and his elder brother and sisters were practicing Roman Catholics
Georges and his family were arrested in the last week of July, 1944 they were among a group of prominent Jews who had previously been awarded protective status in occupied France. Georges was among a group of 51 deportees deported in the last transport from the Drancy
Drancy
Drancy is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.8 km from the center of Paris.- Toponomy :...
transit camp in France on August 17, 1944 a week prior to the liberation of Paris, along with his parents, grandmother Jeanne Marie (75), sisters Antoinette (22) and Rose Marie (18) and brother Philippe (21).
The railroad car they were deported in was attached to the end of the last train out of Drancy which also carried Drancy commandant SS Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
Alois Brunner
Alois Brunner
Alois Brunner is an Austrian Nazi war criminal. Brunner was Adolf Eichmann's assistant, and Eichmann referred to Brunner as his "best man." As commander of the Drancy internment camp outside Paris from June 1943 to August 1944, Brunner is held responsible for sending some 140,000 European Jews to...
and other German military personnel. They intended upon using the 51 Jewish deportees as potential hostages.
On the train ride east to the camps some of the prisoners escaped including Rose Marie and Phillipe Kohn. Georges wanted to go along with them but was stopped by his father who feared reprisals for the escapes on those who remained. Armand went to Buchenwald and would survive the war, Suzanne and Antoinette were transported from Buchenwald to Bergen Belsen where both died a short while later, Jeanne Marie and Georges were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Jeanne Marie was gassed shortly after arrival. Georges was placed in Barracks No. 11, with other Jewish children. He quickly befriended Jacqueline Morgenstern who was close in age, was from France and also spoke French. Armand, Phillippe and Rose Marie survived the war.
Georges was among a group of twenty Jewish children chosen at the behest of Kurt Heissmeyer
Kurt Heissmeyer
Kurt Heissmeyer was a Nazi physician involved in medical experimentation on concentration camp inmates including children. He was involved in an infamous tuberculosis experiment conducted on 20 Jewish children at Neuengamme concentration camp...
, by Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele
Josef Rudolf Mengele , also known as the Angel of Death was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He earned doctorates in anthropology from Munich University and in medicine from Frankfurt University...
to be sent from Auschwitz to Neuengamme concentration camp for medical experiments.
At Neuengamme Georges and the other children, 9 other boys and ten girls, from ages five to twelve, were infected with live tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
bacilli by Heissmeyer.
They all later had their axillary lymph nodes surgically removed for study. In April 1945 the British Army was advancing through Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
the location of Neuengamme and the city of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. As the medical experiments conducted on the children would be grounds for being charged with war crimes, an order was issued from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to dispose of the evidence, which included killing Georges and the other children.
On the night of April 20, 1945, Georges and the other children were brought to the Bullenhuser Damm
Bullenhuser Damm
Bullenhuser Damm School is located at 92–94 Bullenhuser Damm, a street in the Rothenburgsort section of Hamburg, Germany. During heavy air raids many portions of Hamburg were destroyed including the Rothenburgsort section which received heavy damage. The school was only partly damaged. By 1943 the...
School in Hamburg and hanged in the basement. His body was brought back to Neuengamme the next day and cremated.