Harry Katz was born in Berlin, Germany on March 4, 1933. He was the youngest of four children, born to Julius and Frieda Katz. Following the November Pogrom (Kristallnacht), Julius started looking for a way to get the family out of Germany. They were able to flee, but had to split up to do so. Harry’s two older brothers, Hans and Horst, were to go to Palestine and on a Kindertransport to England, respectively. The rest of the family was to go to Shanghai. The majority of the family, including young Harry, left for Shanghai in April 1939. Hans had to stop in Cologne on his way to Palestine, where he was arrested and sent back to Berlin. Hans was later murdered in Auschwitz. Horst, not wanting to go to England, somehow managed to get his documentation changed (at only the age of 13) and followed the rest of his family to Shanghai.

While in Shanghai, Harry’s family lived in Hongkew. His parents had trouble finding work; Horst and Ilse both contracted polio while in Shanghai, and later his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, from which he died in March 1946; luck was on Harry’s side through all of this.

After the war, Harry made his way to the United States, where he eventually became a citizen during his military service during the Korean War. He was later a successful businessman and a diehard Chicago Cubs fan!

For more of Harry’s story, you can read the article, A Survivor’s Luck: Reflections on Berlin and Shanghai, by Kevin Ostoyich.