LT. Morton N. Katz
S2 505th Parachute Infantry
82nd Airborne Division
Germany May 2, 1945
S2 505th Parachute Infantry
82nd Airborne Division
Germany May 2, 1945
Morton Katz was born in Hartford CT on May 15th, 1919 to first generation American parents. His grandparents had come to the US from Lithuania in the late 1800’s. Morton grew up during the Great Depression. His father was a lawyer and worked on real estate closings. There were no real estate transactions at that time and he eventually lost his practice and then lost his home to foreclosure. During the foreclosure process the bank that held the mortgage failed and its assets were handed over to the Receiver, who was the Connecticut Banking Commissioner, Tom Hewes. Mr. Hewes recognized Morton’s fathers name on the mortgage, and he allowed the family to live in the house for 18 months after the foreclosure was complete. He also gave Morton’s dad a blank check and told him “to use what you need and pay it back when you can.” Sounds like a real-life George Bailey. His father eventually went on to find a job as a lawyer with the WPA. Morton said, this is the first time I saw anyone give help to someone.”
Morton graduated from Weaver HS in Hartford CT in 1935 and went on to attend Connecticut State College, now known as the University of Connecticut. The money his parents had saved for his college was squandered by a relative and an uncle stepped in and paid Morton’s way. Later in life Morton tried to repay him but he said, “No you will not pay me back, what you will do is help someone else.” The second time in Morton’s life he had seen someone help someone in such a meaningful way. While in college, he took ROTC and finished with the Citizens Military Training Camps and received a commission as a 2ND LT in the US Army Reserve in 1940. Morton graduated with a Chemistry degree but says he wasn’t a great student. He says he really struggled with the science classes. Despite that he went on to the Iowa State College to pursue a Masters in Chemistry. That was shortened with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and he was called up 7-8 days later.
Morton was assigned to Infantry School and after jump training was assigned to the 502nd Parachute Infantry and he received Infantry and Parachute training at Fort Benning. After the regiment was sent to Fort Bragg, he was sent to England with a replacement group to join 503rd Parachute Infantry. Morton was then sent to Africa and arrived there after the initial fighting was finished but he continued to do jump training. As it turned out he never made a jump in combat. Instead, he served in an Intelligence capacity beginning as an adjutant for Lt. Col. Yarborough. Morton fought in Italy including Anzio and Venafro. He commented that there was a lot of house to house fighting in Anzio as the Germans fled. Then on into France (Operation Dragoon, August 1944), Belgium, the Battle of the Bulge and into Germany.
Morton recalls fighting along-side the French Resistance known as the FFI (French Forces of the Interior). He said they were tough and were constantly in grave danger of being caught by the Nazi’s. Morton commented that the Italians resisted the Nazi’s efforts to round up the Jews. Many of the Italian soldiers surrendered to the Allies in France. He also noted that many of the Italians helped smuggle the Jews out of Italy. LT. Katz eventually became part of the Occupation forces in Berlin. In our discussions Col. Katz had the following recollections of the war
While in Anzio, the US shot down a German plane and Morton’s men went out to find the pilot. They eventually recovered the pilot and questioned him. They need to know where he took off from so the US could bomb the airfield. Morton said, he was a “stubborn Nazi” and he wouldn’t talk. Morton instructed the interpreter to tell the prison “who I am, and what I am (a Jew)”. Morton said the German folded like a wet paper napkin, opened up and gave them every piece of information they wanted. It was a very gratifying day for LT Katz.
I asked Morton if he hated the enemy. “You bet I did.” I asked him if that feeling ever faded. He then went on to say that he didn’t look at the common soldier in the same way he looked at the commanders, the SS and the Gestapo. He said he later in life met German soldiers at various military conferences and training. They talked to him about how they were forced to become members of the Hitler youth and were later drafted. “We weren’t going to be best friends, but I could understand.”
Morton also talked at great length about controlling your anger and abiding by the Geneva Convention. He talked about times he took prisoners and could have shot them on the spot. “But I knew if I did, that it would make things much worse for our guys being held prisoner.”
LT Katz recounted one time he took a German prisoner. “The guy thought I was going to kill him. Instead I made him crawl for his life. It was very gratifying.”
I asked if he was ever scared. He said Yes. He was petrified every day. But you learned to control your fear. I asked how. Morton said, “you had a job to do and you focused on how to do your job.” “You couldn’t pass it on to your men.”
I asked if, in the early days when the US wasn’t doing so well, he ever had any doubt the Allies would win?” Without hesitating he said, “NO”. “We knew we were going to win.” “Our guys were just so clever and had initiative.”
Clearly, a day that stands out in the mind of Morton Katz is May 2, 1945. In the waning days of April 1945, his unit crossed the Elbe River and was advancing on the Germans in Northern Germany. The Germans were pinned between the US and the advancing Russian forces. Morton said the Germans were surrendering to the Americans rather than the Russians because they knew their fate would be a horrible one if the Russians took them back to Russia. During this time his scouts came back with a report of a camp that was full of bodies and a warehouse full of clogs. It was the Wobbelin concentration camp near Ludwigslust, Germany. On May 2nd, 1945 his unit liberated the camp. The unit was commanded by Major General James Gavin, who Morton described as a low-key guy. Gavin was so appalled at what he saw he made the local townspeople walk through the Camp and later carry the bodies from the camp to a cemetery, dig graves and bury the bodies.
Morton said that he didn’t see many bodies because his job was to search the office of the camp commandant for any records or weapons. Although two SS soldiers got away before the Americas arrived, the commandant, his wife and daughter did not. The wife acted in a very belligerent way to the US GI’s, somehow thinking she was going to get privileged treatment. Morton told the interpreter, “tell that Nazi Pig to shut up or I’ll slit her throat.” She shut right up.
When the fighting stopped Morton became part of the Occupation Forces in Berlin. Morton said he had little contact with the German citizenry during that time. However, here he had one of his most memorable experiences during the war. Just before Rosh Hashanah in 1945 the principal Synagogue in Berlin, that had been desecrated by the Nazi’s, was reopened and consecrated. The Rabbi who was the Chaplain of Berlin District learned Morton was a Kohanim; a direct descendant of Aaron, the brother of Moses. The Rabbi gave him the honor of the first blessing at the Torah reading on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and the first service at the Synagogue. Over half the congregation of military personnel were Russian soldiers using prayer books hidden from Russian authorities.
When he shipped home to the US, he walked up 5th Ave in New York City in the Victory Parade. He then went back to complete his studies. He didn’t enjoy the research, but he did enjoy teaching. Not sure what to do with his career, he took an aptitude test at the VA and they told him he needed a career that involved being around people. “That’s because I was perfecting my people skills all those years in the service.” He enrolled in UCONN Law School. “As soon as my professor started speaking in my very first class, I knew I was where I belonged.” He passed the bar and graduated in 1951 and began practicing law. His practice has included criminal defense, plaintiff’s work, real estate, workers comp, wills and probate as well as assisting and defending veterans and helping them get their benefits. In 1997, at the age of 77, Morton began his career as a public defender and continues to appear and make arguments in court today. “They’ll have to carry me out.” Morton has spent a considerable portion of his life doing what his uncle told him so many years ago; “what you will do is help someone else.”
During his time in the service he many important people including General Anthony McAuliffe, the acting commander of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division troops defending Bastogne. The Germans had him surrounded at Bastogne and sent a letter requesting his surrender. He wrote back, “NUTS”. No surrender and the US held on until the weather broke, the cloud cover disappeared, and reinforcements arrived. He met Major General Maurice Rose, CG of the 3rd Armored Division. He also met Irving Berlin at a bar in Rome and later he met Joe Louis. “He was quite a good person. He did a lot of fighting exhibitions and would often let US GI’s go a few rounds with him.” “He would work them hard for a few rounds but always made them look good in front of their friends.”
Morton stayed active in the Reserve and retired with the rank of Colonel in 1979.
Morton married his wife Shirley in 1965 and they have been married for 55 years.
Morton graduated from Weaver HS in Hartford CT in 1935 and went on to attend Connecticut State College, now known as the University of Connecticut. The money his parents had saved for his college was squandered by a relative and an uncle stepped in and paid Morton’s way. Later in life Morton tried to repay him but he said, “No you will not pay me back, what you will do is help someone else.” The second time in Morton’s life he had seen someone help someone in such a meaningful way. While in college, he took ROTC and finished with the Citizens Military Training Camps and received a commission as a 2ND LT in the US Army Reserve in 1940. Morton graduated with a Chemistry degree but says he wasn’t a great student. He says he really struggled with the science classes. Despite that he went on to the Iowa State College to pursue a Masters in Chemistry. That was shortened with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and he was called up 7-8 days later.
Morton was assigned to Infantry School and after jump training was assigned to the 502nd Parachute Infantry and he received Infantry and Parachute training at Fort Benning. After the regiment was sent to Fort Bragg, he was sent to England with a replacement group to join 503rd Parachute Infantry. Morton was then sent to Africa and arrived there after the initial fighting was finished but he continued to do jump training. As it turned out he never made a jump in combat. Instead, he served in an Intelligence capacity beginning as an adjutant for Lt. Col. Yarborough. Morton fought in Italy including Anzio and Venafro. He commented that there was a lot of house to house fighting in Anzio as the Germans fled. Then on into France (Operation Dragoon, August 1944), Belgium, the Battle of the Bulge and into Germany.
Morton recalls fighting along-side the French Resistance known as the FFI (French Forces of the Interior). He said they were tough and were constantly in grave danger of being caught by the Nazi’s. Morton commented that the Italians resisted the Nazi’s efforts to round up the Jews. Many of the Italian soldiers surrendered to the Allies in France. He also noted that many of the Italians helped smuggle the Jews out of Italy. LT. Katz eventually became part of the Occupation forces in Berlin. In our discussions Col. Katz had the following recollections of the war
While in Anzio, the US shot down a German plane and Morton’s men went out to find the pilot. They eventually recovered the pilot and questioned him. They need to know where he took off from so the US could bomb the airfield. Morton said, he was a “stubborn Nazi” and he wouldn’t talk. Morton instructed the interpreter to tell the prison “who I am, and what I am (a Jew)”. Morton said the German folded like a wet paper napkin, opened up and gave them every piece of information they wanted. It was a very gratifying day for LT Katz.
I asked Morton if he hated the enemy. “You bet I did.” I asked him if that feeling ever faded. He then went on to say that he didn’t look at the common soldier in the same way he looked at the commanders, the SS and the Gestapo. He said he later in life met German soldiers at various military conferences and training. They talked to him about how they were forced to become members of the Hitler youth and were later drafted. “We weren’t going to be best friends, but I could understand.”
Morton also talked at great length about controlling your anger and abiding by the Geneva Convention. He talked about times he took prisoners and could have shot them on the spot. “But I knew if I did, that it would make things much worse for our guys being held prisoner.”
LT Katz recounted one time he took a German prisoner. “The guy thought I was going to kill him. Instead I made him crawl for his life. It was very gratifying.”
I asked if he was ever scared. He said Yes. He was petrified every day. But you learned to control your fear. I asked how. Morton said, “you had a job to do and you focused on how to do your job.” “You couldn’t pass it on to your men.”
I asked if, in the early days when the US wasn’t doing so well, he ever had any doubt the Allies would win?” Without hesitating he said, “NO”. “We knew we were going to win.” “Our guys were just so clever and had initiative.”
Clearly, a day that stands out in the mind of Morton Katz is May 2, 1945. In the waning days of April 1945, his unit crossed the Elbe River and was advancing on the Germans in Northern Germany. The Germans were pinned between the US and the advancing Russian forces. Morton said the Germans were surrendering to the Americans rather than the Russians because they knew their fate would be a horrible one if the Russians took them back to Russia. During this time his scouts came back with a report of a camp that was full of bodies and a warehouse full of clogs. It was the Wobbelin concentration camp near Ludwigslust, Germany. On May 2nd, 1945 his unit liberated the camp. The unit was commanded by Major General James Gavin, who Morton described as a low-key guy. Gavin was so appalled at what he saw he made the local townspeople walk through the Camp and later carry the bodies from the camp to a cemetery, dig graves and bury the bodies.
Morton said that he didn’t see many bodies because his job was to search the office of the camp commandant for any records or weapons. Although two SS soldiers got away before the Americas arrived, the commandant, his wife and daughter did not. The wife acted in a very belligerent way to the US GI’s, somehow thinking she was going to get privileged treatment. Morton told the interpreter, “tell that Nazi Pig to shut up or I’ll slit her throat.” She shut right up.
When the fighting stopped Morton became part of the Occupation Forces in Berlin. Morton said he had little contact with the German citizenry during that time. However, here he had one of his most memorable experiences during the war. Just before Rosh Hashanah in 1945 the principal Synagogue in Berlin, that had been desecrated by the Nazi’s, was reopened and consecrated. The Rabbi who was the Chaplain of Berlin District learned Morton was a Kohanim; a direct descendant of Aaron, the brother of Moses. The Rabbi gave him the honor of the first blessing at the Torah reading on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and the first service at the Synagogue. Over half the congregation of military personnel were Russian soldiers using prayer books hidden from Russian authorities.
When he shipped home to the US, he walked up 5th Ave in New York City in the Victory Parade. He then went back to complete his studies. He didn’t enjoy the research, but he did enjoy teaching. Not sure what to do with his career, he took an aptitude test at the VA and they told him he needed a career that involved being around people. “That’s because I was perfecting my people skills all those years in the service.” He enrolled in UCONN Law School. “As soon as my professor started speaking in my very first class, I knew I was where I belonged.” He passed the bar and graduated in 1951 and began practicing law. His practice has included criminal defense, plaintiff’s work, real estate, workers comp, wills and probate as well as assisting and defending veterans and helping them get their benefits. In 1997, at the age of 77, Morton began his career as a public defender and continues to appear and make arguments in court today. “They’ll have to carry me out.” Morton has spent a considerable portion of his life doing what his uncle told him so many years ago; “what you will do is help someone else.”
During his time in the service he many important people including General Anthony McAuliffe, the acting commander of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division troops defending Bastogne. The Germans had him surrounded at Bastogne and sent a letter requesting his surrender. He wrote back, “NUTS”. No surrender and the US held on until the weather broke, the cloud cover disappeared, and reinforcements arrived. He met Major General Maurice Rose, CG of the 3rd Armored Division. He also met Irving Berlin at a bar in Rome and later he met Joe Louis. “He was quite a good person. He did a lot of fighting exhibitions and would often let US GI’s go a few rounds with him.” “He would work them hard for a few rounds but always made them look good in front of their friends.”
Morton stayed active in the Reserve and retired with the rank of Colonel in 1979.
Morton married his wife Shirley in 1965 and they have been married for 55 years.