Michael Katz
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Born in 1908 in Vilna,
Polish-Lita. His father was a manufacturer. He learned
in a cheder, then in the Vilna Yiddish governmental
gymnasium [high school].
From childhood on he had a leaning toward the stage. He
began in small roles, and in 1933 he traveled with the
"Vilna Troupe" on a tour, with whom he toured across the
Polish province for a long time. He returned to Vilna,
[where] he worked daily with his father in a
manufacturing workshop, and in the evening he played in the
"Unzer Theatre" on 8 November. Here he played for a
series of years.
S. Bliacher characterized
him this way:
"Michael Katz, a round [runder],
circular [keylechdiker] young man, had with his
extravagance, an elegance in character roles. Every time
when the director (of "Unzer Theatre") used to
direct an actor, he immediately would invite Katz to be with his young
friends, unmarried members, with whom they would strongly
exploit in the theatre..... In the Polish times they had
paid them one złoty a night. In the beginning he did
not, because he was not a masterpiece of the theatre.
Later he became a [ern-frage]. ...a small wage,
which is how the boys and young people went on strike...
The director complained to them. They had voted a
percentage of the revenue, but with that percentage, that
they also often would not earn the złotys... this
had been Katz, as well as his colleagues, who did not
pay much attention. What can one do, that the business
was generally bad, they were with leytn
immediately." |
And about his last
stage leg and tragic end, Sh. Bliacher writes:
"In 1939-40, Katz
was a member of 'Octave (sp),' playing
responsible roles, and he made his way to the top
spot in the theatre. In wartime theatre Katz
went in as a [gleicher mit gleich],
excelling in a series of roles, especially in
the role of the "Houseworker" in Daniel's "Julis
(sp)." The role in which the author definitely was portrayed
in a negative behavior--a Jew, a rich
man, the Reds (?) nationalize his house, when
one of them, they should .....Also, his
colleagues did not really care. What can be done
is that business was bad? Most of all they are
suffering immediately."
Though left in the
houses as a leader, he spied on the activity of
the Reds and passed it on to the Whites. He was
finally caught and shot. Katz had in the role
achieved the best that he had left. The viewing
public hated him. He was so absorbed in the role
that there was nothing they could change, that
the role of "house worker" could be played
elsewhere.
When the Germans
took Vilna, Michael Katz obtained work in the
"Gestapo," as a house worker. He then used to
make jokes, that the role in "Julius" came to him,
the end may be another... On his own he did very
well. He used to struggle to eat, had to go by
himself across the streets, and indeed this is
the most important thing, not any difficult,
physical work. Thank you already, he used to, in
those difficult days, have the possibility to go
see what his friends were doing, to help
according to a possibility. Katz also saw as
they used to bring Jews and non-Jews in for
investigations, tensions, locked in the
basement, and very often from the basement he
often used to [hear?] out-of-the-sky screaming
cries. ...one time one of the working Jews in
the Red Command in the Gestapo with something
perverse, all the workers in the house were
picked up, and the twenty men were taken pleased
the shines [?] [sheynes]. Among those with whom
the shines were taken [?] also was Katz. The
twenty were divided by the [ibrike]. Katz sensed
the danger and fled on a spell. As an additional
punishment, one of the twenty Jews were lost,
and five more were added. The twenty-four men no
longer returned to their neighbors.
Katz stood out...
later they searched and found work, and the
danger seemed to be over, but during the
provocation on Dominican Street no. 3 they were
taken away, and the 'Gestapo' arranged for her
former house worker the last finale scene was
following the text of the Soviet press."
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