Never Enough: The Carl Katz Story - A Man Hunted by the Nazis Long After the Fall of the Third Reich

by Elise Garibaldi

A man hunted by the Nazis long after the fall of the Third Reich. In this stranger than fiction true story, Carl Katz contends for survival against a relentless enemy.

“The story is wild… [it]sounds like fiction, but it is all true… a reality that might seem too strange and too crazy for us today,” Leo Baeck Institute, New York, & Berlin.

“Meticulously researched and superbly written… an enormously important contribution… [and a] potent antidote to the increasingly prevalent distortion of history…” World Jewish Congress.

In this much anticipated sequel to the bestselling, Roses in a Forbidden A Holocaust Love Story, Never Enough follows the defiant, German-born, Katz as he navigates Hitler’s Germany. We shadow his harrowing life and death journey—from his years of incarceration, starvation, and torture, to his desperate plays to keep his family safe from the deadly grasp of Hitler’s Final Solution. Forced to make vital decisions at every turn, his unwillingness to succumb sparks outrage and vengeance from his would-be executioners.

With the perpetrators of his past continuously pursuing him, Katz learns that old habits certainly die hard in the Fatherland.

In this rarely before seen glimpse of life in post war Germany, this plot-turning, crime thriller will leave you breathlessly wondering—will justice ever fall on the right side of history?

Genres: Nonfiction

368 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2021

About the author

https://twitter.com/GaribaldiElise

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Reviews

[Dave]

Never Enough, the Carl Katz story, by Elise Garibaldi, Katz’ great granddaughter, is a remarkable nonfiction story that sheds light on the difficulties of the post-WW2 years in Germany. Told in two timelines, we readers get the story of Carl Katz and his family of Bremen, Germany, from Kristallnacht, through the deportations to the camps in the East, to the bitter years of survival, and Katz’ return with his daughter to Bremen where, with the defeat of Nazi Germany, he sought to rebuild the centuries-old Jewish community.

The other timeline which alternates in chapters throughout the book with the Holocaust timeline gives the reader post-war Germany where, although many upper Nazis were tried at Nuremberg, many who delighted in their persecution of Jews survived and were surprisingly made a part of the new postwar Germany as the international focus turned to fighting Communism and the Red menace. Some who survived the war and were guilty of Nazi collaboration turned against the surviving Jews such as Katz and used the judicial system to attack Katz and brand him a collaborator too, though one who was marched off to the death camps and barely survived. The deNazifaction of Germany was not thorough and many endured despite their crimes against humanity to rebuild new lives casting off their rotten skins.

What makes this book so powerfully told is that it reads more like a novel than like a history book and personalizes everything that happened to Katz and those around him. Indeed, the shock value of the Holocaust never ceases and, when you hear about how the Aryan wife of a Jewish man turned on him when the Nazis began their reign of terror, having him sign over everything to her and then divorcing him and throwing him out on the street, you begin to realize how widespread the Nazi terror was and how, in the face of the powerful, few had courage or conviction to stand up to them and the Jews were left, unarmed and alone, in the midst of Nazi evil.

[Ksc Archivist · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not often you are able to find books and articles about life in post war Germany including the aftermath of the Holocaust. Elise Garibaldi retells the story of Carl Katz in a way where readers might think its a fiction novel. (What is most appreciated is the family archive and stories that inspired this book and Garbaldi’s earlier book “Roses in the Forbidden Garden,” the Holocaust love story of the author’s grandparents Inge Katz Berger and Sam Berger.)

Not only does Carl Kratz struggle through the war with his family but he struggles majorly post war with may hardships and false testimony against him. How can a man who survived death camps while trying to support his family be pressed with charges of crimes against humanity by former Nazis? The book jumps through a timeline of important historical events that happen throughout Carl's life to where you will not stop turning the page.

In every chapter Carl Kratz is fighting for survival for he and his family, living another day to prove his innocence against the Nazis who killed millions in the Holocaust. Forced to make life-changing decisions, he is put in situations a person should never have to experience in a lifetime. The Nazis, who try to cast the blame and responsibility on the victims will do everything in their power to find something to shield themselves from the crimes at which they committed.

[Hannah Bahar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an essential read for those interested in the truth, and also those who are dedicated to changing perceptions which have been allowed to pervade this subject in history. A moving, gripping account, written from the heart with courage and conviction. Highly recommended.

[Dorel Pollack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elise Garibaldi did it again!!!

I did not even hesitate before buying this book. Mrs. Garibaldi's first book "Roses in a Forbidden Garden" was an absolute page turner and I was so certain that "Never Enough" would deliver the same results. I highly recommend this book.

[Ingerid Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down

[Astrid Delbue-Doninelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend suggested this book and I have to say that it was one of the best suggestions I have received. The description of the concentration camp made me remember of my visit to Dachau and made me completely understand how those poor souls were going through. I loved to see the pictures, the dried flowers picture made me cry while I was imagining what Carl Katz’s daughter was going through and trying to stay strong not knowing if her boyfriend was alive.
An incredible book that should be read by many to realize that you can’t erase history, because history teaches you what not to do otherwise it will repeat itself!

[Sidney Pollack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well-written and easy to read book by Elise Garibaldi was eye opening. It sets about correcting various inaccuracies about Carl Katz that have been written by others. The book is well researched and thoroughly documented. The book exposes anti-Semitic writings found in post World War II Germany and in many instances that continue today. It is hoped that this book will have an impact so that necessary changes will be made.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carl Katz was born in Germany in 1899. He moved to Bremen in the early 1920s, where he ran a wholesale business. He was forced to sell his business by the Nazi Party at the end of 1938. He eventually became on of the leaders of the Jewish community in Bremen until 1942 when he and his family were deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. While in the camp, he worked with the Nazis about his block. The story of this man was really interesting, but, in addition, the look into post-war Germany was really valuable. It shows how a society attempts to rebuild and make amends, how they address their history, and how people who were involved in some heinous things just returned to life no problem. This was a good book.

[Ronald Roseborough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never Enough, The Carl Katz Story, is an eye opening story of one man’s fight to keep his family and friends safe from Nazi persecution during World War II, only to find that persecution would follow him after the war ended. The book details the efforts Katz goes to, as a leader of his German-Jewish community, in order to try and keep his family and friends safe during the holocaust. Katz had received honors for serving his homeland in World War I, only to have it turn against him as a new mania swept his devastated country. Katz tried to use his influence to maintain a degree of normalcy for his family and community, even as the atrocities around him continued to build. Even his stature in the community eventually was no match for the relentless sweep of the scythe that was trying to eliminate all vestige of his people’s heritage from Europe. He and his family eventually found themselves thrown into the horror of the camps. Even here, he did his best to save whom he could from the final solution. When the fighting in Europe finally came to an end, Katz and the survivors of his family started to rebuild their lives in Germany. He helped the Allies to identify those who had perpetrated the worse evils on his community. The Allies, set up court systems to prosecute these people. The Allies appointed leaders from the local community as judges and officials, but many of those whom they appointed, had been leaders of the community under Nazi rule. Katz soon found the hate, lies, and treachery that had characterized the Nazi rule was once again turning on him and his family. This is a well written book with documented much evidence.

[Mark Behar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Never Enough" is a well-told story. It is also an *important* story. A story about the value of family, the pain of persecution, the triumph of survival, and the pursuit of justice across decades. Author Elise Garibaldi tells Carl Katz's tale with great care and attention to detail, carefully weaving together the narratives of her subject's life before, during, and after the war - as well as the actions of Bremen's Nazi persecutors, in their attempts to lay their guilt at the feet of Mr. Katz after the war's conclusion.

Very few Holocaust survivors remain alive today, so stories like this become ever more essential. Bravo to Garibaldi for documenting this important historical account, and telling a captivating story in the process.

[Ruth Bahar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read! Very moving, emotional, gut-wrenching, and inspirational. All this can be found in this stranger than fiction true story. It has the easy readability of a novel, but is packed with all this accurate historical nuances and facts one could ever hope for - making the reader feel they are walking in the shoes of those who lived in Europe during WW2. this book can appeal to a wide audience: those who love thrillers, lovers of history, and those who long for the days of strong family values. Be prepared to shake your head in disbelief, have your heart race, cry out in anger, and throw this book across the room. This book will not disappoint.