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The marriage of Fritz Pfeffer and Charlotte Kaletta

The German racial laws of 1935 prevented marriages between Jews and non-Jews. This ban also affected Fritz Pfeffer and Charlotte Kaletta.

Subject

Anne writes in her diary about Fritz Pfeffer: "He lives with a charming Christian lady who's quite a bit younger than he is. They're probably not married, but that's beside the point".[1]

Fritz Pfeffer and Charlotte Kaletta had both been married before and met in Berlin. A marriage was impossible as a result of the Blutschutzgesetz promulgated in September 1935. In late 1938, both came to Amsterdam, intending to get married in London in February 1939.[2] The visa application form for emigration to Chile of Fritz Pfeffer and Charlotte Kaletta dated 13 January 1939 reads: 'Im Laufe des Monats Februar 1939 wird die Ehe in London geschlossen.' [2]

Because of a 1902 treaty, German nationals could not marry in the Netherlands without a declaration of no objection from the German authorities. From September 1935, such declarations were no longer issued for marriages between a Jewish and a non-Jewish marriage partner. The Netherlands was bound by multilateral treaties and thus had committed itself to respect the marriage laws of the treaty countries, and thus also those of Germany.[3] Belgium cancelled this treaty a few years after World War I. As a result, many people wishing to get married who were affected by German law went to Brussels. Fritz Pfeffer and Charlotte Kaletta also wanted to try their luck in Brussels. Charlotte Kaletta spent some time in that city in late June 1939, but Pfeffer's passport had expired in January 1939 and the German consulate in Amsterdam refused to renew it.[4]

Despite being unable to marry, they presented themselves as a married couple. The fact that their marriage was not official was also not widely known among their acquaintances. Otto Frank first heard of Pfeffer's unmarried state when Miep Gies informed him about it in the summer of 1942.[5]

As their marriage was not official, Pfeffer lacked the status of a 'mixed married person' in occupied Netherlands and as a result, he was forced to go into hiding in 1942.

On the basis of an Anordnung by the Senator für Justiz in Berlin dated 5 February 1953 recognising free marriages of people persecuted because of race, politics or religion, the marriage was retrospectively recognised. This was to allow benefits/compensation to surviving relatives. The marriage date of Fritz Pfeffer and Charlotte Kaletta was retroactively set as 31 May 1937.[6]

Pfeffer's death certificate lists as marital status: divorced.[7] In 1953, acknowledgement of the non-approved marriage to Charlotte Kaletta was noted in the margin.[8]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version B, 10 November 1942, in: The Collected Works, transl. from the Dutch by Susan Massotty, London [etc.]: Bloomsbury Continuum 2019.
  2. a, b Nationaal Archief, Den Haag (NL-HaNA), Ministerie van Justitie: Rijksvreemdelingendienst en Taakvoorgangers, toegang 2.09.45, inv. nr. 1031: visumaanvraag F. Pfeffer, 13 januari 1939.
  3. ^ "Het Duitsche Ariërhuwelijksverbod sluit een huwelijk in Nederland uit", Het Vaderland, 17 september 1935 (avondblad), p. 13.
  4. ^ NL-HaNA, Rijksvreemdelingendienst en Taakvoorgangers, inv. nr. 1031: Vreemdelingendienst Amsterdam aan Procureur-generaal, 14 februari 1939.
  5. ^ Anne Frank Stichting, Anne Frank Collectie, reg. code A_OFrank_I_015: Verklaring Otto Frank, 4 september 1951
  6. ^ Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Gemeentepolitie Amsterdam (toegang 5225), inv. nr. 4171: Vreemdelingenkaart M.C. Kaletta, aantekening d.d. 28 april 1953.
  7. ^ Dit vanwege zijn in 1933 ontbonden huwelijk met Vera Bythiner.
  8. ^ Standesamt Hamburg-Neuengamme: Afschrift overlijdensakte, 16 februari 1945.