Severin KUTNER

Seweryn Kutner was born in Warsaw, Poland, on August 5, 1870. His parents were Maurycy Kutner (who died in 1899) and Paulina Feischer, who lived at 39 Św. Krzyża in Warsaw.

Apart from Seweryn, who was the oldest son, there were three daughters, Wanda, Eugenia and Franciszka, and another son, Aleksander. In the late 19th century, Seweryn moved to France, where he married Marie Panthès, who was a French citizen, on June 15, 1899.

Marie was born on November 3, 1871 in Odessa, which was at that time in the Russian Empire. An exceptionally talented pianist, she was naturalized as a French citizen on July 5, 1888.

After they were married, Seweryn and his wife moved in with her brother, Robert Panthès, who lived at 72 Boulevard Haussmann. This is a long street that runs through the 8th and 9th districts of Paris.

Seweryn soon found a job as an accountant and earned around 5,000 francs a year. He later became a sales representative.

On February 18, 1907, the Paris Police Headquarters reported that Seweryn Kutner had proved himself to be a competent and trustworthy employee, and put particular emphasis on his professional skills and exemplary behavior.

On January 19, 1900, Seweryn and Marie had a baby daughter.

Seweryn had begun applying for French citizenship in 1905, and wrote several letters to the Minister invoking Article 8 of the French Nationality Act of June 26, 1889. There are records of at least two applications, one dated April 15, 1908, and the other June 1, 1908, which was successful. On that occasion, Seweryn also applied for permission to reside in France, which was granted on February 9, 1907. He was finally naturalized as a French citizen on September 17, 1908.

 

In February 1913, Seweryn Kutner wrote a letter to the Director of Civilian Affairs in which he asked for valid identity papers that would allow him to travel abroad. Seweryn explained that he needed these in order to go to visit his family in Warsaw. At the same time, in an attempt to avoid any difficulties with the Russian authorities, Seweryn renounced his Russian citizenship.

We have very few records about what happened to Seweryn Kutner between 1913 and the Second World War. All we know is that he divorced his wife shortly after he became a French citizen.

At the age of 44, he joined the French army and fought in the First World War. On April 1, 1935, he moved to a different address in Paris: 7 Villa Léandre.

On July 29, 1944, Seweryn Kutner was arrested at his home and taken to Drancy internment camp, north of Paris.

According to documentation issued on March 18, 1946, by the Ministry of War Veterans and Victims of War, he was interned on grounds of his “race”, in other words because he was Jewish. Seweryn Kutner remained in Drancy until July 31, 1944, when he was deported to Auschwitz on Convoy 77.