The SS savings bank book was issued on April 1, 1940. It contains two credit statements, one from February 1, 1940 for 245 RM, and one from May 7, 1943 for 32 RM. On the last one, the owner of the book is named as SS-Gruppenführer Fritz Katzmann, Governor of the district of Galicia in Lemberg (Lviv, western Ukraine). The book contains savings stamps for as late as November 1944. Measuring 105x145mm, very fine condition with light scuffing, some damage to the spine, with period repair, and two punched holes in the front cover. A rare booklet, only given to high ranking SS Officers.
Footnote: Fritz or Friedrich Katzmann was born on May 6, 1906 in Langendreer (present-day part of Bochum, western Germany). He joined the SA in December of 1927 and the NSDAP in September of 1928, membership number 98,528. During the summer of 1930, Katzmann left the SA and instead joined the SS in September of the same year, membership number 3,065. He was promoted to SS-Obersturmbannführer in early 1934. Shortly after, Katzmann was appointed leader of the 75th SS-Standarte “Widukind”, which he did until the spring of 1938. He was promoted to SS-Standartenführer in August of 1934. Katzmann served as a member of the Berlin city councillor assembly between 1936 and 1942. In March of 1938, he was appointed commander of SS district VI in Breslau (Wrocław, present-day southwest Poland). Later that year, he was promoted to SS-Oberführer. After the beginning of the war, Katzmann went on to serve as SS and Police Leader in the district of Radom in occupied Poland between late 1939 and July 1941, being promoted to SS-Brigadeführer in June of 1941. After this assignment, he was appointed SS and Police Leader of Galicia in Lviv until April of 1943. During this time, he was promoted to Major General of the Police in September 1941 and to SS-Gruppenführer and Lieutenant General of the Police in early 1943. Katzmann’s final assignment was commanding SS main district Weichsel/Danzig-West Prussia which he did until the end of the war. He was promoted to Lieutenant General of the Waffen-SS in July of 1944. In 1943, Katzmann wrote a report detailing his involvement in the Holocaust in occupied Poland. After the war, it became known as the Katzmann report and remains one of the most significant pieces of German-produced evidence of the Holocaust and other war crimes. After the war, Katzmann went into hiding and lived in Germany until his death under the name of Bruno Albrecht. He died on September 19, 1957. Only after his death his true identity was found out.