The Jewish businessman Jacob Kahane lived in Berlin with his wife Lina and their two children. Their son Max, a KPD member, fled to Prague in 1933. In September 1942 Jacob and Lina Kahane had to go into hiding, joined by their daughter Jenny at the end of February 1943. They were constantly on the lookout for new places to stay until their quarters were hit during an air raid in November 1943.
They turned for help to Gerhard Hagemann, an auditor at the episcopal ordinariate in Berlin. He lived with his wife Wally and their six children in Havelberg, 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Berlin. The Hagemanns had previously supported the Jewish family with food and offered their help in an emergency. Without hesitation, the devout Catholics took the Kahanes into their home temporarily; their daughter Jenny soon found another place to stay.
With Gerhard Hagemann’s help, Jacob Kahane was able to pose as a “bombed-out Berliner” in Havelberg. He and his family then received “Aryan” papers and food ration cards. They were also allocated replacement housing in the close vicinity of the Hagemanns. After their liberation, the Kahane family moved back to Berlin.