Konrad Latte did not find out about his Jewish origins until he was at school. Soon after, he had to switch to a Jewish school. He wanted to become a musician, taking organ lessons in Breslau. From 1941 he performed forced labor in a paint factory.
During Operation Factory in 1943, the 20-year-old and his parents Margarete and Manfred went underground. After a few days in Breslau, they moved to Berlin.
There, the family were able to spend a few weeks in the home of the actress Ursula Meißner. Then the prison chaplain Harald Poelchau found separate accommodation for them.
Konrad Latte was arrested during a raid in early October 1943. His parents were also arrested, then deported to Auschwitz and murdered shortly later.
Konrad Latte managed to escape the assembly camp. Poelchau provided him with forged certification. In the spring of 1944, Latte joined a Wehrmacht entertainment theater under the false name of Bauer. He met the sopranist Ellen Brockmann there. When all theaters were closed in September 1944, she found shelter for Konrad Latte in Bad Homburg, claiming he was her fiancé. The couple married at the end of April 1945.
Forged employment papers for Konrad Latte as Konrad Bauer, Berlin, around 1944. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
Forged Volkssturm certification for Konrad Latte as Konrad Bauer, issued by Harald Poelchau, Berlin, October 4, 1944. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
