MY ISRAEL:
Rezso(Rudolph) Kasztner (1906 – 1957), A Jewish Hungarian Journalist & lawyer who in 1944 saved 1684 Hungarian Jews from almost certain death. This act alone should place him in the category of hero, yet some regarded him as an accomplice in the deportation of 437 000 Hungarian Jews, three quarters of whom perished in the gas chambers.
In exchange for gold, diamonds and cash, Rezso Kasztner negotiated with Adolf Eichmann for the transport of 1684 Jews to safety in Switzerland. Adolf Eichmann was the German SS officer in charge of deporting Hungary’s Jews to the Auschwitz death camp.
As with another article I wrote entitled “Copper Houses and the 5th Aliyah”, Israel’s detractors distort the truth by referring to this "collaboration" out of context. In truth, it was money spent to redeem Jews from slavery & almost certain death.
There were essentially two reasons of why some saw Kasztner as a “sell-out” to the Nazis.
The first being the choice of passengers. These included Zionists, rabbis, including Joel Teitelbaum the Satmar rebbe, peasants, farmers, industrialists, bankers, journalists, teachers, nurses. Other famous personages included the writer Bela Zsolt, psychiatrist Leopold Szondi, opera singer Dezso Ernster & artist Istavan Irsai.
However, what his accusers found most offensive was the inclusion of 388 people from his home town of Cluj, which included his mother Helen Kasztner, his brother Erno & his pregnant wife Bogyo, her father Jozsef Fischer & Bogyo’s other relatives. Also included was Erno Szilagyl of the Aid & Rescue Committee, Joel Brand’s mother, sister, niece and the daughters of Otto Komoly & Samuel Stern.
I totally reject this first reason as a betrayal of his fellow Jews, as I believe anyone in their right mind would first want to save their family and those he or she were acquainted with.
The second accusation levelled against Rezso Kasztner was that he was privy to vital information that he kept to himself. According to reports, in April or May 1944, Katzner received information about the mass murders taking place inside Auschwitz & did not pass this information onto the Jewish community. His accusers maintained that had he informed the resident community, plans to escape from the oncoming onslaught could have been prepared & thousands of lives saved.
In Rezso Kasztners defense, I would like to offer the following 5 reasons for his silence.
Firstly, despite having obtained information on the mass slaughter of Jews, no civilized person could have ever imagined the extent of horrors perpetrated by the Nazis & doubts as to the authenticity of the reports must have emerged.
Secondly, Gaylen Ross who directed the 2008 documentary entitled “Killing Kasztner” showed that the Hungarians themselves were quite capable of committing atrocities against their fellow Jewish citizens. Perhaps Kasztner concluded that public knowledge of the Auschwitz extermination camp would have further inflamed Hungarian anti-Semitism thus causing an increase in atrocities against the Jewish population.
Thirdly, Kasztner may have decided to remain silent so as not to oppose the stand taken by Joel Teitelbaum, the Satmar rebbe & one of the 1648 Jews transported to safety on the Kasztner train. The Satmar rebbe refrained from calling on his followers to save or prepare themselves for a Nazi onslaught despite being privy to reports on the extermination of Jewish communities in Poland due to his leadership position. He ignored the dangers threatening the Jews of Transylvania and failed to engage in the preparation of rescue and aid plans. He refused to cooperate with the Zionists and warned any would-be immigrants to British mandated Palestine that they were in danger of severely harming their Haredi way of life.
Fourthly, the Russians were approaching from the east and the possibility that relief was at hand may have induced him to remain silent thereby keeping hope alive.
Lastly, Kasztner might have concluded that by informing the Jewish community at large & causing panic, it would jeopardize his plans for the saving 1684 Jews. Aware that there was a limit to the number of people that could be saved, his decision not to reveal his information could have been due to the teachings of the Talmud, the book of Jewish Oral Law that states; "He who saves one life saves the world entire".
Accused of being a Nazi collaborator, the government sued for libel on his behalf. The judge however ruled against the government and accused Rezso Kasztner of “selling his soul to the devil”. Zeev Eckstein, a veteran from the pre-state militia, namely Lehi, assassinated Kasztner in Tel Aviv in March 1957.
Nine months later the Supreme Court of Israel overturned most of the lower court's ruling, stating in a 4–1 decision that the judge had "erred seriously".
Rezso Kasztner’s granddaughter is Merav Michaeli, a present day Israeli politician, journalist, TV anchor, radio broadcaster, feminist, and activist. She is currently the leader of the Israeli Labor Party and the Minister of Transport and Road Safety in the thirty-sixth government of Israel.
Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect).
Website: rontraub-tours.com
Photo: Internet.