"Glorious" Heros

The "Kastner - Train" in 1944


B"H

What haven't we learned at history classes in school about the foundation of the State of Israel ? The underground Haganah / Palmach as well as those from the Irgun / Lechi / Etzel troups. And when we then hear about the brave acts of all those underground fighters, many times they start becoming our heros.

European Jewry surviving the Holocaust wanted to live in a Jewish country, as they had enough of all the anti - Semitism going on for the past 2000 years. However, the British occupied Palestine and they were anything but happy about all the Jews. The Brits made countless deals with the Arabs and in order not to cause any further tension between Arabs and Jews, they refused to let the Jews settle the country. Jewish resistance fighters, especially those from the Irgun, were put into jail or were excuted. During their occupation in Palestine, the British were anything but heros. Those of you who would like to know more are free to visit the former British prison in Jerusalem (Shivtei Israel Street, behind the Municipality). The building is a museum today and it is worth visiting it.

"All underground fighters only fought against the British" but if you think this way your are proven the opposite. Ben Guron's Haganah fought against the Menachem Begin's Irgun as well, and it was David Ben Gurion who stated that the Jews in Palestine should not fight the British but rather work together with them. The way he used to work together with them was turning in Irgun members knowing what the British would do to them. For this purpose, Haganah soldiers even kidnapped Irgun members.

Are these facts just results of the circumstances of the times ? Not really.
At the moment, I am researching about the "Kastner Train". A train with almost 1700 Jews leaving the Nazi occupied Hungary for Switzerland. The train first went to Bergen Belsen and then set off for Switzerland. A special deal reached between the Hungarian Jew Dr. Rudolf Kastner and the Nazi Adolf Eichmann. Already during the war, Kastner worked as a representative for the Jewish Agency in Budapest and later on became a member of David Ben Gurion's MAPAI - Party.

There is so much material on the "Kastner issue". Why were those 1700 Jews allowed to leave Hungary and another 400,000 Jews were deported to Auschwitz and gased ? Why did the Nazis at all bother with Kastner after they invaded Hungary in March 1944 ? They had already killed Millions of Jews and now why not just killing Hungarian Jewry as well ? Why suddenly start negotiations ? And why was the Jews Kastner allowed to have a car, a telephone and why could he see Eichmann all the time ?

So far, I have already found plenty of material where some founders of the State of Israel, in particular David Ben Gurion and Moshe Sharett, appear to be anything but brave and loyal. During his trial in 1954, Kastner was accused of collaboration with the Nazis and causing the death of 400,000 Hungarian Jews by not having them warned about their upcoming fate. And during the trial we see a Ben Gurion government constantly protecting Rudolf Kastner. He himself was then the spokesman of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Kastner lied in court and he was caught. He lied about his voluntary Affidavit for the SS - murderer Kurt Becher. Due to this Affidavit, Becher wasn't accused in Nuremberg. But Kastner was even in touch with Becher after the Second World War. In the meantime, the former SS - member Kurt Becher had become a friend of the German chancellor Konrad Adenauer who, on the other hand, was also very friendly with David Ben Gurion. No wonder that Ben Gurion tried to keep Kastner clean. What would have become of Adenauer and his Nazi friend if this haden't been the case ?

The victims were 800,000 Hungarian Jews who were left allone and betrayed by Kastner. Of course, there are various opinions about Kastner if he was a hero or a collaborator. He obviously saw himself as someone helping the Jews out. At least some of them.
After their invasion in March 1944, the Nazis didn't loose any time and set up Jewish ghettos immediately. And immediately the deportation to Auschwitz began. The whole matter only took 2 - 3 months and most members of Hungarian Jewry were gased. A handful Nazi officers agaist thousands of Hungarian Jews. How was this possible ? And who is bothered by that today ?

In Israel, the name "Kastner" still has a meaning. These days, I have been reading Ben Hecht's book "Perfidy". It is a book about the Kastner trial and there is no doubt about it that Ben Hecht hated Kastner, Ben Gurion and the Germans. For Hecht, Kastner is a demon and even Hannah Arendt sees Kastner later on (during the Eichmann Trial) as the personification of evil. A Jew who helped the Nazis deporting and killing 400,000 Hungarian Jews. Kastner made the whole machinery possible in a fast an unproblematic way although he saved 1700 Jews.

What shocked me most was the role of the Jewish Agency because you always consider this organization as something Jewish and helping everyone as much as it can. Another negative role plays David Ben Gurion who, many times, seems to me being a traitor to his own people. For the next coming weeks, I am planning many articles on the Kastner case. From different points of view although it is shocking to find out the other side, the bad side, about heroic politicians from the times of the foundation of the State of Israel.