'Killing Kasztner' backs unsung hero of WWII

There are not many instances in which history would demonize a man responsible for covertly sending 1,600 Jewish people to safety in the face of a Nazi invasion, but that is the controversy surrounding Israel Kasztner.

Kasztner, a Jewish man living in Hungary, was the subject of the documentary “Killing Kasztner” that premiered Monday night at the Main Library.

Directed by Gaylen Ross, the documentary detailed how Kasztner, who was on a rescue committee in Hungary, bribed officials to send a train that had been on its way to internment camps, such as Auschwitz, to instead go to safety in Switzerland.

But his act of heroism also is met with claims that he only saved people who were close to him, in exchange for sacrificing many others to the Nazi regime, said Kenneth Waltzer, director of MSU’s Jewish Studies Program, who organized the movie’s premiere.

“We wanted to raise questions about the different history that’s involved in the Kasztner story,” Waltzer said.

“Whether he was a hero or not a hero, whether he saved lives or cost lives. (This) has been an ongoing controversy in the Jewish community for 50 years.”

Ross spent eight years researching and filming the movie, which she said was to try and find out why more people have not heard about Kasztner’s story.

Kasztner was able to negotiate with Adolf Eichmann — one of Hitler’s most trusted men — for the lives of Hungary’s Jewish people. Ross said that would not have
happened if the Nazis were not losing World War II.

Kasztner exchanged goods and money with the Nazis in exchange for lives, which Ross said was one of the first and only times the Nazis negotiated with any person.

“It’s incredible to me that not only did this happen but that the story was essentially erased,” she said.

“Nobody talks about Kasztner — nobody talks about a Jew who was able to negotiate and save lives.”

Public opinion still might not be entirely in Kasztner’s favor, because many groups
struggle to have him recognized at Holocaust museums across Europe, Waltzer said.

But Waltzer said historians mostly believe Kasztner did what he thought was right in a difficult time.

“Kasztner was dealt with unfairly,” Waltzer said. “Kasztner was between a rock and a hard place and what he did was courageous and heroic.”

Packaging junior Forrest Cohn said he hasn’t done a lot of research on Kasztner, but from what he’s found out, Kasztner deserves to be commemorated for his
actions.

“If I was in that era I probably would have done the same thing,” Cohn said.