https://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection

REZSŐ RUDOLF KASZTNER COLLECTION, approximately 1944-2015 (bulk 1944-1979) 2017.526.2

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW Washington, DC 20024-2126 Tel. (202) 479-9717 e-mail: [email protected]

Descriptive summary

Title: Rezső Rudolf Kasztner collection

Dates: approximately 1944-2015 (bulk 1944-1979)

Accession number: 2017.526.2

Creator: Rezső Rudolf Kasztner (1906-1957)

Additional creator: Dinur, Dov

Extent: 0.5 linear foot (1 box)

Repository: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, Washington, DC 20024-2126

Abstract: The Rezső Rudolf Kasztner collection comprises letters, documents, certificates and protocols given to Holocaust researcher Dov Dinur by the Kasztner family that document Kasztner’s activities as a member of the "Vaad Ha-Ezrah veha-Hatzalah be- " ( of Budapest). Letters, reports, and an aide mémoire from July-August 1944 pertain to the early stages of negotiations Kasztner conducted with , , Hermann Krumey, and other senior Nazi leaders on behalf of the committee in an attempt to secure the liberation of hundreds of Hungarian . Includes an early draft report by Dr. Kasztner around 1946 about the activities of the Vaad Ha-Ezra veha-Hatzalah. Correspondents include Kurt Becher, , Yitzhak Gruenbaum, Herbert Katzky, Saly Mayer, and Nathan Schwalb. The collection also includes a report about the JDC by .

Languages: German, Hungarian, Hebrew, Yiddish, English

Administrative Information

Access: Collection is open for use, but is stored offsite. Please contact the Reference Desk more than seven days prior to visit in order to request access.

1

https://collections.ushmm.org https://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection

Reproduction and use: Collection is available for use. Material may be protected by copyright. Please contact reference staff for further information.

Preferred citation: (Identification of item), Rezső Rudolf Kasztner collection, 2017.526.2, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

Acquisition information: The acquisition of this collection was made possible in 2017 by the Philip and Janet Levin Foundation.

Related material: A copy of Dov Dinur’s book, Kasztner: New Lights on the Man and His Deeds, included in the collection was transferred to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s library.

Accruals: Accruals may have been received since this collection was first processed, see archives catalog at collections.ushmm.org for further information.

Processing history: Processed by Julie Schweitzer, July 2018.

Biographical note Rezső Rudolf Kasztner (1906-1957) was a leader of the Budapest Jewish Rescue Committee during World War II. The Committee consisted of a group of Zionists who helped smuggle Jews into from German occupied countries. After occupied Hungary in 1944, the Committee shifted to negotiating with the SS to let Hungarian Jews leave Hungary. In part of these negotiations, Kasztner was able to negotiate with Adolf Eichmann, a senior officer in the SS, the release a group of 1,685 Jews to Switzerland, in exchange for money. After the war, Kasztner moved to , where he became a spokesman for the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He was later accused of being a Nazi collaborator by Malchiel Gruenwald, due to his negotiations with Eichmann during the war. Kasztner sued Gruenwald for libel, but after an 18 month trial, the judge ruled in Gruenwald's favor. Kasztner was forced to resign from his position with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and was later assassinated outside his home in , in 1957. The Supreme Court of Israel overturned most of the judgment against Kasztner in January 1958.

Scope and content of collection The Rezső Rudolf Kasztner collection comprises letters, documents, certificates and protocols given to Holocaust researcher Dov Dinur by the Kasztner family that document Kasztner’s activities as a member of the "Vaad Ha-Ezrah veha-Hatzalah be-Budapest " (Aid and Rescue Committee of Budapest). Letters, reports, and an aide mémoire from July-August 1944 pertain to the early stages of negotiations Kasztner conducted with Adolf Eichmann, Kurt Becher, Hermann Krumey, and other senior Nazi leaders on behalf of the committee in an attempt to secure the liberation of hundreds of Hungarian Jews. Includes an early draft report by Dr. Kasztner around 1946 about the activities of the Vaad Ha-Ezra veha-Hatzalah. Correspondents include Kurt Becher, Joel Brand, Yitzhak Gruenbaum, Herbert Katzky, Saly Mayer, and Nathan Schwalb. The collection also includes a report about the JDC by Yehuda Bauer.

System of arrangement The Rezső Rudolf Kasztner collection is arranged as a single series in the order it was acquired and with the descriptive information that accompanied it.

2

https://collections.ushmm.org https://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection

Indexing terms Kasztner, Rezső Rudolf, 1906-1957.

Ṿaʻadat ha-ʻezrah ṿeha-hatsalah be-Budapeshṭ.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Hungary. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Hungary--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue--Hungary.

Budapest (Hungary).

Correspondence. Reports.

CONTAINER LIST

Series 1: Rezső Rudolf Kasztner collection, approximately 1944-2015 (bulk 1944-1979)

Box/Folder Title 1.1 Correspondence with Joel Brand, Saly Meyer, Nathan [Schwalb], March-September 1944 1.2 Appeal about the Kasztner train leaving Bergen-Belsen, August 1944 1.3 Statement - Ramp B, July -August 1944 1.4 Correspondence from Kurt Becher, August 1947 1.5 Various letters, 1946-1961, 1979 1.6 Correspondence with Yitzhak Gruenbaum, November 1945 1.7 Der Bericht des jüdischen Rettungskomitees aus Budapest, 1942-1945, approximately 1946 1.8 Mr. Herbert Katzky, Joint Distribution Committee Immigration Department, May 1945 1.9 Correspondence with Nathan Schwalb, March-April 1947 1.10 Wikipedia entry for Rezső Kasztner in Hebrew, 2015 1.11 Wikipedia entries for Erich von dem Bach-Zalewski and Eberhard von Thadden, 2015 1.12 Correspondence with Joska Fischer, Villim Kasztner, Erno (X Ella), 1945-1947 1.13 Memory Aid [summary of the situation in Hungary and assistance offered by various organizations and countries], 1944 1.14 Report from Saly Mayer and Rezső Kasztner on the topic ”Negotiations for future treaties,” August 30, 1944 1.15 Correspondence, 1945-1954 1.16 The Activities of the JDC in Europe during World War II, Yehuda Bauer, approximately 1976 1.17 Reports, 1954-1957 1.18 Research on the Nuremberg Trial (empty), undated 1.19 Two files, March-April 1948, of Nazis, Research - of the American prosecutor, Herbert Meir and Kasztner, 1947-1948 1.20 Interview with Kasztner 1948 with Munich Radio during the , March 1948 1.21 Various documents, approximately 1944-1957

3

https://collections.ushmm.org